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kaiowut99 · 3 years

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episodes 65 and 66 Subbed (Finalized)

(Check out my Subbed!GX Stream Masterpost!)

Hell Kaiser Ryou! Chimeratech Overdragon

Since his defeat to Ed in the Pro Leagues, the life in Kaiser Ryou has faded. But at the invitation of a suspicious promoter, he participates in an underground duel--duels in which, crucially, one risks their life to treat their savage audience to a show. As Acidic Last Machine Virus causes his Machine-Types like Cyber Dragon to rust, the Kaiser is not only cut off from summoning any Monsters, but it causes him to take damage. With each drop in his LP, an electric current flows through his body, exciting the spectators...

Judai’s First Dream Duel!

Lost in the forest, Judai’s consciousness starts to fade from hunger, causing him to reminisce about his duels thus far--taking down Instructor Chronos’s Ancient Gear Golem with Flame Wingman during his Entrance Exam, battling the then-Blue elite Manjoume and his V-to-Z Dragon Catapult Cannon shortly after his enrollment, battling Misawa’s seventh deck with the right to represent the Academia on the line, and his first loss in the face of Kaiser Ryou’s Cyber End Dragon...

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*crashes onto your TL months late with non-corporate coffee*

And these two are finally up and finalized! Sorry for the wait, if you were looking forward to ‘em--as I mentioned in my post on Sunday, they were pushed back a bit while I did one final lookover on 1-64′s scripts and hardsubs so I could actually call them “finalized.” I’d started to get them out of the way while waiting for some potential editing help, then just decided to finish it after scrapping the last little thing I hoped to work on (I planned to break briefly after 66 to do these re-finalizations anyway, but the timing happened to work out). More details there.

But leaving that aside, here we have a pretty popular episode in Hell Kaiser Ryou’s debut, as he’s pushed to the brink by Mad Dog Inukai after Monkey Monkey Mountain Saruyama invites him to his first underground duel. They do a really good job of portraying Ryou as having lost his mojo post-Ed, showing a realistic view of what the big leagues in sports are like when that happens to you and you lose out on sponsorships/etc, and so when he gets cornered and Saruyama drills into him how he never once thought of winning since that duel, wanting to just stick with his respectful dueling, a spark lights up in him and... well, RIP Mad Dog. (Also, s/o to Takeshi Maeda for really selling Ryou’s shift in mindset by the end, and to his dub VA for sounding similarly good, imo.)

66 is probably less popular in comparison, treating us to our first clipshow of the series, though 66 episodes in isn’t a bad time (could be worse, VRAINS jk). It’s endearing enough, though--kinda nice seeing SAL again; Judai’s hunger-induced visions give us Chronos, Misawa, and Manjoume making monkey noises; and the duels featured were important for Judai early on. I also like the bit of new animation as vision!Ryou follows up with Judai about respecting his opponents; goes with what I’d noticed before about Judai adding his Fusion Undone/De-Fusion strategy to his own dueling after losing to him. (also Judai making a signpost sweatdrop from his aloofness pls)

Part of the initial delay with these were the footage fixes I wanted to work on, as well as a couple visual translations here/there which were fun to work on. Really want to thank @paradoxi-kay for their great work as always in helping to translate the cover of the copy of Duel Magazine that Judai comes across early in 65, and starting the one on Shou’s copy that I finished up. List of everything worked on below the cut, as usual, if you’re curious.

Enjoy, folks! I’ve gotten some work started on 67 already, and my plan is to try and work on some double releases to make up a bit of time, lol. I’ll be posting these two on NAC in the next couple of days along with the re-finalized hardsubs and scripts/DVDRips; while I work on getting 67 and 68 done, I’ll also start some work on prepping softsub MKVs (also to go up on NAC) for everything I’ve fully finalized, since it’s been a while on that front.

Fixes/Edits! (65)

As Judai wanders in the forest early in the episode, he comes across a stack of old Duel Magazines; the front cover shows Ryou and is an issue from his winning streak days before his more recent loss to Ed. Thanks to @paradoxi-kay‘s great work in typesetting my translation onto the cover I blanked (which I detailed here), you’ll see it in English in the hardsub above. The translation was first applied to the close-up of the cover that comes after #2 below, and then I took the translated cover and made it its own image that I put into the earlier shot as Judai approaches it while they’re all still tied up (detailed here). The text reads, “Exclusive!! Kaiser Ryou Marufuji / Breaking down his Cyber Dragon deck!!! / In this issue: / -Duelists Du Jour / -Pro League Battle Data! / -Reader-Submitted Best Duels! / -Strategic Attack Decks by Type!” (Really appreciated Kay’s input on “Du Jour” because my original translation for that, “Duelists Who Are All the Rage,” wasn’t as catchy, lol.)

As Judai picks up one of the older Duel Magazines and flips it open, we see on the back cover an ad featuring the three Phantasms--it’s actually an in-show ad for Shadows of Infinity (since the episode aired around the time the pack came out in Japan); I detailed the process in blanking and translating it here (shared above). The ad reads, "The Three Phantasms Descend!" featuring Uria and Raviel’s names on their images.

As we go to the Red dorm as Shou narrates about the Kaiser’s slump, we see a magazine page describing what happened to him since his loss to Ed; I covered my blanking/translating this in the link shared in #2.

We then see that it’s Shou reading the page from his own copy of Duel Magazine, this one more recent than Judai’s featuring Ed on the cover, though it features the same SOI/Phantasms ad on its back cover (now showing Hamon and its name as well). Like with Judai’s issue, I used the Japanese cover and the dub’s edit as reference to just redraw Ed and Diamondguy enough to remove Ed’s name; Kay had started the translation placement and I finished it up. For the SOI ad, like with #2, I added in the dub’s edit in pieces, tweaking it to match the original image more (since they again oddly edited the text out or redrew Uria/et al weirdly to do so). We do now see more of the ad which shows that the trio’s names are on each of them, the English of which I added.

As Asuka snatches the magazine from Shou to work on cheering him up, to be consistent, I also worked in these cover translations to the magazine as she lifts then curls it up, using the dub’s blanked Phantasms edit as a base that I touched up a bit while adding back the Japanese cards. Detailed more in #2′s link. (We now also see that the ad reads on, “New! Shadow of Infinity - On Sale November 11th [2005]!”; the IRL booster pack came out in Japan on Nov. 17th, 2005, a few weeks before 65 aired.)

Asuka then lifts the curled-up magazine into view in a close-up, with the SOI/Phantasms ad visible which I also applied my translations above to as needed, using the dub’s blank edit as a base that I redrew parts of to touch up and match the Japanese image more. Detailed more in #2′s link.

As Ryou meets Monkey Saruyama, he introduces himself by handing out his business card reading, "Saruyama Promotion - Representative Monkey Saruyama;" as detailed in #2′s link, I cleaned it up using Photoshop’s Clone Tool, then slapped the translation on using Calibri as the font.

As Ryou contemplates attacking Acid Slime with his Cyber Dragon and Mad Dog Inukai taunts him, as Mad Dog then slides in on a split-screen to “clear his doubts,” there’s a quick frame as Inukai takes over the screen where there’s a gap between his pecs and the split-screen edge. I fixed it by just drawing in the rest of his chest in Photoshop to fill his side of the split-screen.

As Inukai starts his turn and activates his Contingency Fee Magic Card, there’s a frame where, as he’s sliding his hand with the card into the shot, the card itself slides ahead in his hand before his hand does; as a result, you can see a bit of the background just under the card before his hand catches up to the card in the next frame. I fixed this by just duplicating the first frame here over it in Vegas.

Two here--first, after Ryou has his Proto Cyber Dragon attack Clone Slime, as Inukai begins to explain its effect, there’s a quick frame before the shot goes from a close-up to a slow zoom as he moves where his neck vanishes (new meme format go); I fixed this by just duplicating the previous frame in Vegas, while also correcting one of his looping lip-flap frames so that the scar on his chin is above the shading under his lip. Then, as Inukai goes into Clone Slime’s effect and the shot slowly zooms out, we see Clone Slime on his Disk in Attack Mode when it’s in Defense Mode right now; fixed it by placing a proxy in Defense in AfterEffects for a frame, then re-keyframing that frame to the zoom-out in Vegas to put it in place.

After Acid Slime slips out of Inukai’s Cemetery as Clone Slime’s effect activates, Inukai moves to grab it before the two Slimes switch out, but Clone Slime’s still in Attack Mode on his Disk; fixed by placing the Defense-Mode proxy over it in AE, then moving it as he moves his Disk and applying a brief brightness increase as the light from Clone Slime being replaced with Acid Slime grazes it.

As Proto Cyber Dragon’s attack approaches Acid Slime in a quick shot, the card under it in Defense Mode is reversed (the name box should face to the left to match how it’s placed on his Disk); fixed by first applying the correctly-facing proxy in AfterEffects and moving it as the shot moves, then masking Acid Slime back in over it, along with the light coming from the attack as it starts to shine over its card.

As Ryou explains Overload Fusion’s effect, just before it starts to zoom out as he then chooses the six Monsters he’ll fuse, there are a few frames I noticed where Ryou’s whooshing hair throughout this shot suddenly stops whooshing; I fixed it by just masking in his whooshing hair from the previous frames for a few.

As Ryou taunts Inukai about how his Acidic Last Machine Virus will bother him no more, Inukai starts to slide in on a split-screen, but until his split-screen has fully slid in, there’s no border on its edge; I fixed it in Vegas by first masking out the border once it’s fully slid in, then moving it in another video layer with his split-screen for those nine frames.

As Ryou explains Chimeratech Overdragon’s multiple attacks, we see it reversed on his Disk; fixed by slapping on the correctly-facing proxy in AfterEffects, then re-keyframing it to the slow zoom in Vegas for the 94 frames it zooms out in (phew).

One error that I hoped to fix but scrapped happens as Chimeratech Overdragon’s first attack closes in on Inukai’s Multiple Slime, where we see a Defense-Mode card under it despite it being in Attack Mode the way Inukai summoned it (and since he then takes damage from the attack); couldn’t quite figure out how to light up the floor I’d redrawn under it with the ensuing explosion, and had sought a bit of help to get it right but ultimately that fell through. (Incidentally, not only did the dub not catch this as they dubified its card, but they reversed the card, at that, lol.)

Fixes/Edits! (66)

(Note: These are all flashback-related, and I detailed most of them [including a few new ones] in my post from Sunday that I linked just under the summaries; I went on to apply the fixes I’d applied in 66 to the respective episodes, so I’ll be brief here. Reinserted fixes from a while back are in italics.)

(Episode 1 Flashback) I reinserted the fix I did to replace the blank Normal Monster on Judai’s Disk in Flame Wingman’s spot with its card as Antique Gear Golem crashes onto Chronos. [Ep. 1 Flashback End]

(Episode 22 Flashback) As Misawa attacks with Litmus Death Swordsman to start his flashback, I reinserted the fix I did to detail the blank cards on his Disk with Diamond Dragon and Litmus Death.

As Misawa finishes explaining Wingbeat of Giant Dragon’s effect and it zooms out to Litmus Death, I reinserted my fix to his reversed card on Misawa’s Disk to flip it right-side-up.

Reinserted my fix to the repeat of #3 as Skyscraper fades.

Reinserted my fix to another repeat as Misawa explains Spirit Barrier’s effect.

R-R-Reinserted my fix to the r-r-repeat again as we see Misawa’s Disk while Judai explains Cyclone Boomerang’s effect (gotta love reused animation!) [Ep. 22 Flashback End]

(Episode 4 Flashback) As Judai prods Manjoume into choosing a card from his hand for A Hero Appears’s effect, I fixed Manjoume’s blazer looking semi-faded for a frame on his split-screen.

As Judai’s LP take a hit from V-to-Z destroying Burstlady, I fixed the four frames where the upper part of his Disk is missing the little bottom part that extends out a bit and Judai’s vanishing Disk wrist grip.

A bit complex, but I fixed Judai’s briefly-still-missing-then-vanishing-again wrist grip, the shading near his Cemetery slot, Judai’s arm becoming part of his Disk, and his wrist grip suddenly consuming his whole wrist. (Detailed in that Sunday post)

Reinserted my fix to the Attack-Mode Winged Kuriboh on Judai’s Disk to put it in Defense Mode as he discards two to activate Evolutionary/Transcendent Wings.

As Judai swings his arm around telling Winged Kuriboh LV10 to “send [V-to-Z’s] energy right back” at Manjoume, I reinserted my fix to put its Defense-Mode card in the spot on his Disk colored like the Monster Zone it’s on for a few frames.

A bit complex again recycling the Judai shot in #9, but I fixed his again-vanishing Disk wrist grip and half-Disk arm, his wrist grip suddenly consuming his whole wrist again, and his yet-again-vanished wrist grip, miscolored undershirt, and his half-Disk elbow while restoring some previous detail to his Disk. (Detailed in that Sunday post)

As Judai summons Featherman–to Shou and Chronos’s surprise–and has him lunge at Manjoume for the finisher, I reinserted my fix to keep the black faraway box that is Featherman on his Disk both as those two slide in on split-screens and as they slide back out. [Ep. 4 Flashback End]

(Episode 8 Flashback) I reinserted my fix to remove Featherman from Judai’s Disk as his LP drop from Cyber Dragon destroying it.

Reinserted my fix to a repeat of #14 as Judai’s excited about Ryou’s Time Capsule.

As Judai draws for his turn, I added a Fusion card over the dark-orange rectangle briefly in his hand as he draws it.

After Judai’s first hit on him, I fixed the error as Ryou Special-Summons another Cyber Dragon as a Monster in face-down Defense Mode on his second Monster Zone (detailed in that Sunday post).

Reinserted my fix adding Cyber Twin Dragon to Ryou’s Disk over a yellow rectangle.

As the screen zooms in on Judai after Ryou declares Cyber Twin’s attack, I added Thunder Giant to Judai’s third Monster Zone, then reinserted my previous fix adding it as it zooms back out while Judai uses A Hero Appears.

Reinserted my fix adding a few quick lip flaps to Judai as he says, “Partner,” out loud.

As Judai thinks about how Evolutionary Wings would evolve his Winged Kuriboh and we then see Bubbleman on his field, I added a missing Bubbleman card to his Disk.

Right after #21, I revised my previous fix to replace the Defense-Mode Mudballman on his Disk with an Attack-Mode Bubbleman, after I accidentally put it in Defense Mode before.

As Ryou grabs Power Bond from his hand before activating it, I reinserted my fix adding Ryou’s two missing Cyber Dragons to his Disk and then one over the blank Normal Monster card in his left hand.

As Ryou slips Power Bond into his Disk, I reinserted my fix adding those two missing Cyber Dragons onto his Disk. [Ep. 8 Flashback End]

For the Ep. 67 preview, I added my translation of the notice left on the Red dorm by Napoleon which I’ll be using in the episode proper.

#GX #yugioh #yugioh gx #ygo #ygo gx #Judai Yuki #Ryou Marufuji #Chronos de Medici #Jun Manjoume #Daichi Misawa #my subs #i do have to wonder if the staff had a dartboard of ideas of who would spur the flashbacks in 66 #and they somehow landed on bringing back SAL for a bit lol #he's nice enough to snap Judai out of his hunger visions #also s/o to that one dub voice for... somehow surviving that dartboard decision

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be-ready-when-i-say-go · 4 years

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Here’s a half formed thought about Calum going back to school at the same time as you during the crazy ass pandemic. Enjoy.

Reader insert. No race or gender.

********************

You were always going back to school. When you ran into Calum last year--though it really wasn’t you running into Calum; he was doing his grocery shopping and you checked him out--you knew being a clerk at the grocery store wasn’t the end all be all for you.

What you had noticed over the couple of months is that whenever Calum seemed to be doing his grocery shopping, he always came through your line. It didn’t matter if you were the only line opened or on the weekends one of the several lines open, Calum was there. He started with small talk, asking you how your day was going. And you asked about his. He shocked you the first time he used your name. But you forgot that it was on your name tag. “Well if you know my name it’s only fair I know yours,” you teased.

“Calum,” he returned easily, taking the brown paper bags after you carefully packed them.

Sometimes you noticed his dog in the cart and asked about them. You learned his name is Duke and that he’s been affectionately dubbed Baby Grandpa by Calum. And eventually, though you hadn’t really meant to, you noticed things he bought frequently and whenever you happened across his path while walking to or from back break, you’d let him know if there was a sale going on.

And thought it was only just friendly chat while you were on the clock, you were out pumping gas on your way to lunch with your friends when you heard your name. As you turned, there was Calum, walking out of the gas station, waving as he pushed his sunglasses back to cover his eyes.

“Fancy meeting you here,” you laughed, waving in return. What you hadn’t expected as Calum walked across the lot to the pumps is that he would chat until the question of a date fell off from his lips. And sure Calum was attractive, and sure the conversation over the weeks while you checked out his items had turned a little flirty but you hadn’t expected that Calum felt anything remotely serious about you to ask you on a date.

But you accepted. And there you were able to talk over a nice picnic that excluded Duke, but at your explicit disappointment at not seeing the old dog, Calum promised that next time, he would make sure to include Duke. That picnic lead to a movie, which lead to dinner, which lead to a date shopping for Duke because of the upcoming holidays, which lead to dinner at his place, and then hanging out with his friends for a quick drink one night, which lead to movie nights at each others place.

And somewhere in all of it, you were dating Calum. He called when you had the closing shift at work to make sure you got home safely. Or if you spent the night, he’d make you breakfast, and he soothed your back as you hunched in front of your laptop to paid for applications for grad school. And he listened to the way you talked about knowing you couldn’t stay in this spot forever and he encouraged you go back to school. You could feel out that school was something that Calum was considering but he hadn’t been too serious about it. Not the band, the tours, the in the studio’s late--just never felt like he had the time.

Occasionally, you talked about some of the online courses you saw the schools had. But Calum hadn’t fully budged. By the time you got news about you going back to school, with funding, and sorting that news out with your job, Calum asked you if you thought he should give a crack at school. You told him the truth, that if he wanted to go for it, he should. And soon, things crumbled globally with the pandemic. And locked in the house most of the time, you dropped subtle and not so subtle hints that making those online classes might be closer and closer to coming true.

Now you’re here, sitting at the dining room table, your printed out readings and books scattered in front of you. Calum’s on the couch. His notes on the coffee table. You’re in class, listening to the lecture headphones in and you look over to Calum, his class ended just as yours started. His fingers are working over the keys.

He’s only in a couple of classes. And though you’re in one more class than him, there’s the added struggle of the work you do too. It’s administrative, but there’s meetings once a week and you still find yourself being offloaded onto with lots of small annoying data tracking tasks. It’s paying for school, so you do it with minimal complaints, but a few nonetheless.

You’re so lost watching Calum working that you don’t even realize that the class you’re in is preparing for small breakout rooms until someone calls your name. You blink and turn back to the screen. “Sorry, zoned out. We’re discussing the reading, yeah?”

Your group nods and you manage to get back on track until the end of your class. Just as you’re closing down the Zoom app, at least for the half hour before your meeting for work, Calum calls out. “Class done?”

You nod, popping out the earbuds. “Yeah. Got that meeting for work soon though.”

He hums, glancing up from the screen. He seems tired. Most of your nights both of you are up kinda late. Though, you make sure to turn it in early and practically drag Calum to bed a couple hours later. He’ll get caught up, work way too late into the night and then have to be up early for band meetings too. “Want me to fix dinner tonight then?”

“It’s my night. I can still do it.”

“You sure. I know you’ve got to fix that spreadsheet too and do your readings for the week.”

You shake your head. “I can still cook. Might even start during our meeting.”

Calum laughs, remembering the other times you turned off your camera and shuffled around the kitchen to cook in meetings or in classes too. “Nonsense. Almost done with this paper, so I’ll cook. But as an exchange, if you don’t mind, could you read over this? It’s only a response to a reading and it’s not super long or anything. But this instructor’s a fucking hardass.”

You nod. You’ve read over his papers before. Most of the times it’s just making sure he has correct citations and you might make a note about needing a thesis statement or needing more of his analysis between his evidence. But it’s not much that you ever feel like you need to mention on his papers. You’ve found, most often, what Calum needs is just someone to listen to his ideas so he can sort them out loud and then all you do is take down the notes of what he said. Listening to him talk about this philosophy class and Literature class is awe inspiring. He always has more questions than answers, but it’s those questions that always lead him to some pretty amazing places in his writing.

“Is this the professor that got on you about the spacing on that first paper?”

Calum nods, pushing the laptop to the coffee table on top of his notes. “Yes! Even you couldn’t see what was wrong, so I still don’t understand what they got on me about. And I formatted the second outline in the exact same way and didn’t get any points taken off, so I really don’t understand.”

“Well, it could’ve been Google Docs. When you downloaded it into Pages, the formatting might’ve gotten wonky? But even the Pages document looked fine, so I really don’t know what happened there. But you’re doing it all in Pages now and then exporting to a PDF when you submit correct?”

“Yeah, I am. Thanks for that tip though. I didn’t realize Pages wouldn’t work in the submission center.” His shuffle into the kitchen is paired by the click of Duke’s paws on the floor. Calum presses a quick kiss to the top of your head. “Spaghetti?”

Holding onto his forearm draped around your chest, you nod. “Spaghetti sounds lovely.”

“I saw you staring at me while you were in class,” he whispers close to your ear.

“What? You’re hot. Sue me.”

His chuckle is soft, a rumble in his chest that you feel through your back. “Most definitely can’t sue you over that. But don’t make me go in the office. I need you to pass these classes.”

“I appreciate the concern, dear. But I think I’m doing pretty good. Besides, I’m signed up for a random art history class. I can say you’re a piece of art I needed to analyze.”

The laughter’s not soft now, he full on giggles--a bit of it getting cut off as he inhales into the sound. “You’re ridiculous.” His lips are soft against your temple as he stands back up. “So spaghetti. Garlic bread is a must. Salad?”

“Ugh, I guess I do need veggies.”

“Yes, yes you do.” He continues into the kitchen, the clinking of pots hitting the isle’s of the stove and bowls, boxes, and jars setting onto the counter.

“How’s the other class going? You guys starting your novels yet?”

“19th Century Lit is well, 19th Century Lit.” Calum seemed intrigued by the Evil Children’s class you told him you saw. But it had filled by the time Calum got his work schedule sorted out. He turned to 19th Century Lit as his backup, and so far, it appeared to be going well. “We’re spending the first part on poetry. And that’s the most interesting. The rest of the books sound a little boring.”

You hum, nodding even though he can’t see you. “Hopefully the class picks up. I took a look at the spring classes. If you want to focus more on poetry there’s a Modern Poetry post 1930′s class.”

The glance is quick, but his brows are pulled upwards, in a slight intrigue. “I’d consider it for sure.”

The alarm on your phone goes off, letting you know you have ten minutes until the meeting. You turn back to your computer and start logging into the meeting. “You haven’t had an assignment for that class yet have you?”

“No. The midterm’s coming up soon though and I don’t even know how to begin to study for it.”

You pop one earbud in making sure your mic is muted. “You know I got you, babe.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got your classes too. I-I might stop by the professors office hours and ask for help.”

“That’s always a good idea. Do you know when they are?”

“Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s.” You know he doubled checked them because he probably wouldn’t have that readily available from the first day of classes. “Gonna go tomorrow.”

Popping up from the chair, you press a kiss to his cheek, as the pan sizzles just a little and the pot of water not showing signs of bubbles just yet. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Calum returns, pulling you fully into his chest for a swift kiss. “Now, go! You’ve got a meeting.”

“Meeting schmeeting. Would rather kiss you.” You kiss him one last time before ducking back into the chair and turning the camera on. You notice just faintly in the background Calum’s visible as he shuffles between pans and pots. Duke walks up to you, standing up to get attention.

“Oh, you know I can’t say no,” you mutter, setting him in your lap.

“Is that Duke?” your supervisor asks. He’s crashed a couple meetings before.

You unmute and hold him better for everyone to see. “Yeah. His pops is cooking us dinner and that lack of attention just won’t do.”

“Hey, you say that like I don’t love him,” Calum retorts, threatening the back of your head with a spatula. You giggle before muting yourself and place Duke back into your lap, digging up the word document you’ve started for all the meeting notes.

Your supervisor laughs. “Well I think he’s getting plenty of attention in the chat.” There are some more dings as people join the meeting. “Looks like we have everyone, so let’s begin.”

tagging @calumscalm because you might still be taking that exam, love.

and @5-secondsofcolor bc sunday reads bubs.

#calum hood #calum hood blurb #calum hood imagine #calum hood fanfic #calum hood fic #calum hood x reader insert #calum 5sos #5sos #5sos fanfic #5sos blurb #5sos imagine #calum hood fluff #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfic #5 seconds of summer fic #5 seconds of summer imagine #h writes

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quicksilversquared · 4 years

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Defeat by Data

After getting great success with his efforts to figure out what was going on with Lila, Max has turned his attention to a bigger project: using data collection and analysis to track down Hawkmoth's location. Unfortunately for Max, it's proving to be more difficult than expected.

Unfortunately for Hawkmoth, that's not enough to deter Max.

links in the reblog

The models were ready, the equations tested and confirmed, the map of Paris downloaded and imported and the geo-locator coordinates checked and double-checked. The data sheets had been polished to perfection, each column crisply labeled and with data checks set up to let Max know if anything wasn't entered in the correct format, and linked to the program that he had developed.

All that was missing was enough data to provide a statistically significant result.

Max sighed as he entered his latest row of data, his eyes scanning upwards on the data sheet in hopes that somehow, magically, more information had appeared overnight.

His hopes were, of course, in vain. The data was as sparse as it had been before.

"I am sure that you will eventually gather enough useable information to track Hawkmoth down," Markov told him encouragingly. "Perhaps it is not working as quickly as you had hoped, but that may have been a bit optimistic."

"I think I got my expectations thrown off by how easy it was to find data about Lila," Max said with a sigh, making sure the line was saved before closing the document. Staring at it for too long would just make him frustrated, and he didn't do any decent work when he got too frustrated. "Hawkmoth is proving much more elusive."

Elusive, and the unknown variables that Max had to deal with were much harder to account for.

On paper, the concept of Max's Hawkmoth-finding model was simple: all he had to do was observe when people around him got mad, make note of where they were and what time it was, and then make another note when they got akumatized. In theory, he should be able to take the amount of time that it took for the butterfly to arrive and the GPS coordinates and then plug them in to find Hawkmoth's lair. He could account for the unknown speed at which the corrupted butterflies flew by using a fairly simple equation, which would then transform the data into lines projected onto a map of Paris, each line corresponding to the time taken for the butterfly to arrive. Max would then- in theory- be able to manipulate the lines and make them change in length by the same factor. Once all of the lines met- within a pre-determined margin of error- then that was where Ladybug and Chat Noir should be looking for the source of the akumas.

On paper, it made sense. It sounded easy. In theory, it was straightforward and pretty much guaranteed to produce results. But in reality?

First of all, there was no way to account for the variable amount of time that it might take for Hawkmoth to send out an akuma once an upset was detected. If his response rate varied, that could affect the akuma. Realistically, there was no way to confirm if all of the corrupted butterflies actually flew at the same rate. On top of that, collecting any sort of useable data was really hard, harder than Max had anticipated. There was no telling how angry (or upset, or frustrated, or otherwise emotional) a person had to be in order for Hawkmoth to pick it up. Then it was pretty rare to actually see someone get akumatized- the majority of people got akumatized when they were alone or with a single friend, after all, not in a group setting- and an akuma showing up in public immediately after being akumatized wasn't exactly a given. Sometimes it was pretty obvious that the akuma had shown up immediately, so Max had been counting them anyway- if he didn't, he wouldn't have any data- but most of the time it was pretty questionable and therefore not useable, quality data.

It was really frustrating, to the point that Max had tried making several other models in hopes that something would work out better. But where akumatizations took place didn't give him any leads, either. Much to Max's disappointment, the shape that the plotted points gave him wasn't circular (which would imply a maximum distance that Hawkmoth could reach, and therefore a center point where Hawkmoth's lair was located). Instead, it curved and bulged, the number of akumatizations more dependent on population and neighborhood traffic than anything else. There was, of course, an edge to the akumatizations that had fewer akumatizations per capita, but it didn't tell Max anything that he hadn't known before.

Max was very much stuck, and it was frustrating.

"I would try to get the word out to increase the number of people collecting data, but I worry that that could backfire," Max told Markov, pushing away from his computer. If he stayed close to it for much longer, he would probably be tempted to fiddle with the codes in an effort to somehow increase the value of the data he had collected or something. "If word gets out about what I'm trying to do, then there's a chance that Hawkmoth will find out about it and change up what he's doing. He could move locations on a regular basis, or change up how long he takes to respond to each instance of anger. This is our most likely path to success, so I don't want to risk messing it up."

Markov considered that. "Yes, speeding up our data collection is not worth risking gaining Hawkmoth's attention. I would say that trying to recruit others via a public platform such as the Ladyblog would be a major blunder. Would asking your friends carry a small enough risk to be worth it?"

Max considered that before shaking his head. "I worry that they would talk to other people and word could spread that way. It would be all too easy for someone to overhear what I'm trying to do but not catch why it needs to stay so secret. Or- well, I've heard of Alya doing things immediately after being told not to because she thought that she knew better. She might think that I'm being paranoid about Hawkmoth finding out about the project and post on the Ladyblog anyway." He knew Alya meant well, but... well, she tended not to always think before jumping, particularly in relation to superhero things.

(Max was 86% sure that Alya's little video about the strange symbols on possible Miraculous holders on paintings and sculptures at the Louvre had helped Hawkmoth make the connection between the strange sculpture there and the Miraculous. The chances of that not being the case and Hawkmoth simply happening upon the- what had the newscasts called it? Feast?- the same day that it was unveiled were... well, low.)

"Any of them might tell other friends in an effort to help and end up losing the message of how important it is to keep this project secret," Max added after a small pause. He didn't want to entirely single Alya out, after all, even if she did have the biggest platform and relatively low impulse control when it came to the superheroes. "I suppose I might be able to make up a different reason for wanting that particular data and be able to recruit a couple more people, but would it make a difference? After all, we all go to the same class in the same school. The likelihood that they would see something that I would not is relatively low."

Markov considered that. "I suppose."

"I guess that I'll just have to keep doing what I'm doing and hope that I eventually get enough data," Max said with a sigh, sending one more glance at his computer before getting up. "I don't want to give up. Eventually, it has to work."

Another week passed and brought with it exactly one more useable data point and a rather unwelcome realization.

Max needed more data, sure. But he needed more varied data. The large majority of the points in his very small data set came from akumatizations at the school. That caused way too much opportunity for error. Really, he needed a lot of data points from a wide variety of locations to try to ensure that he was getting data from all sides of Hawkmoth's lair. That would decrease his margin of error enough to- in theory- pinpoint Hawkmoth's location exactly.

He could keep collecting data points at school all he wanted, but they would only keep getting less and less valuable because they would just tell him the exact same thing that the first points had. Sure, they weren't completely useless, since then Max could look at the variation in response time, but they weren't nearly as useful as points from completely new locations would be.

It. Was. Frustrating.

Max scowled at the air, pen tapping the pad of paper that he had pulled out to help him brainstorm a new plan of attack. The TV was playing in the background, a bit of background noise to help Max think, but he still wasn't coming up with any new ideas.

He couldn't just skip school and wander around the city in hopes of finding people who were getting mad. That would be impractical.

Once summer arrived, perhaps Max could try to stake out spots that tended to see a lot of people akumatized, specially selected to give him as much information as possible- or, to put it more clearly, spots that weren't close to the school. There were a number of parks in the area, or places where tourists and locals alike got fed up with congestion and lines and overly-aggressive pigeons-

"Aha!" Max exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Mr. Pigeon!"

Markov blinked at him. "Pardon me?"

"Mr. Pigeon- or, rather, Mr. Ramier. He's got to be one of the most akumatized people in Paris!" Max was on his feet- when had he gotten up?- and pacing now. "He gets chased out of public areas and akumatized pretty much every week. Most of the parks aren't that close to school, either. They're pretty scattered- but then that means that the chances of me happening upon him on any given day while hanging out at a certain location is rather low."

"You may be able to recruit some of your friends for that," Markov suggested. "Then you could split up and all stake out a park. If you make up some other project..."

Max considered that, coming up with a couple possible before discarding them as far too suspicious. Lila had proven that many of his classmates would accept even somewhat (or highly) questionable stories without much question, but Max didn't want to depend on that too much. If word got out somehow- he still wanted to avoid letting Alya know, because the less Hawkmoth knew about what research people were doing on his akumas, the better- it could reach someone who would be more likely to take a closer look at the story and perhaps question it.

Better to come up with a solid, logical story now than go with some flimsy cover and have it questioned later. The question was what he could possibly say that wouldn't raise Hawkmoth's suspicions.

Max thought it over for the rest of the day, coming up with ideas and then calculating the probability that each one would hold up under inspection and the probability that, should what Max was doing reach Hawkmoth, it would result in the supervillain changing up what he was doing. In the end, one excuse stood clearly in the lead.

All he needed to claim was that he was doing a public safety project and so he wanted to figure out the average window of time between when someone got mad and when an akuma arrived, which would then inform people how long they would have to calm down the angry person before it was too late.

(Or it would inform people about how long they had to get a head start before a possible akuma attack started. Max suspected that, if he was actually doing a project like that, most people would choose to use the information to save their own skin rather than trying to help prevent attacks.)

It was believable. It would make people want to help. Max still had to come up with an excuse as to why he didn't want a ton of people to know about the project while it was in-progress, but his main story was at least ready to go.

"I have looked up a record of Mr. Pigeon's appearances and categorized them," Markov announced as Max finished typing up his first draft of the Mr. Pigeon akumatization survey protocol. "And I have come up with a pattern that may help us reduce the amount of time that we spend watching for him. I have emailed the spreadsheet output to you for analysis."

Max nodded, clicking to his email and opening the sheet. On it was an analysis of when Mr. Ramier usually got akumatized on different days of the week, based off of a scan of all of the news coverage of Mr. Pigeon. There were some pretty clear patterns- the sheer volume of Mr. Pigeon's appearances allowed for some properly statistically significant results- and that would help inform where Max and whoever he recruited to help would spend their time. There was also an output chart breaking down the frequency with which Mr. Ramier was akumatized in different locations. Not all of the attacks had that information, but Mr. Pigeon showed up so often that people often took pictures instead of running.

Was it a public safety hazard? Yes, of course. It 100% went against the akuma attack safety suggestions that Ladybug and Chat Noir had released. But no matter how bad of an idea it was, Max couldn't deny that it had provided some very useful data.

"I will add the times and places that are most worth our time to my protocol," Max told Markov, already in the middle of inserting a table in the most relevant spot in their protocol so that it would be easily accessible. If he couldn't get enough people to post one at each place, then the chart would let him know how to most efficiently allocate his resources. "Based on this, we will not even have to wait until summer to start our collection. We could do this over weekends and after school."

If things went smoothly- if they didn't miss more than an attack or two- they would probably get enough data from Mr. Pigeon to be able to move on to the next (and currently undefined) part of the data collection plan. After all, they only needed so many samples at each of Mr. Ramier's favorite locations for Max's analysis.

If things went smoothly. Max had learned before that akumas tended to mess up even the most well-laid plans. They were hardly regularly scheduled (even if Mr. Pigeon did show some pretty distinct patterns) and Hawkmoth could very well decide to switch things up at any time. But provided that nothing changed drastically during their study period, their plan should work.

Now it was time to decide who out of Max's classmates and other friends would be most likely to respect his concerns and not go spreading word of the project to anyone else. Alya was out, of course, and by extension so was Nino. Max estimated the chances of Nino letting something slip- either intentionally or not- to his girlfriend were probably around 92%, which was obviously far less than ideal. He would ask Marinette, who was both far better than Nino at keeping secrets and clearly a fan of the concept less is more when it came to superhero information being shared on the Ladyblog, but...well. She was clearly a very busy person and Max didn't want to add even more to her plate. Adrien was similar, what with his heavily-loaded schedule and outings that were strictly restricted by his father.

Rose and Juleka would both no doubt be more than enthusiastic to help if he asked, but they were both friends with Alya. The probabilities of them telling Alya were in the 80s, which was not an acceptable risk.

They had good intentions, but Max knew that they might not remember to consider the drawbacks of the entire city of Paris knowing about the project.

Alix was a bit of a wildcard, if Max was being honest. The probability of her telling someone else could easily vary between 30% and 70%. It was better not to risk it, at least until he could do a bit of probing around and do a better risk assessment. It would be easy enough to do at school on Monday.

Mylène- and by extension, Ivan- were pretty low-risk. Max had talked with them enough to know that they understood the risks of- well, of pretty much any Miraculous-related information getting released to the public. If Max caught them on their own and explained his concerns thoroughly, the risk of them telling any others was negligible.

Chloe was automatically a no. So was Sabrina. Both were so spiteful and unpredictable- Chloe more than Sabrina- that it would be too dangerous to even try to include them. If Chloe tried to make another demand for the Bee Miraculous and got rebuffed by Ladybug again, she might deliberately tell people about Max's project- or at least the cover for the project that she was told- to try to sabotage the effort.

That only left Kim and Nathaniel in their class as possibilities. If Max told Kim not to tell anyone and why, he trusted his friend to respect that and listen. Nathaniel was likely to be similar, though- as with Alix- Max wanted to do some probing and do a more through risk assessment before including Nathaniel in his project.

It was truly unfortunate that Max couldn't just make a small army of Markovs and depend on them instead of all-too-complicated human helpers, but it would be far too expensive and Max simply didn't have enough time in his day to give them all the kind of attention and interactions that a robot on Markov's level required.

So human helpers it was. Unfortunately.

The recruitment process wasn't as bad as Max had worried it would be. Everyone that he talked to understood why word getting out about his ongoing research could backfire, and badly. They wanted to help, and they were willing to sacrifice their afternoons and weekends to help Max gather the data that he so desperately needed. Nathaniel and Kim even recruited two more people, bringing Marc and Odine into their group along with a couple of Max's tech club buddies and allowing them to pair up to stake out the various parks and other locations. Everyone was briefed before they headed out as a refresher and handed a copy of Max's final protocol, polished to perfection. There was going to be a little bit of deviation from the plan, since some people's parents wanted them home early, but it wasn't too big of an issue.

"I figured that you must have something up your sleeve these past few weeks," Kim told Max as they settled in at their location. They had a good vantage point of the entire park, and would be regularly patrolling the area to make sure that Mr. Ramier didn't settle down in some hidden corner. "You've been buried in your science projects notebook all the time and scribbling stuff down, like, 24/7."

"It's been a work in progress for a while," Max admitted. "A very long while. Data collection hasn't been going very well, though, so that's why I decided to recruit more people and start following Mr. Ramier. I need more data points if my model is going to be of any use."

Kim nodded. "Right! Because you need a bunch of data to make it, uh, statistic?"

"Statistically significant, yes." Max adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Without enough samples, the data may show a trend but it would be unwise to draw conclusions based on insufficient data. A few outliers or even just one could be too much of an influence on the data set."

"Right, right, of course." Kim considered that. "But why don't you just, like, remove the outliers?"

"Because I don't know that that's what they are until I have enough data," Max explained patiently. "I can't just go around removing points right now because they don't give me the answer I wanted."

"Ooh, okay."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Max pulled out his homework and started working on some of the problems for Chemistry, glancing up regularly to see if Mr. Ramier had arrived. His phone was with Markov in his bag, where his little robot friend would be able to see right away if any messages were coming in. Ideally, Mr. Ramier would show up and get akumatized sooner rather than later on Day One, which would allow them to get their data and then head home right away. There would then be a period of three days before they would have to start checking again, because Mr. Ramier always seemed to lay low for several days after an akumatization before trying again.

It was a bit sad, really- Paris just had to allow him to feed the pigeons in a specific location instead of just banning him (temporarily) from whatever park he was in and then they wouldn't have to deal with his frequent akumatization- but it was really, really useful for Max's study.

"Won't the time that it takes for someone to get akumatize be different in different parts of the city?" Kim asked after several minutes. "Or are you just looking at averages in the center of Paris?"

Sometimes Max forgot how observant Kim could be if he wanted to be. "In theory, yes. Time between anger reaching a certain threshold and akumatizations are likely to vary across the city. That's why I'll be including location data along with the time data."

Kim nodded. "Cool." He tipped his head to the side, considering. "Could you use akumas that showed up on TV? Like, someone who got mad onscreen and then got akumatized and came back and attacked everyone?"

Max blinked at his friend, then straightened like he had been kicked. Of course! How many contests had TV stations across the city held since Hawkmoth showed up? And how often had those contests ended in an akumatization? Pretty much all the time, the akuma doubled back and made a beeline straight for the studio. Sure, there might be a window of thirty to ninety seconds when the akumatization could have happened, but it was usually easy enough to narrow that timeframe down to a more reasonable timeframe of ten to twenty seconds..

Really, Max should have thought of that himself. Televised akumas were a very logical place to look.

"I'll have to dig through the footage this weekend," Max decided. He would do it sooner, but his afternoons would likely be taken up with tracking Mr. Ramier and also getting his schoolwork done. "I'll also have to think of some way to add in a little variation with those during analysis, since we don't know exactly when they were akumatized."

"Maybe the security cameras would- wait, no, never mind, that defeats the entire purpose of using the TV footage or whatever," Kim interrupted himself. He grinned sheepishly at Max. "Sorry, my mom's been watching too many of those detective crime shows recently and they always seem to love security camera footage."

"Well, it is a useful source of information in a number of cases," Max offered. He scanned out over the park, then narrowed his eyes when he spotted a very familiar pigeon-grey suit across the way. It looked like luck was on their side after all. "Though I suspect that detective shows may inflate how helpful cameras are in real life."

Kim considered that. "Yeah, I guess. They don't really show a lot of stuff how it actually happens, really. My mom has a friend who hates those shows and I overheard her once pointing out all of the inaccurate stuff in one episode." He shrugged, then perked up and pointed. "Look, there's a policeman! Ready to start the timer?"

Max nodded, pulling out his stopwatch as he watched the policeman approach Mr. Ramier. "Ready to go."

Max was practically humming as he entered the day's data in his program. His protocol had worked perfectly on their first run, and of course it was fantastic that Mr. Ramier had shown up so soon. He and Kim had been able to get their data and then retreat to safety in the building that Max had previously scouted out, allowing them to stay completely clear of the (very short) fight and even get a chunk of their homework out of the way before the all-clear signal was given and they could head home. Their group text thread had let the other members of their team know right away when Mr. Ramier was spotted, allowing them to leave their posts for the day instead of being left hanging. And to top it all off, Kim had made a very good point about using akumatizations on TV, so in theory Max would have even more data to add to his collection.

All in all, it had been a very good first day.

"Once I finish my homework for today, I want to start making a spreadsheet of contests that TV stations in the city have had since Hawkmoth's appearance," Max told Markov. He pulled out his daily planner to scan down the list of assignments that he had to complete for the night. Thankfully he had already completed a number of things during the school day in anticipation to their stake-out potentially taking the entire afternoon, so finishing wouldn't take too long. It wasn't as though there was anything particularly difficult to do. "It may not be urgent, since the footage won't be going anywhere and it's not going to be enough for me to draw any definitive conclusions still, but I'm curious about what they will add to the dataset."

He was also curious about how many of the TV akumatizations he would be able to use. They would have to be ranked or otherwise marked in some way to indicate which of the akumas had a smaller- and therefore more valuable- possible akumatization window, but some might not be usable at all. How many would fall into each category... well, that remained to be seen.

"I can start doing a search shortly," Markov told him. "At the moment, I have another search in-progress."

Max blinked, startled, and then spotted the cable hooked up between Markov and his computer. Clearly his robot had been doing research already while Max was at dinner with his family. He almost asked about what Markov was searching, but then he decided against it. He had learned before that if Markov wanted to share what he was up to, he would once his analysis was complete. "That would be great, thank you."

They lapsed into silence, Max working on his homework and Markov working on whatever his project was. There was a periodic quiet beep as Markov found and filed something of particular interest and the scratch-scratch of Max's pencil busy against the paper, both of them consumed with their work. Max had to force himself to focus on his work instead of running through possible treatments for the TV akuma data points to try to improve the data.

(It was very possible that there wasn't any good way to improve the data and his best bet would be to simply rate each data point by quality, but Max wanted to ensure that if there was any way to improve the data that he would be harvesting, he would think of it.)

Across the room, Markov let out a pleased little chirp before diving into research again. This time when Max glanced over, his computer screen was rapidly flashing through web pages that he recognized as belonging to different TV stations across the city. Clearly Markov had completed whatever research that he had been working on before and had moved on to Max's project.

Hopefully he would find a good number of contests and associated akumas.

Ten minutes later, Max finished up his homework and turned his attention to Markov. The computer screen was still flashing furiously, though it seemed- based on the progress bar flashing across the part of Markov's screen where his "eyes" usually were- that they were in wrap-up phase, doing a final check for anything that might have been missed earlier.

Really, Max wasn't sure what he would do without Markov. It was so nice to be able to get help with his various (non-school) projects. Whenever he hit a snag with coding or ran into trouble with deciding what model or statistical test or equation to use, Markov was already on the job and looking up resources for Max to reference. And while Max wasn't allowed to let Markov help him on school projects- he had had to sign an agreement saying that he wouldn't have his robot do his research for him- Markov was allowed to help Max study by quizzing him and it was very helpful.

"Done!" Markov announced with a triumphant beep. "I have produced a spreadsheet of all of the contests held by TV stations in the city since Hawkmoth's first appearance and links to all of the videos. Some of them have accompanying articles that mention an akuma showing up during the contest, but not all of them mention it."

"I'll start with those, then. Thank you." Max scooted his chair over to his computer, eyes scanning the spreadsheet that filled the screen. There were a fair number of contests to filter through, which was...well, it was odd. One would think that common sense would dictate that people should stop creating opportunities that were absolute breeding grounds for high, akuma-attracting emotions, but- as with the case of Mr. Ramier- clearly that was not the case.

If it weren't for the fact that Max was actively using those opportunities in his favor, he would bring up the odd contradiction directly to the mayor. Chloe would no doubt protest- she still seemed to be under the impression that she would get the Bee again eventually- but Max could point out the economic impacts that the frequent akuma attacks were having on the city. Taking actions to potentially reduce the number of attacks could be the first step in redeeming Paris's reputation in the eyes of the rest of the country and all of the potential tourists that were currently avoiding the city.

Of course, taking Hawkmoth and Mayura down permanently would have a far larger impact, so Max would simply let things run as they were for the time being. Once he had gotten all of the data that he needed from his sources he would approach the mayor, but there was really no telling how long that would be.

"Before you dive too far into the TV contest research, I have come up with another idea to increase the breadth of our investigation," Markov announced, and Max perked up. Another idea? It seemed like they were on a roll now. "How open are you to illegal activity?"

Max sent his robot an absolutely aghast look. That wasn't what he had been expecting! "Um, not at all open!"

Markov tilted his head to the side, considering Max. "Even victimless illegal activity?"

"Uh." Morally, Max still wanted to say no, but he had to admit that part of him was curious. "What, exactly, are you considering?"

"Earlier, your friend Kim mentioned using security camera footage to figure out when exactly contest contestants got akumatized," Markov told Kim. "There were, of course, logistical issues with the suggestions, primarily the fact that security camera footage is not immediately available to the public."

"We would have to ask for it, which would mean telling more people about my project," Max added. "And there's no way to confirm that all of them would keep the secret, or that none of them are connected to Hawkmoth in any way."

"Precisely. So we need to bypass the human factor and hack into the security camera footage of places where akumas appeared. If we can see both when they got upset and when they got akumatized, the time stamps on the footage should tell us how long it took for the akuma to arrive. After that, we can find the coordinates for each of the locations." Markov turned fully to face Max. "I have been looking into the feasibility of the hacking and come to the conclusion that it would not be terribly difficult. Some locations may allow for remote hacking, while others would require me to enter the building. Given that temperatures are rising, it is likely that I would be able to find an open window to go in through and from there, locate the security desk area."

Max considered that. Markov was right: it would be a victimless crime. The buildings in questions shouldn't even be aware that there had been any sort of breech. It would allow their project to be sped up, which in turn would allow for Hawkmoth to be found and defeated sooner. It was incredibly likely that the owners of the assorted businesses that they would be hacking into would have agreed to releasing their footage anyway, it was just that- for security reasons- that they would be bypassing the actual asking part.

"So, what do you think?" Markov prompted. "Should we take advantage of security footage to speed up the process?"

"You know what?" Max asked slowly, hoping that he wasn't going to regret this. He wanted to help take Hawkmoth down, and if this was what it took, then so be it. "I think that we should."

"I hope that you're happy with yourself," Max told Kim the next day at school. He hadn't slept very well, dreams of Markov getting caught and being traced back to Max and both of them getting sent to jail haunting him. "You've gotten Markov doing crime now."

Kim perked up, grinning widely. "Really? Cool!"

"Wha- no, it is not cool!"

Max was pretty sure that he had never been so busy before in his life. His afternoons and weekends were full of stakeouts, watching both Mr. Ramier and the general public. His evenings- and the days when Mr. Ramier had just been akumatized and was unlikely to try to feed the pigeons again so soon- were full of video analysis, going through footage from both security cameras and TV shows. Every time he got a data point, it was entered in his model's spreadsheet. The number of rows increased every day, with points coming from all over the city. Markov was kept just as busy, looking up dates for akuma attacks and hacking into security systems both remotely and on-site to get more footage for Max to review.

Max had been so busy, in fact, that he hadn't really had the chance to see how the new influx of data was affecting his model's output. It would be important to eventually, of course, to see where they needed more points to get the most accurate results, but Max wanted to finish processing the absolute mountain of material that he had gotten before he got distracted by the analysis.

"I'll help," Kim volunteered unexpectedly one afternoon as he and Max headed away from the park that they had been staking out. Mr. Ramier had been spotted at Ivan and Mylène's location, so there was no point in anyone else staying out longer. "It's just watching videos to see if the person shows up and then marking down times and location, right? I have my tablet with me, I could knock out a few streams before my parents expect me home."

Max only had to consider the offer for a second. Kim was the only one of his friends that he had been willing to tell about Markov's less-than-legal method of getting the security camera footage in the first place, and therefore the only one who wouldn't question him about it. "That would be great! Once I'm all caught up, I'll have a better idea of where in the city I need to get more data from to fill out my sample."

"Maybe you'll be done," Kim suggested. "I mean, we've gotten a bunch of stuff from Mr. Ramier. How many akumatizations do you need to get your conclusions, anyway?"

"A larger sample size tends to produce better data," Max replied vaguely, wondering when, exactly, he should come clean to Kim about the actual goals of his project. He had always planned on coming clean eventually to everyone who had helped him, though originally he had figured that it would be best to wait until after Ladybug and Chat Noir had the information in their hands and were ready to take down Hawkmoth. It was possible that an exception could be made for Kim, though, since he had been such a big help in the entire process.

"Yeah, I guess I remember Madam Mendeleev saying something like that before," Kim said cheerfully. "But you have to draw a line at some point, right? Otherwise you're just collecting data for forever."

Max considered his friend for a long moment, weighing pros and cons before coming to a decision. "Yeah, I do have a- a line, as you call it- in mind. We can talk about it when we get to my family's apartment, maybe? I don't want word to get out about what I'm doing ahead of time."

Kim frowned, clearly puzzled. "Wait, you don't want what your line is getting out? Or- wait, do you mean the project in general? But what's the point in gathering data if you aren't going to be putting out the results?"

"It will make sense when I explain it," Max assured him. They rounded the corner, and his family's apartment building appeared down the block. "There may have been some, ah, misdirection when it came to explaining my goals for the project."

"Ooh, misdirection! That sounds like- like spies and secrets and all that cool stuff!" Kim sped up, forcing Max into a jog to keep up. "I can't wait!"

Max could only sigh. Really, considering that he knew exactly how Kim was, he shouldn't have been surprised by that reaction.

With Kim's eager charge leading the way, it didn't take long for the two boys to get into Max's apartment, snag some snacks from the kitchen, and bundle themselves away into Max's room. Max immediately went to boot up his computer, trying to ignore the way that Kim was practically vibrating with excitement.

He probably should have called his cover story something other than a misdirection, even if that was what it was. The 'spy' term was just making Kim way too excited.

"So, the real story?" Kim prompted once Max had gotten his computer up and started transferring some files onto a USB drive so that Kim could look at them on his tablet. "Do I get to know now?"

"I did promise." Max checked one last time to make sure that the data was transferring over correctly, then spun to face Kim. "Remember, this does not leave this room. If Hawkmoth catches wind of what I'm trying to do, all of our work will be for nothing."

Kim nodded. "I promise not to say anything! Cross my heart and hope to die!"

"Thank you." Max took a moment to compose himself and decide where to start, then dove in. "Kim, do you remember how, when I first told you about the project, how you commented that the time frame between when people get upset and when they get akumatized would vary based on where people are in the city?"

"Yeah, since some people are gonna be closer to Hawkmoth's lair or whatever- wait!" Kim practically yelped, jabbing a finger towards Max. "Are you trying to use the times to track Hawkmoth down? Like, you'll make a map of all of the times and make, like, zones or whatever like they do for earthquakes? Or maybe it was some other natural disaster, I don't know. But, like, the center is bright red, and then the next zone out is orange, and then yellow or whatever, and it stands for how much damage was caused. Are you doing that, but with akumatization times? That's so cool!"

Max blinked as he tried to follow that. "That... would have been one approach, I suppose. I decided to go for a slightly more involved model. But yes, the end goal is to track down where Hawkmoth's lair is."

Kim was grinning. "So cool! Totally worth giving up some of my sprint practice time for! So how close are you?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I have gained a great deal of data from the security cameras, but I've been too busy to look at the model output and see if there's any area that's particularly lacking. That's why your assistance will be so helpful- once I'm caught up and have some breathing room, I can look at my model and figure out what attacks will be most worth looking up." Max had been trying to get a good spread of akuma locations, but of course there was only so much control he could have over what data he collected. He had to work with the akumas that showed up, and of those, only the akumas that both got upset and got akumatized within the view of a camera were of any value to him. "That might be what slows me down, actually. If I need points from a specific area that perhaps does not get many akumatizations, I will have to wait for opportunities to appear."

"We could just find, like, a restaurant or something from that area and get Chloe to go there," Kim suggested. "She'll probably be able to create an akuma, no problem."

Max sighed. "We can't just sic Chloe on people to get akumas, Kim. That's not ethical."

"It would be for the, uh, betterment for the city, though! Upset a few people, get a few more akumas, and boom! No more Hawkmoth!"

"He does make a good point," Markov piped up. "The sooner we find Hawkmoth, the fewer overall akumas there will be and the sooner Paris's overall mental health can start recovering."

Max groaned. Maybe he needed to start working on improved human ethics software for Markov. First with the hacking, now with advocating for deliberate (or semi-deliberate) akumatizations! Markov was simply looking at the problem from a numbers perspective, instead of-

Instead of-

Well. Instead of an ethical perspective, perhaps? Except Max knew that there were studies on the effects that akumatization had on people, both the akumatized person and the people who were impacted by the attack. Creating a few strategically-placed akumas to bring an end to the attacks sooner would mean fewer people impacted, in theory, or at least less overall impact.

So would causing akumas actually be considered ethical in this case?

Hopefully things wouldn't come to that. It was a bit of an ethical conundrum and one that Max really didn't want to dive into too deeply right now.

"Well, it looks like the transfer is complete," Max said instead of debating the ethics of purposeful akumatization. "Shall we start? The sooner this is done, the sooner we can look at the model."

Kim practically snatched the USB from Max at once. "You bet! I'll be the fastest video analyzer you've ever seen!"

"Accuracy is more important than speed, if you could."

"The fastest and most accurate!"

"Mhmm."

Silence fell over the room as the two boys started to dig into their files, watching to see if the person who would later become an akuma would show up on camera at the needed times. Max made a face when his first set of files fell short- the man exited the building before becoming akumatized, which meant that he wasn't visible from any of their acquired camera files- and closed out of them, moving the files over to the folder marked for deletion. He wouldn't permanently delete them until his project was complete, just in case any of the data came out strangely and he had to refer to his files to double-check his work or in case they wanted to revisit any of the less helpful recordings and attempt to find more footage.

"Dude, is that Nathalie?" Kim exclaimed suddenly from where he was working. "Adrien's keeper Nathalie?"

Max glanced over, realizing what file Kim must have reached. "Yes, we have footage from the Gabriel design and production building. There was one day when there were three akumas in a row from that building alone. I asked Adrien about it-"

Kim was cackling. "That's so funny! That's Adrien's dad's company! You hacked Adrien's dad's company! Oh man, think about what ol' stick-in-the-mud himself would say if he ever found out!"

"Yes, I'm hoping to avoid that ever happening," Max told him. Then he frowned. "And I don't understand- how is it funny?"

"I don't know, dude, it just is!" Kim was grinning. "I mean, all of these other companies, we don't know who owns 'em. They're just some faceless corporation, you know? But I can't help but picture how red ol' man Agreste would get if he knew that a collège student had gotten into his security system!"

"I suppose." Truth be told, Max still didn't really understand the humor, but he wasn't going to keep trying. He had learned in the past that sometimes Kim found very strange things humorous. "Any luck with the videos so far?"

"Yeah! The first set had a good video of some guy stewing in his office and then getting akumatized there," Kim told him. "No analysis of the other footage from that incident necessary, right?"

Max nodded. Kim had gotten lucky. "Right. We just pull as much footage as possible. Some of it won't be useful."

"Sweet, so I can keep watching Nathalie harassing some poor intern!" Kim considered his screen. "Man, if they're gonna be cruel about people's work, you'd think that they would at least consider moving the company out of Paris so that they wouldn't have to worry about the staff getting akumatized because of the criticisms."

"I'm sure that Mr. Agreste feels that the hassle of relocating would outweigh the benefits," Max commented idly, opening another file. "There would be a lot of time lost associated with a relocation, and Ladybug and Chat Noir generally take care of akumas rather quickly. I've heard that a lot of businesses are banking on this whole issue going away within the next year or two." Was it a wise decision? Perhaps, perhaps not. Max didn't feel himself qualified enough to make that call.

They fell back into silence, working away on their videos. The next two hours passed with only a bit of scattered conversation to break up the quiet, and then Kim's mom tested him to come home.

"Hey, at least we got a good bit done, right?" Kim asked as he handed Max his notes on the videos he had watched and started packing up. "You should be pretty close to being caught up, right?"

Max nodded. He would have footage from the start of one and a half fights to finish watching once Kim departed. "Very close. Thank you for your help today."

Kim grinned. "No problem! Promise me that you'll let me know if anything cool comes up?"

Max barely paused before responding. "I'd have to tell you in person, outside of school. Preferably in either your home or mine, so that we can be sure that we aren't being overheard."

"Right, right, of course." Kim's phone buzzed, and he startled. "Okay, I gotta go. Good luck!"

With that, Kim was gone. Max turned back to his computer, intent on finishing the last of the footage before the end of the evening. It wasn't nearly as fun without Kim there, even though they hadn't really been talking that much, but Max forged on regardless.

Data collection wasn't always the most enjoyable thing in the world, but it had to be done.

"Finished!" Max announced half an hour later, closing his video player and clicking over to the spreadsheet for his model so that he could add the final row of data. "And now for the part I've been looking forward to- seeing the output!"

Markov flew over at once to hover by Max's shoulder. "Let's see it! Then I can start looking up attacks in areas where we need more data right away."

Max didn't hesitate to open the model. It took a minute for the data to load, and then little dots popped up in each of the places where akumatizations had happened. The corresponding time-lines took a moment longer to pop into place, all starting with their length linked to the base factor. As Max moved his mouse around, they pulled towards the cursor. A few adjustments of the factor value brought the lines closer to converging, and Max took the opportunity to look at the spread of points around his rough center. Much to his surprise- and relief, they wouldn't have to resort to having Chloe bully people- there weren't any overly bare areas. Some of his data points were definitely outliers- perhaps Hawkmoth had sent his akuma from somewhere other than his lair- but those could be hidden from the analysis easily enough, and so he did.

Maybe he would look at the outliers later, just out of interest's sake, but Max didn't need anything distracting him from the real analysis.

Laser-focused, Max fiddled and fussed, keeping an eye on the bar on the side of his screen that would tell him when his model had the best fit, aka when his cursor was right where the most of the lines converged (or at the very least, nearly converged). After a bit of fine-tuning and fiddling, Max finally had the center. He clicked to mark it and keep his place, then hid the lines layer of his model so that he could more clearly see the map underneath. As soon as he did, well...

Maybe Max didn't spend much (any) time up on the rooftops like Ladybug and Chat Noir, or flying in news helicopters over the city, but that didn't stop him from immediately recognizing the neighborhood around Hawkmoth's lair. There was his school, and the park that he had eaten lunch in with his friends only a few days ago. There was the fountain that Kim and Alix had had a water fight at only yesterday, splashing each other and any unfortunate passersbys until they were kicked out. There was the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, and the Grand Paris, and right in the center of it all, with a glowing red pin solidly marking the middle...

Well, that was the Agreste Mansion. Which meant- unless Max's model had gone very, very wrong somewhere or Hawkmoth was regularly breaking in past Mr. Agreste's not insignificant security measures- that Hawkmoth resided in the mansion.

Since Adrien was out of the house more often than he was in and was far too nice to be Hawkmoth anyway, he wasn't a suspect. Max could be nearly as sure that Hawkmoth wasn't any of the regular household staff, since being a supervillain would take up a fair bit of time and Mr. Agreste wasn't likely to tolerate something like that. Madam Sancoeur and the Gorilla had to be considered as well, of course, but considering that Hawkmoth was definitely a dude and Max had seen both Hawkmoth and Gorizilla at the same time (or close enough, anyway) on Heroes Day, both could be eliminated from suspicion.

That, of course, left Mr. Agreste.

"Well." Max pushed himself away from his computer, sure that his eyes were huge behind his glasses. "Am I ever glad that we didn't try asking building owners for their security footage. That would have been an absolute disaster."

The next step, of course, was to present his data to the appropriate audience. In Max's case, that meant putting together a PowerPoint that summarized his model's purpose, his data collection, the analysis, and finally, the results. Several times, Max found himself having to scale back his presentation after he put in a little too much detail.

Maybe the equations and coding that went into the development of his model were important and would be interesting to a statistician or programmer, but they weren't relevant to what Ladybug and Chat Noir needed to know. The target audience had to drive what information was presented. If they had questions, Max was more than willing to spend more time going over his model with them, but he knew that the superheroes' time was likely to be in short supply. The main reason for including any of his procedure was to convince them of the validity of his results, and Max had to remember that.

(He was still totally going to give an extended version of the presentation to his mom once Hawkmoth was arrested, though. She would appreciate all of the equations and coding that had gone into his work and they could geek out about it together.)

Finishing the presentation only took a couple days, rearranging and trimming down the slides so that they would be as straightforward as possible while still conveying everything that he needed them to. Max practiced his delivery, making sure that the transitions between slides weren't needlessly excessive and wouldn't slow him down.

And then it was time to actually tell Ladybug and Chat Noir.

If he were anyone else, Max probably would have struggled to get in contact with the superheroes. It wasn't safe to get in close to the battles, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir always took off so fast once the fight was over. Maybe in the early days of their akuma battles the superheroes would hang around, but with the possibility of Hawkmoth lurking and pouncing on them at the end of a fight, those days were over.

But Max had Markov, who could follow battles around without being as conspicuous and who could zip up to rooftop level without a problem. It still took a couple of tries for Markov to get close enough to get their attention before they zipped off, but it was far easier than Max trying to get in contact with them himself.

"I hope this is a good time," Ladybug said that evening as she hung half in Max's window. Behind her, Max could see Chat Noir lingering, keeping an eye out for- well, for Hawkmoth, probably. "Markov said that you had something to show us?"

Max nodded, taking a deep breath. He was feeling oddly nervous now, far more than he had ever felt for school presentations. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was familiar with Hawkmoth, or at least Hawkmoth's son. If Hawkmoth were a stranger, perhaps sharing the news would be easier. "I do. I have a short PowerPoint that I would like to share with you regarding a project that I've been working on. The project was an effort to track Hawkmoth down using a statistical model."

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look and then both slipped into Max's room, shutting the window tightly behind them. Ladybug took a moment to shut the curtains, too, ensuring that no one would spot them inside of Max's room.

"I've not heard of anyone using statistics to track down Hawkmoth before," Chat Noir said as Ladybug ensured that there weren't any gaps in the curtains. "It's certainly a different approach."

"We could use a different approach," Ladybug chimed in, finally leaving the curtains and joining them. "Everything else that we've tried has ended up with a dead end." She looked over at Max. "Do you want our help with data collection, or do you already have what you need?"

"I already have my results," Max told them, unable to help smiling at the superheroes' reactions. Their eyes had gone wide and Chat Noir's jaw had dropped. He nodded to the two chairs that he had set up in front of a section of wall where he would project his presentation. "If you want to sit..."

The superheroes sat. Max took another steadying breath, mentally apologized to Adrien- after all, his classmate's life was going to be changing a lot soon- and then flipped on his projector. The first slide of his presentation showed up on the wall, and Max started talking.

"Several months ago, I realized that logically, the time between emotion onset and akumatization should vary depending on distance from Hawkmoth's lair..."

Within the week, Mr. Agreste had been defeated and put in jail, immediately followed by his assistant. After some investigation, Adrien's mom had been found in some sort of magical coma and was apparently being nursed back to health with the help of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien was temporarily staying in the guest room at the Dupain-Cheng house- why he had decided to go there and not to Nino's house was a mystery to Max, but he supposed that he didn't need to get every question answered- while his mom recovered. He didn't seem to hold any ill will towards Ladybug and Chat Noir for arresting his father, nor- thankfully- towards Max or their other classmates for the investigation that had led to the discovery of Mr. Agreste's secret identity.

Logically, of course, there was no reason to be upset with anyone other than Mr. Agreste himself, and perhaps Nathalie, but Max knew by now that human emotions did not always follow logic. He certainly had to admit that if he were in Adrien's place and his father had been arrested for being a supervillain, Max would more than likely be looking for someone else to blame, because his dad? A supervillain?

But Adrien hadn't reacted like that. In fact, he seemed happier now that his father and Nathalie were in jail. Max supposed that the difference probably largely boiled down to the differences between how Max's dad treated him and how Mr. Agreste had treated Adrien and the resulting differences in their relationships.

Adrien might have cared for his father, but there was no denying that they had a strained relationship at best. Mr. Agreste was overcontrolling and absent at the same time, never showing up for any of Adrien's activities or eating meals with his son but refusing to let Adrien go out for at least half of their outings as a group. Theirs was the exact sort of relationship that was on a fast track to have Adrien move out as soon as lycée ended and go no-contact with his father as soon as possible.

Or at least that was what Max was assuming, given the few interactions that he had seen between Adrien and Mr. Agreste in person and what he had heard (and overheard) from his classmates. He might be wrong, of course, but that was just what it had seemed like from that and from what Max had read online during his dives into online forums to attempt to educate himself better about human social interactions.

Either way, Max wanted to at least try to reach out to Adrien and make sure that the two of them would be okay. Presumably Adrien's closer friends had shelter and food covered, but if Adrien needed to miss class because of the trial or anything, Max could take notes to give him or offer tutoring to help him keep up.

Across Paris, people were thrilled to learn about Hawkmoth's defeat. Ladybug and Chat Noir had let on to the fact that they had had a civilian's help with tracking Hawkmoth down- that a civilian had done all of the work, actually- but, in accordance with Max's request, they hadn't mentioned names or given out details on what the civilian had done to track Hawkmoth down. He just didn't want the attention or the scrutiny about how he had gotten the data from the assorted businesses.

Sure, maybe having "located Hawkmoth via use of statistics and modeling analysis" would have been a good thing to have on his resume once he got to the age when he would be applying to university or to jobs, but there was enough time between now and then that he should be able to come up with a few other projects that would look good, ones where he didn't have to break the law to get the data he needed.

(That wouldn't look good on a resume- or, more likely, on a background check.)

Still, not being able to use his Hawkmoth-finding project wasn't going to bring Max's mood down. His project had been wildly successful after a discouragingly slow start, and the results... well, they had been incredibly far-reaching. The project had played a vital part in bringing an end to the attacks that had terrorized Paris for far too long, and now everyone in Paris had far less to worry about.

Max didn't need recognition. The satisfaction of a job well done... well, it made every minute of data collection analysis more than worth it.

#Miraculous Ladybug #my writing #max kante

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meridiansdominoes · 4 years

Text

Showers of Starlight

Incoming blyla incoming blyla incoming blyla

This issssss the sequel to ‘Catch the Rain’ that was posted a few weeks ago! @thatfunkyopossum HAPPY BIRTHDAY UR MY FAVORITE <3

(this is like, 6k words?? Is that okay to post in this weird tumblr format?? It’s gonna be mad long... well idk,,, but here it is anyway on ao3 too in case you don’t want to destroy ur dash with a long post heh

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24758554

Aayla finds her Commander standing out on the little balcony, dressed in civilian clothes and staring out into the city. Night turns Coruscant into an endless sea of luminescence. Air lanes become lines of shooting stars pressing onward in the darkness. Skyscrapers around them glow with the light of thousands of residents inside, creating trails of brilliance that ascend up towards the black sky.

By the time Aayla arrives at the complex that serves as the temporary housing for her officers while they’re on leave, the sun has disappeared from the sky, and she’s mentally exhausted. A full report to the Jedi Council takes effort and energy that she has to fight to produce, but she is required to give her debriefing before she can get some rest herself. She’s relieved that it’s over now, but there are still a few things to take care of. Her men need to be fully settled, otherwise Aayla won’t be able to sleep well tonight. She knows that Bly will take care of things, but she needs to verify their wellbeing for herself for her own peace of mind. Here on Coruscant they’re finally safe, and she has to remind herself of that somehow.

Though visiting Bly to check on the men isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If anything the thought makes some of her exhaustion leave her as she steps into the lift that will take her up to her Commander’s quarters. The journey upwards is smooth and quick. When the doors open on the correct floor, Aayla steps out and immediately finds one of her officers in the hallway, clad only in his blacks.

“General!” Captain Brine says in surprise, blue eyes widening. He snaps off a quick salute automatically. The effect is dampened slightly by the pillow he has tucked under his other arm. “What are you—oh. Looking for the Commander?”

Aayla nods. “Are you well, Captain?”

Brine shrugs.

“Well enough, sir. It’s a bit odd to not be on the ship, but the rooms are nice. Though the pillows leave a lot to be desired. I had to go find myself a new one.”

Aayla huffs out a tiny laugh.

“I’ll take your word for it, Brine. Could you direct me to Bly’s room?”

“The last one on the left, sir,” Brine answers without hesitation. He meets her gaze carefully, something unreadable flashing across his face. “He’ll try to keep working instead of getting some rest like he should. Maybe you can help him where I can’t.”

Aayla blinks at her Captain, but before she can fully make sense of the words Brine is already retreating towards his own room. He closes his door behind him, leaving Aayla alone in the hallway. She sighs and makes her way to the end of the hall until she stands in front of the very last door on the left.

It isn’t locked. The door slides open when she knocks lightly on the durasteel. She steps inside. The rooms that Brine had described as ‘nice’ are small and spartan in design. Nice is not the word Aayla would have used, but they’re a step up from the barracks to her men. There are three tiny spaces all hooked together—a small reception area, a tiny unused kitchen, and an even tinier bedroom. Aayla can see through the entire apartment.

Bly is nowhere in sight, although his armor is neatly stacked on the table in the little kitchen. Aayla hesitates for a moment, confused, until she notices the transperisteel door flung open against the far wall. Cream colored floor-length curtains hide the actual doorway from view. She makes her way through the apartment and pushes the curtains aside.

Coruscant is far too polluted for its inhabitants to see the stars that stretch above them through the smog. For some residents, the brilliant night is the closest they will ever get to seeing space around them. It is beautiful, in its own way. From the balcony of Bly’s window it seems as if he is poised on the edge of a glittering nebula, watching the colors swirl in hypnotic patterns and glitter quietly in the dark.

Bly is framed by the ambient light of the city. Aayla allows herself to just watch him for a nanosecond. She can’t see his face, but the light plays off of his tan skin in such a flattering way that she can’t avert her gaze. There’s a datapad in one of his hands. She raps lightly on the wall to alert him to her presence. He turns a little too fast, free hand jerking down to his side for a weapon that isn’t there right now. Once he’s seen her, he stiffens a little bit into a loose attention. One eyebrow raises slowly.

“General?”

Aayla doesn’t respond immediately, mostly because her brain stalls as she finally takes full stock of what he’s wearing.

He’s dressed in a loose white shirt with a low neckline that reveals his collarbone and the hint of a gold tattoo over his chest that disappears under the fabric. Her eyes pause on the smooth skin of his neck before she forces herself to drop her gaze—but that just makes things worse, because without the usual armor smoothing out the lines of his body she can see every muscle in his arms. His biceps are... impressive. She spends a moment just... drinking it in, because who knows if she’ll ever get to see this ever again. The tight black pants completing his outfit certainly don’t help her concentration.

Bly coughs suddenly. She glances back up to look him in the eyes. Now that she’s already thinking about such details, it’s hard to stop. The splashes of gold against the slant of his cheekbones is distinctly alluring. Aayla struggles to pull her thoughts out of the downward spiral and grimaces inwardly. She’s left him standing there for a heartbeat longer than necessary. She quirks one lek in a hasty greeting.

“At ease, Commander. I just wanted to ask you if the last of the reports have come in yet.” Aayla steps out onto the balcony to join him. She does, in fact, have the self-control necessary to keep her gaze from roving across his exposed skin this time, as tempting as it is.

Bly’s body language loosens. He leans against the railing again and taps at his datapad, scrolling through a list of reports. She can see tiny pinpricks of light reflected from the city skyline in his eyes. Aayla settles herself against the railing next to him as well, content to wait as he runs through his mental checklists.

She reaches out with the Force and grounds herself against his presence. It’s always bright and soothing and mellow to her in a way that she’s never felt before, not even among Jedi. She’s drawn to it. Today his mind is smooth, pulsing gently with peace and relief to finally be on leave. It’s rare that she gets to feel him in that state of mind. Bly is always concerned about something—about the men, about a campaign, about hyperspace routes, about shipping documents… about her.

Perhaps he thinks he is subtle, but Aayla sees far more than he realizes.

She notices when his gaze lingers on her, when he hesitates with his mouth hanging open as if he wants to speak before closing it and marching stiffly away. She notices when he bristles with anger and places himself between her and the foolish males that do not see the lightsaber in favor of inspecting her curves. She notices the fleeting smiles that cross his face when he thinks that she isn’t looking.

She wonders if he’s ever noticed the similar expressions that cross her own face.

There has been an odd tension in the Force lately. It’s a steady buzz, just present enough to nag at her as if ordering her to pay attention to something. It doubles whenever she speaks with her commander. Aayla thinks that she understands why now. Perhaps. Tonight is as good a night as any to either confirm or dispute her theory… if she is brave enough. If she is wise about how she approaches the subject.

It’s a risk, but it’s one that she’s willing to take. Determination floods her veins.

Bly sighs and looks up from the datapad with a nod of approval.

“I’ve got every report, sir. We’re good to go. I’ve even got the ship’s maintenance schedule here.” He grins wryly. “If only it were like this every time. The crew have sent all the records to me quicker than usual so that they can be off duty faster.”

Aayla chuckles.

“It would spare you a large amount of stress, at the very least,” she comments in amusement. Bly rolls his eyes.

“Force forbid,” he mutters. There’s something so easy about standing next to him, about the civilian clothing, about the casual conversation. Aayla feels a strange pang of jealousy. How easy would all of this be if they weren’t soldiers, if she were not a Jedi? She’s never doubted her purpose before, but Bly is the catalyst for many such thoughts.

Bly lifts his free hand to rub at his face. She glimpses a line of gold curling up his arm, disappearing into his sleeve. She reaches out to touch it without even thinking, brushing her fingers along the line and marvelling at how his something that should feel metallic and cold under her hand is warm and soft instead. She traces the tattoo higher, stopping just before she reaches the barrier of his sleeve. Part of her wants to follow it further. The thought abruptly makes her mouth go dry.

“It suits you,” Aayla tells him honestly. He freezes up. For an instant, she feels muscles bunching under his skin. She pulls her hand away quickly, afraid that she’s crossed a line, and reaches out with the Force to check if she’s offended him in any way. Perhaps the tattoo is in memory of a lost brother, or a hard battle that he hadn’t wanted to remember right now—

When she brushes Bly’s mind she finds it full of static. His thoughts are racing almost too fast for her to make sense of them. After a moment he seizes them and wrestles them into submission. He swallows once and nods at her politely.

“Thank you, sir,” he says. Calm, controlled. If she hadn’t glimpsed his thoughts she wouldn’t have known any better. But she does know, and the realization makes amusement and perhaps a hint of mischief course through her. If this is how he reacts to a simple compliment, she can’t imagine how he would be if she were to—

Force. Enough of that.

“Have the men gotten settled?” she asks quietly, retreating away from his mind for the time being. He straightens at the question, shoulders drawing back.

“Yes, sir. They’re alright.” Then he winces. “They’re… excited. We haven’t gotten a good amount of leave in a while. I was thinking of drafting an apology letter to Fox tonight, just in case.”

Aayla laughs.

“They deserve to have their fun,” she comments, leaning against the railing and staring out at the skyline in front of them. “We’ve had a busy few months.”

Bly drags in a deep breath and exhales slowly.

“Yeah,” he agrees quietly. “They were getting tired. This will be good for them.”

“And for us,” Aayla adds. He hesitates, unsure of how to respond. She takes the opportunity to lean over him and pluck the datapad from his hand. A protest rises on his lips, but she shoots him a look, and he bites his tongue. “You deserve rest just as much as the rest of your men do, Commander.”

He nods in reluctant agreement, resting one elbow against the railing and slumping a little. He isn’t completely relaxed, but it’s more than he had been a few moments ago. Improvement.

Silence settles over them. It isn’t uncomfortable—on the contrary, it’s peaceful. A light breeze stirs through the air. Aayla glances up at her Commander, squaring her shoulders a bit. There is an opportunity here, a chance to act. She takes it.

“What would you like to do after the war, Bly?”

He blinks at her, taken aback. To be fair, she’s never asked him something like this before. During the heat and smoke and fire of a campaign she’d never felt as if it were an appropriate question to solicit. She watches him consider it. He glances down, picking at the loose white shirt as if suddenly unsure of himself.

“I’m not sure, sir,” he answers slowly. “I was created to be a soldier. I can’t really imagine myself doing anything else with my life. What… what would you like to do?”

Aayla hums.

“I suppose I will continue to be a Jedi. Though it will undoubtedly be strange. We’ve taken the roles of Generals so easily. Many will struggle to leave it behind.”

His expression flickers as something unreadable passes across his face.

“Will you?”

She falters.

Aayla will struggle. She already knows that, as surely as she knows that the sun will rise in the morning. Perhaps a few years ago that would have concerned her, but today she accepts it and wonders, not for the first time, if she even will want to leave it behind. Not for the power, not for the thrill of command, but for the men. For Bly.

The Council would be appalled to hear that. Quinlan Vos would be thrilled.

“I will not leave my men behind, even if the title of General is removed from me,” she tells Bly firmly. It’s so easy to be honest with him. It’s part of the reason why they work so well together. She sees something in Bly ease a little at her words.

“That’s good, sir,” he says. Without warning he tenses again, taking a shallow breath. “I don’t necessarily know what I want to do after the war, but I do know that it wouldn’t be worth my time if you weren’t there as well.”

Her heart stutters in her chest. He turns his face back to the skyline, as if immediately berating himself for the comment. Aayla resists the urge to reach out with the Force and find the true meaning of those words, to understand everything left unspoken there.

“In that case, I would welcome your company,” she responds quietly. Bly shifts his weight just a little. Some of the strain eases from his shoulders at her acceptance. His words hadn’t been an offer, not exactly, but it had been a bold statement—especially for Bly, who understands his priorities and selflessly resists the feelings that he so clearly wants to act upon. Aayla senses conflict in him, a constant battle between remaining stoic and throwing all caution to the wind.

It would be a lie to say that she did not feel the same thing.

There is a chain of command. There is a Jedi Code. There are rules, both dictated and not, that must be followed. In all her life she has never found herself wishing that it were not so until now.

Bly pulls away from the railing of the balcony, taking a step back. His tattoos gleam like liquid gold across his arms as he moves into a different light.

“I… I’ll get some rest then, General. You should too,” he suggests carefully. Too carefully. She is consistently impressed by his restraint. If it weren’t for his careful self-control she would have fallen a long time ago, but he balances her out perfectly in that as well as everything else. She doesn’t want him to leave yet.

She catches his arm as he tries to turn away with her own hand. Both of them freeze. Aayla looks down at her hand and is suddenly fascinated by the way the blue of her skin contrasts with the warm brown of his.

“Bly. Stay with me?”

She doesn’t have much right to ask that of him. It’s his room, after all. But Aayla doesn’t imagine the little tremor that runs through his body as he pulls his arm away. She lifts her head to meet his gaze and is stunned by the storm of conflict in his eyes.

“General… I don’t think…”

“Stay,” Aayla repeats softly. She ever-so-gently brushes at the edge of his mind again to make sure she isn’t pressuring him. She won’t force him into something he genuinely doesn’t want to do.

Bly’s mind is always so welcoming to her. She doesn’t even think that he’s aware of how readily it opens to her, of how easily it shares its secrets with her. For that reason she chooses to keep her distance for the most part, because she refuses to take advantage of him in that way. If she must reach for his thoughts, she keeps the connection as shallow as possible.

On occasions she’s seen his mind flare brilliantly when she’s nearby until he stuffs the light away under a grey shield of professionalism. She catches glimpses of it when he’s not being careful—when they’ve won a campaign and the men are celebrating in a fever, adrenaline and relief and the thrill of success spinning through the air. When she tells him that her recklessness had indeed been part of the plan and he only responds with an eye-roll and a fond chuckle. When he changes an entire battle strategy because she makes a single offhand comment about how she’s worried about destroying a beautiful forest.

Never once has she felt his mind grow heavy and dark with the sick lust that so many other men succumb to when she approaches. When desire does escape from the deeper recesses of Bly’s mind it is only visible for an instant as a bright flash of heat before he shuts it down without mercy. His respect for her is tangible even without a glance at his thoughts.

Right now, his mind is hesitant. She can sense that he wants to stay, but he is afraid as well. He’s worried for what he might do if he does remain, for what she might think, for what the men might say.

If only he could see into her mind. Aayla thinks a bit wryly that he wouldn’t be as afraid if he could feel her own thoughts on the matter.

“I would like it if you stayed,” she reiterates, just so that he understands that this isn’t an order, isn’t something that he’s required to accept. “Though you are welcome to get some rest if you wish.”

It’s a dangerous game that they’re playing. The attraction, the want, is mutual, otherwise it wouldn’t be as potent as it is. Aayla is tired of ignoring the bantha in the room. War takes and razes and tears down everything in its path. For once she wants to take something for herself.

Bly clenches his jaw and nods once.

“I’ll stay,” he acquiesces quietly. In the distance, faint police sirens become audible. Aayla can’t help a tiny smirk at the way Bly’s expression turns pained.

“There are millions of life-forms living nearby, Bly, I’m sure the men are fine. They probably don’t have anything to do with it,” she teases. He rolls his eyes.

“If I don’t get some sort of complaint in the morning I’ll be extremely surprised,” he grumbles. The grumpy amusement on his face is so utterly endearing that she steps forward without even thinking about it.

“Bly…”

His name comes out of her mouth with more warmth than she’d intended. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Aayla.”

She shivers. Her name rolls off of his tongue in the most delightful way. She draws a little closer to him, just enough to be intruding in his personal space. When he finally opens his eyes to look at her again she can see his defenses crashing down, crumbling as she reaches out to trace her fingers along the gold across his cheek.

He swallows hard as if bracing himself and reaches out a hand. His fingers brush against one of her lekku tentatively. She makes a soft noise of encouragement, and his touch grows a little more firm, sliding up to rest just at the junction of her skull. Aayla sighs. She leans forward and rests her forehead against his.

That makes him pause. His eyes go wide, as if he’s only just realizing what he’s doing. He jerks away from her so fast that she briefly loses her balance. The absence of his touch, as fleeting as it had been, makes her chest ache.

“Aayla, I—General. General, Force, this isn’t—I can’t. You have your—the Code, and the regs—”

Aayla exhales.

“And what if I wanted to choose, just for a moment, that they did not exist, Commander?” she asks him. “The time for hesitation is over. I will not sit in silence and wait until the war takes even you from me.”

Bly’s expression contorts. The edges of his Force presence go jagged.

“It isn’t that simple,” he forces out. “We could pretend all we want, but that wouldn’t change the rules.”

“Some would say that the rules are outdated,” Aayla counters. She feels a sharp flash of frustration. It’s tempting to let it stew and grow, but she does her best to let it go.

“That doesn’t matter, sir. We couldn’t ever… if anyone ever noticed, you would be stripped of both your rank and your title as a Jedi Master. I won’t be responsible for that.”

She mulls over his determined words with a sad fondness. He would give up everything he ever wanted just to keep her safe.

“Fortunately, you are not responsible for that,” she replies smoothly. “I am quite capable of making my own decisions. If I were to be expelled from the Jedi Order it would be because I chose that path.”

He stares her down, horrified. Then he narrows his eyes and sets his jaw.

“I would rather have you with me—with us, with the battalion—as a General and nothing more, than not have you at all.”

Aayla’s frustration comes back, stronger this time. She frowns at him.

“As I told you before, I will not leave my men behind, even if the title of General is removed from me. Nor will I leave my men behind if the title of Jedi is stripped from me. This is a risk that I am willing to take.”

Bly grimaces and tips his head back, sighing at the sky.

“Sir, regardless, I’m not—I’m not worth that risk. I’m a clone. This isn’t just inappropriate, it’s unfair to you, and I can’t—”

“That is not what I believe,” Aayla interrupts sharply. She feels just a jolt of anger, of outrage that he’s been conditioned to think like that. The emotion is difficult to banish. “You are worth far more to me than you could ever realize.”

He twitches and looks away fast. The rise and fall of his chest comes quicker now. His mind undulates with uncertainty and fear. The uncertainty is understandable, but the fear—that, she doesn’t understand. She steps close to him again and watches him tense, glancing at her as if worried of what she’ll do.

“What are you afraid of?” she asks in genuine surprise. She is just as new to this as he is, after all, and she wants answers. Bly lets out a stuttering breath.

“I don’t know,” he rasps. The words ring with honesty. An idea flits on the edge of Aayla’s mind. She reaches up to touch his temple. Despite everything, he leans into the touch.

“Let me see,” she requests. For a long moment, he doesn’t say anything, just stares into her eyes. Ever so slowly, he dips his head in a small nod. Aayla closes her eyes.

When she reaches for his mind, his thoughts all but pull her inside. In an instant she’s deeper into his psyche than she’d originally meant to go. All of his emotions roll over her like a wave. She tries to pull away from them, but it’s too late, and she gets thrown into a whirlwind of sensation—

It’s overwhelming. The first thing to hit her is a tide of devotion so fierce that it feels like a firestorm against her own mind. A distinct longing is next, waxing and waning in strength as he struggles to keep it in check. Then there is a devastating clash of loyalty and restraint and desire and helplessness that makes her head spin.

In the center of it all, she sees herself.

It isn’t what she expects at all; isn’t even close to how she imagines herself in her own mind. She stands against an infinite stretch of darkness, lighting the way with her lightsaber outstretched as a brilliant blue beacon. She can sense Bly’s instinctual inclination to follow regardless of where she will lead—even if it means death, even if it means something worse. Through Bly’s eyes she is glorious and powerful and ethereal. Except then there is a sharp contrast, because she fights with all the vigor of a warrior but then she turns to look at him and everything goes soft and suddenly he is overcome by admiration and fondness and a hesitant, tentative love—

Aayla reels back. She struggles to stay above the sea of affection and desire and passion that follows after her doggedly, as if it can’t continue to exist without showing her everything now that she’s stumbled across it. She is jolted to reality. Both of her hands are curled tenderly around Bly’s skull. His eyes are squeezed shut.

She trails her gaze over his face. Aayla is flustered and panting. She had known that he feels something for her, but she’d never realized to what extent. His self-control is even more impressive now that she’s caught a glimpse of what he truly thinks.

“Bly—you—?”

He blinks his eyes open and immediately lowers them in shame.

That won’t do at all. Determination swells in her heart along with a strange sensation of desperation, because she’d known, but she’d never truly understood. He’d kept the full extent of his feelings carefully locked away, and when parts of it had escaped they had only implied a mere fraction of what was really going on inside his head.

She wants—needs—him to understand that it goes both ways.

When she enters his mind again, she lets Bly’s emotions wash around her instead of hitting her full force. She sinks deep, catching glimpses of memories and snippets of sound—

A battlefield shouldn’t be alluring, but with fire swirling around her and sparks drifting past them, she’s more glorious than anything else he could ever imagine.

He wishes that he could express the sensation that he feels whenever she looks at him like that, how his heart seems to swell three sizes and continue expanding until it’s all but bursting out of his chest.

Blue. Blue. Blue. He can’t get the color out of his head, can’t stop his eyes from trailing over her skin and noting all of her visible scars, can’t focus right even though he knows that he needs to concentrate.

She makes a bad call. Not even the best Generals are without fault. Brothers die. For all that he admires her she is still flawed, but somehow that doesn’t detract from how badly he wants her, from how much he cares. She is imperfect and scarred but he loves her all the more for it, for how she fights to become better with every breath she takes.

It’s raining. She looks happy. She looks at peace. Her eyes are bright. She’s beautiful. He wants to reach out and touch her. He aches because he can’t.

Nothing will ever come out of his feelings but he will content himself with the fleeting sensations of joy he finds when she presses her spine to his in the middle of a battle and fights with absolute certainty that he’ll be there to guard her back.

Jedi aren’t immortal and that has never been more obvious now. She is sick and miserable and tired. He convinces her to leave the bridge under his command for the day and go get some rest. When he drops by her room to update her on the Separatist’s movements she is sprawled out on her bunk, mouth hanging open and drooling. It is possible the most unflattering view of her that he’s ever seen. He hardly cares. He sits next to her anyway, a grin springing to his lips as she stirs and blinks up at him, surprised at his presence. There’s nowhere else that he’d rather be.

He hadn’t been created to love. Sometimes he wishes that he had been.

There. Hidden in that thought Aayla finds hints of darkness. She catches a hold of the trail of insecurity she had originally intended to follow and chases after it.

Chain of command aside, Jedi code aside, anything he feels for her is foolish. Bly is not unique, not special despite his rank. Even if there were no restrictions he has millions of brothers who all look the same, so why would she pay any attention to him at all?

He is Kaminoan property. There is no place for love in his purpose. He barely even understands the concept even though he knows the word. He couldn’t possibly offer her what she wants, isn’t worthy to even try. He’s just a clone, nothing more.

It hurts her to feel how deeply those thoughts are woven into his mind. She tugs at them carefully and feels him lurch. Somewhere in the real world she feels hands clutching at her shoulders, but she can’t focus on that right now.

She won’t be able to replace the thoughts, can’t destroy them as much as she would like to. Instead she presses her own thoughts over his, carefully so that he can sense every detail.

Gold is enthralling to her now. Her eyes get stuck on it automatically. She can only think of armor and tattoos and eyes and tan skin—and a steady presence beside her that she wouldn’t trade for the galaxy.

They are alone and desperate and fighting. Aayla pushes herself to move faster, to fight harder, to continue even though her limbs are shaking because she won’t let him die, not today. It would hurt more than anything to replace a battalion but it would tear her into pieces and leave her incapacitated to lose Bly.

It’s raining. She coaxes him to step into the open and tilt his head upwards. His Force presence goes still and calm as he stares up into the clouds above them. Raindrops settle in his hair like tiny glass orbs and scatter across the tattoos on his cheeks. She wants to reach out, she wants, she wants. She senses that he does too, but then he pulls away and she marvels at his control even though her chest contracts in disappointment.

He stands against a hailfire of blaster bolts, unshaken, grounding her along with the rest of his brothers, pistols blazing. She draws strength from his courage and pushes forward. She trusts him with her life. She knows with unshakable certainty that Bly will have her back.

It’s late. The hangar is empty except for them, seated on top of a LAAT with the hangar bay doors thrown wide open to show wide-open space above them. When she turns her head over to look at Bly she sees a wide-eyed awe on his face. He marvels at how different the stars look from here than on Kamino. His joy is tangible. Aayla only has eyes for him. She feels warm and happy and light in a way that she’s never felt before.

He smiles at her fondly and she feels faint suddenly, as if the single breathtaking, handsome, devoted expression is enough to stop her heart.

Love is dangerous because she is a Jedi. But she looks at him and decides that she doesn’t care.

Aayla lets him feel and see and understand every inch of her yearning, every ounce of her awe. His entire mind quakes under her touch. She feels the knot of darkness shiver and unravel a bit. She can’t get rid of it just yet. That will take time. She dares to hope that she’ll get the chance to try soon.

She comes back to herself. Bly’s hands are trembling on her shoulders. When she makes a soft noise of concern he wrenches them off of her and presses his fists against his sides.

“Aayla,” he groans, and he sounds absolutely wrecked. Like he’s seconds from falling apart. His eyes are bright and wide. They’re practically glowing in the dim lighting.

“I want you,” she tells him firmly, forcing every bit of blunt honesty into her voice as she can. She brushes her thumbs across his cheekbones and then lets her hands drop. “This is worth the risk to me, Bly. But it is up to you.”

She puts the choice in his hands and half expects him to turn away, to mull over everything he’s felt, to hesitate again.

He does not.

Instead, he makes a strangled sound, leans in, and presses his lips to hers.

It’s the last thing she’s expecting. She nearly stumbles as a result. His panic spikes into the Force until she grabs his shoulders and kisses him back.

The Force surges in a flare of heat and electricity around them. Bly exhales shakily against her. The brush of their lips is light and tentative. Aayla gathers herself, curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and deepening the kiss. Their mouths slant together. One of Bly’s hands finds her lekku again and strokes it gently. Her knees go weak underneath her at the pleasant sensation, at the feel of his mouth against hers.

When they break apart, Bly is gasping like he’s dying and can hardly believe his own audacity. Aayla feels heat crawling up her neck. She can’t stop panting either, and she doesn’t know what to do with her hands.

She’d hoped to get this far, to help him see that he’s worth it, that this is a risk that she’s willing to take, but she hadn’t expected any of that. This is unfamiliar to both of them.

“I—I didn’t—I—” Bly stammers out, and Aayla just blinks at him, because she isn’t doing much better.

Neither of them say anything for a long moment. Aayla can’t tear her gaze away from his face. He’s still so afraid, but she can see his mind weighing all of the options, struggling to make a final decision.

The pinprick of cold on her forearm makes her jerk. It’s followed by another on her lek, and then another on her forehead.

It’s raining.

Bly sucks in a sharp breath.

It rains once in a blue moon on Coruscant. It isn’t unheard of, but it isn’t common either. Aayla remembers a memory from a forest planet months ago, etched into both of their minds with striking clarity and sentiment. Slowly, Bly tilts his head back until he’s looking up into the sky.

She had shown him that. It sends a thrill down her spine to watch him remember, to feel his Force presence go from raging indecision to solidifying into careful determination.

The raindrops are growing bigger. She can hear them clattering against the balcony around her. A droplet splatters against her nose. She reaches out to brush the water away and goes still when Bly reaches for her hand, threading their fingers together as if he’s afraid that she’s going to change her mind.

“It’s worth the risk,” he whispers, like a prayer. She smiles at him. After a heartbeat, he returns it. “I want... I want you too.”

His words make Aayla feel giddy, like she’s soaring, light as a feather and free as the wind. The rain comes down around them. It would only take a few steps to enter the room and dry off but neither of them move.

She wants to kiss him again. The relief and elation she feels as she realizes that she actually can now is heady. His lips are still parted ever so slightly. When she leans in again, he meets her halfway.

It doesn’t matter that they’re going to get drenched. It doesn’t matter that there’s a chain of command or a Jedi code. It doesn’t matter that there’s a war going on and sometimes it’s safer to not get attached.

She focuses on Bly and finds peace in the rhythm of the rain. It’s worth the risk.

#fanfic #blyla #clone wars #Aayla Secura #commander bly #oh i'm so weak for them #wow jaymes congrats i'm addicted and it's your fault XD #writing

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daeyeolss · 4 years

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how I make my gifs: a tutorial

Hi everyone! Just in case someone asks in the future + for those curious, I'm here with a tutorial on how I make gifs! If you have any questions whatsoever, please do send me an ask! I’ll be glad to help! The gif I made with this tutorial is the one right here!

So... let’s start this tutorial with the programs I use.

Adobe Photoshop 2020 - To make the gifs, majority of the work is done in this program.

TopazLabs (Topaz DeNoise 6 and Topaz Clean 3) - To "denoise" and "clean" the gifs, as the names would suggest. Links for download: Topaz DeNoise 6 & Topaz Clean 3

KMPlayer (an alternative would be PotPlayer, or any other video playing program that allows you to capture the frames) - To capture the frames. - I use an older version of KMPlayer, though I don't know which exact version that is.

Now let’s continue onto how I use these programs to create gifs!

Step 1: After you’ve downloaded the necessary programs, download your video. The way to get the best gifs? Quality videos. That’s the first step. For K-pop performances, I recommend this website (the hq files are in .ts form, KMPlayer should be able to open these). Bookmark it! It’s really handy :) Get the video you want to make a gif from and open it in KMPlayer (or PotPlayer or any other program, but for this tutorial I’ll use KMPlayer). Open your video in said program and look for the part you want to make a gif of. Then press CTRL+G (I apologize because I cannot for the life of me remember if this was a standard shortcut or not)

Step 2: After pressing CTRL+G, you’ll be met with this screen:

I’ll briefly explain the numbered parts, but before that, these are my standard settings and just make sure you have them all the same and it should be good!

1: This is where your captured frames will be extracted to. I have them extracted to the standard folder, but you can change this if you want to. You’ll need this folder later when opening the frames!

2: Like it says, this is the image format. I use PNG in the highest quality, as the name would suggest, for the quality.

3: These are the amount of frames the program captures. Say you put in every 2 or 4 frames, you’ll get more choppy gifs. To get the smoothest gifs, put “every frame” (this in turn will increase the gif size as the amount of frames will obviously be bigger).

Once you’ve put in the correct settings and you’ve put the slider where you want the capturing process to start, press “start” (now, before you do this I recommend putting the video on mute as the audio will start to get kinda demon-y the longer you record lol save your ears pls). Then, when you’ve captured all the frames you need, pause the video, press CTRL+G again and click “stop” and close the pop-up/program.

Step 3: It’s time to open up Photoshop! Then go to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack... (for older versions/another version I used in the past this one didn’t work and I had to use the “Load Multiple DICOM Files...” instead. It should work similarly though, if I remember correctly).

You then get a little pop-up that looks like this:

All you have to do here is click “browse” and navigate to the folder where your captured frames have been saved in. Select all the frames you need, wait for them to load in and then click “OK”!

Step 4: Depending on the amount of frames you’ve selected to load in, as well as the beefiness of your PC/laptop, the frames loading part might take a little while. Photoshop is importing every frame as a separate layer into one file, so just... grab a drink or something and wait a bit! When you’re done waiting, if you haven’t already, go to Window > Timeline. This will show you the animation timeline. For older Photoshop versions this is slightly different (I believe it’s called animation). Then click “Create Video Timeline” and click the 3 squares on the left bottom side (in older versions it’s on the right bottom side, not sure).

Step 5: After you’ve done all that, you’ll want to select all your layers. You can do this by pressing ALT+CTRL+A or going to Select > All Layers. With all the layers selected, you have to go to Layer > Arrange > Reverse. You only have to do this if you used the “Load Files into Stack” option!

Step 6: After reversing all your layers, you’ll want to go to the three lines you see in the following screenshot, and click “Make Frames From Layers”.

As the name suggests, this turns all the layers into frames. I don’t know why but the first frame will always be 5 seconds long, so to make it easy on yourself when you want to check your gif while editing, just put that on 0 for now. You can do that by clicking the seconds under the frame and clicking “No delay”. After this, check to see if you have the right frames and if you need to delete some (you can do this at any point in the process but I didn’t know where to put it in the tutorial oops).

Step 7: Time to crop the gif to the correct size! For this gif I’m using as an example, I’m making it specifically for Twitter, so the sizes aren’t that obvious (for Twitter I usually use a width of 850 px to keep it sharp, for long size gifs (more height than width for example), I add a background so that it eventually still becomes 850x850 pixels). There’s many posts on Tumblr about the correct sizes for gif/photosets, but a brief rundown of my most used sizes: one gif spanning the entire width of the post has to be 540 px in width. Two gifs next to one another need to have a width of 268 px. I use these dimensions the most! For others, you can Google!

Step 8: After you’ve cropped the gif, you can do either of two things: either you first add the coloring of your choice and then sharpen the gif OR you do it the other way around. I usually switch these two around depending on how sharp the gif already looks before sharpening because I can’t stand looking at 2 pixels while coloring (lmao). For this one I’ll do the sharpening first.

The whole sharpening process is actually quite simple but you need to make sure that you do the following little steps in the right order or else it won’t work! Select all the layers (CTRL+ALT+A or Select > All Layers) and then click this little thingy:

Then you’re going to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters

If you don’t do it in this order, your gif will end up... well, not being a gif and not moving. If that happens, track back in your history to see if you did it in the correct order! :)

Step 9: The actual sharpening process! After clicking the “Convert for Smart Filters”, you’ll want to go to Filter again and find the Topaz Labs tabs. Personally, I usually do it in the order of DeNoise first and then Clean, but this is a personal thing, really.

I recommend playing around with the settings to see what fits the gif but here are my go-to DeNoise settings (tip: save these as a preset so you only have to click that for faster giffing!):

And my Clean settings:

Press OK when you’re done with these and then go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. These are my SS settings (just copy these, and again, save as a preset!):

Depending on how sharp you want the gif to be, you can input the same settings or go to this in the layers and change the percentage.

Now that we’re done with these... it’s time to flatten it! Just follow these little steps:

And then you wait. Again. I know.

Step 10: After playing the waiting game, you’ll click the three little squares again and do the same thing you did earlier: “Make Frames Into Layers”. Delete the first frame. Add a coloring of your choice (can be a PSD, can be your own coloring, etc. this is honestly just... playing around with things and see what it can do). After you’ve done coloring, select all your frames (same lines as previous screenshot except now you’ll see a “Select All Frames” option, click it!) and change the time to whatever you like (I usually go for 0.05, 0.06, or 0.07. Again, just play around with this!! Try different things!)

Step 11: Final step! Saving :) I use shortcuts a lot to make things faster so either press ALT+SHIFT+CTRL+S or go to File > Export > Save For Web. Not much to do here, just copy the following settings and save the file!

!!! NOTE: After making a new gif today I realized there’s a weird dotted border on the top of my gifs, it’s a bit difficult to explain but I had no idea what it was. Turns out that the reason why this showed up was because, as shown in the screenshot below, I had “Transparency” selected. If you’re experiencing this too, UNSELECT the transparency and it should be all good!

Also make sure that the “Looping Options” is set to Forever, or else your gif will play only once and then stop!

Tip: While making gifs for Twitter I at one point noticed that if I added in a white background, no matter what I’d do, it’d show up as yellow-y in the preview box. After googling I found that going to the options (1 in the screenshot) and then clicking “Sort by Luminance”, then double-clicking the lightest color (not the transparent one, 2 in the screenshot) and selecting white (or FFF) will get rid of this! This likely won’t be that useful for Tumblr gifs but just in case you ever want to have a white background...!

Then just... save, and upload to Tumblr! :)

Final note: Tumblr has a mix gif size of 3MB. If you have a gifset of 4 gifs you want to upload, all 4 gifs can be max 3MB each. Keep this in mind! If you’re over 3MB, delete a few frames and try again, or resize/crop your gif!

As it turns out, Tumblr has increased their gif size to 8MB, however, the quality tends to get compressed with larger gifs like that so per recommendation: keep them below 5MB! (thank you @yeoli for letting me know!)

I hope this helped! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message and I’ll try my best to answer them.

#tutorial #gif #gif tutorial #kpop #gif making #gifs #idk what to tag this lmao

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yet-another-saberface · 4 years

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Interim Headcanons: Fuyuki -> Orleans

This is the first in what’ll be a series of story posts that are ‘Interims,’ or what takes place in between singularities! (Other than the eventual events.) They have less heavy story content but are still necessary because they do contain character stuff.

This one has a fic section roughly in the middle of the post! It’s around 1500 words & in the first person POV, which is actually what I’m most experienced with writing, so I hope everyone can enjoy that! There should be another short fic post coming out before I start on Orleans that’s less story and more slice of life stuff, but I’m still figuring out what exactly I want to do with that and had everything else done, so I decided to post it now!

We’re summoning some people, so get ready!

Between Fuyuki and the first real singularity, Eva practically refuses to have any downtime. She’s told that she should take it easy, let her leg heal, and wait for them to pinpoint the appropriate rayshift point. At some point they’ll help her set up the summoning circle for backup, but until then, she doesn’t need to be doing anything.

Instead of following those orders, Eva essentially ends up doing the work of multiple people herself. She hangs around the command room, usually standing the entire time, and will rush over to help anyone that seems to be having any difficulties. One of your numbers seems off? She’ll double-check it for you and if it’s correct she can explain exactly why. Tech isn’t working? Not her area of expertise but she’ll troubleshoot it until she can’t anymore, at which point she runs off to find Da Vinci. Something weird happening magically? You better bet she’s all over it and probably pushing you out of your workstation to handle it herself.

After a day or two, Roman notices what’s going on and takes her aside. She’s promptly banned from the command room unless someone asks for her to be there.

She tries to hide her disappointment… Which is surprisingly easy when the only emotion you can really convey at the moment is ‘tired?’ She heads back to her room, takes her boot off, and collapses onto her bed trying to figure out what else she should do, falling asleep in the process.

She wakes up around a full day later with a brilliant idea.

She’s gonna set up the summoning circle and perform the ritual herself. She forgets about the boot and immediately rushes off the Chaldea’s library with the intent of double-checking her memory.

She actually ends up spending a lot more time in the library than she intended when she finds out just how expansive it is. There’s all the books on magic she’s read before, along with literally everything else she could ever hope to find. This is how she finds herself filling a crate with somewhere upwards of 15 books and dragging it back to her room after leaving a note so people know who took them.

Mash catches her as she’s heading back with the books, glad to see that she seems less tired. When Mash offers to help with the books, Eva tries to say no, until Mash notices that she isn’t wearing her boot anymore.

“Senpai, did Doctor Roman say your ankle is okay now?” “Uh… Wait. Right. My ankle is injured. Still. Crap.”

It’s only then that she starts to notice how the pain is coming back from all the unsupported weight she’s been putting on the injury, and finally accepts Mash’s offer to help with the books. When they finally get them back to Eva’s room, Mash makes sure that Eva actually puts on the boot this time. Afterwards, Eva is posed with a question she’s not sure if she should answer.

“What are you planning on doing with all of these books?” A pause. “I was just going to refresh my memory! I’ve done a lot of research into servants and stuff in the past, but I’m not sure how much of it I actually remember…” “That’s a wonderful idea, Senpai! Do you mind if I borrow some of these?” “Oh… No, go ahead! Just uh… Not this one, I was gonna start here!” She conspicuously grabs the book on rituals.

She spends the rest of the day reading up on how summoning rituals work, and later that night, when the fewest people possible are awake, she sneaks off to the summoning room that was pointed out to her earlier…

I open the door to the summoning room to find darkness. It’s unexpected, unsettling. Darkness is not something easily found in Chaldea, where everything is lit up with screens and fluorescent lights. It’s fitting, I guess, that humanity’s last hope should be constantly illuminated. But if that’s the case… Then why is it here, of all places, that I find darkness? Doubt creeps into my mind, as it always does. Millions of questions spring from that first one, slowly weighing me down, and looming over me like a shadow. Is this really a good idea? Maybe there’s a reason they said I should wait for their help setting this- No. I can’t just not do it. I need to prove it. That I’m capable of being the Master that saves humanity. And this is the first step. The light from the hallway illuminates just a bit of the room, but it’s enough that I can see that a circle has indeed already been drawn on the floor. Good. Now I just need to take care of… Everything else. I feel around on the walls by the door for a light panel until I finally knock my hand against it. The room lights up in blues and whites, unlike anything else in the facility, leaving me in awe. This is definitely the place to be doing magecraft. Glancing around a bit more, the room appears to be empty… With one exception. Tucked into the back right hand corner, there’s a small stack of white crates. Okay, then. Let’s start there. I make my way around the edge of the circle that takes up most of the room, ducking my head a few times as I try not to disturb any of the floating bands of light throughout the room. I don’t know exactly what they are, but I can’t afford to take any risks. When I reach the boxes, and carefully remove the lid of the top one to find it full of prism-like stones, each one containing every possible color. They’re big enough that I can only fit one in the palm of each hand, and are lighter than I expect. I set the one I’d been holding back down in the box, rummaging for the book I’d stuffed into my pocket before coming over here. I skim through the pages for just a second before landing on the one I’d marked earlier. Stones, stones… Gems, maybe? Why are these here? I’m halfway down the page when it hits me. They’re probably catalysts. I have no idea if they’re meant to summon anyone in particular, but there’s little chance they’re anything else. Summoning’s supposed to be easier with a catalyst, right? There’s several boxes of these… Surely using a few wouldn’t be noticed. And besides, most catalysts stick around even once the summoning is complete. Most of them. Hopefully that’s how these work. Given that I’m unsure what exactly they are, I grab 3 just to be safe after setting my book down on the floor. With one in each hand and a third tucked against my chest by my upper arm, I carefully inch a toe into the summoning circle. Nothing happens. …Okay then. It’s probably not activated yet. That’s good. I set the stones down in the very center, one at a time, so that they’re arranged in a triangle formation, before walking out of the circle as quick as I can. Still, nothing happens. Good. No surprises. I put the lid back on the box, grab the book, and then walk back around to close the door for good measure. Something tells me I don’t want anyone walking in on this. Circle, catalyst, mage… There’s no way this is as easy as it seems, is there? There’s gotta be a catch to it. But… If there is one, it’s definitely not mentioned at all. So all I can do is hope that what works in theory works in reality, like always. So I set my book down and stand my ground in front of the door, facing the circle. Don’t screw up the incantation. Remember how you changed it. Remember your theory. This is all gonna work out just how it’s supposed to. I take a deep breath. I blink. And before I speak, I picture it in my head. A drop of ink hitting paper, spreading a deep blue color across the white page. With that, I can feel the familiar hum and warmth of magic circuits spread through my body, giving me focus. I can do this.

“Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let my own hope and faith in humanity be what allows it. Let a wall rise against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the kingdom rotate. Know this; I am all the good remaining in the world. I stand against all the evil threatening our world. And it is I that shall come to have dominion over that evil. Heroic Spirit, attended to by the three great words of power, Come forth from the right of restraint, keeper of the balance!”

As I progress through the lines of the chant, I can feel more and more magical energy building up in my body, desperately trying to be released. But that heat, that feeling of everything building up, cannot compare to what happens as I end the spell. All of the energy is pulled from my body at once. I can feel each and every individual nerve fighting against it, to no avail. It’s like my heart has stopped beating, yet is also beating too fast. I’m hit with a sudden migraine, yet the next second, it seems like it was never there in the first place. And all the while, I’m forced to close my eyes because the room, once dimly lit, is now full of a blinding white. And while they’re closed, images flash through my mind. Fire. Death. A silhouette, unidentifiable. And finally the back of a boy, my age, in a Chaldea uniform, standing at the ready. I hear something incredibly loud, some sort of boom, though maybe that’s not the best way to describe it, followed by a much quieter cracking noise, as the light behind my eyelids fades away. My hearing starts to recover, but I’m scared to open my eyes. I have no idea what just happened. Did it work? Was all of that meant to happen? The book hadn’t mentioned any of that. So I stand there, listening and breathing. Hoping against hope that everything is okay. Until I hear someone speak. “I ask of you, are you my Master?”

As I finally open my eyes, another girl stands before me in the center of the circle. The stones are gone. (Dammit.) As she looks at me expectantly, her green eyes seem to see right through me. I can’t tell if I’m being judged or not. But as I take in the rest of her, I do my best to offer a response, however quietly. “Yeah. I… I’m your Master.” It’s barely more than a whisper, riding along a shaky breath. So much for seeming confident. We stand in silence for a few more seconds as I catch my breath. It worked. It really worked. That’s a Servant. Right there. In front of me. That I summoned. This time when I look at her, I begin to notice things without trying beyond her physical appearance. For starters, she’s a Saber. Wait a- That’s not any Saber. That’s. “You’re King Arthur.” “That… Is correct, Master,” she replies, showing slight confusion. “Holy… Okay. Um.” As I’m pausing to take a breath, the door behind me slams open. I jump a bit, and when I land, pain shoots through my leg. My boot broke during the ritual. I glance behind me to find Mash, Roman, Da Vinci, and a few other staff members staring. “Senpai, what did you-” “IsummonedaServant,” I blurt out, trying to shift as much weight off my right foot as possible. When everyone keeps staring, I add on a halfhearted “...Sorry?” There’s a collective sigh from the group, none of whom really seem to know what to do. “You do realize we told you to wait, right?” Roman asks. “Yes, but I thought I could handle it, because I’ve studied this a lot, and clearly I can handle it, because it worked, so-” “Chaldea actually has an alternate summoning system-” Da Vinci starts, but I cut her off. “...Oh. Of course! That… Makes a lot of sense now.” I find myself looking towards the ground. “Why’d I go and do this?” I add at the last second, quieter than the rest. “Don’t worry, this is nothing I can’t handle!” Da Vinci responds. “Just make sure to let us know before you summon anyone again, okay?” “Okay,” I respond, still quiet. When no one else says anything, Roman speaks up again. “All right then, everyone else should get back to what they were doing.” He glances at the leg the boot had broke off of, even more worried than before. “Mash and…” “Saber,” the other Servant answers. “Right. Mash, Saber, can you help Eva to the infirmary for now?” The two of them nod before stepping over to me and adjusting so that each of my arms is over one of their shoulders. I cringe a bit when I have to adjust my right leg, and soreness is slowly starting to spread through the rest of my body. This idea is continually turning out to have been way worse than I thought it would be.

So, as it turns out, Eva continually doing things that put strain on her injury has set back the healing process, and even when it does heal, it’s likely still going to be weaker than it was. She won't need a cane or anything, but she should still be wary of it and avoid relying on her right leg too heavily from now on. Running and other simple physical activity is fine, but should she need to say, kick something, she should absolutely favor her left leg unless she’s made the necessary precautions and given her right ankle the support it needs to prevent more injuries.

They get her a new boot and she’s essentially grounded for 2 days, not allowed to leave her room. They also start cutting the lights in her room on a schedule for as long as she’s grounded so that she’s forced to sleep.

She emerges, somehow, both less tired and more grumpy. Everyone catches on pretty quickly that she’s getting antsy because she’s not allowed to do anything, so they decide to set up the summoning system and let her try out a summoning that won’t make her injuries worse.

She’s initially hesitant to try any summonings with the more tech-heavy system, but she eventually agrees to go ahead with it after Da Vinci spends over an hour explaining every intricacy of how it works and how it differs from normal summoning. It’ll work, according to magical theory, so she doesn’t have anything to lose by trying it out.

This time, instead of just a single servant, she actually manages to summon several, those being Medusa, Caster Cú, Archer Emiya, and Saber Alter.

The tension between the 2 Sabers is pretty obvious, so Eva does her best to make sure that they aren’t forced to interact much while still spending time with and attempting to understand each of them. Since they’re both pretty reserved, it’s a slow process, but at least she figures out pretty quickly that they both really love food.

Cú is still salty that he’s not a Lancer, but is still glad to have at least been summoned again. He’s actually rather surprised by just how much Eva immediately puts value in him. She starts carrying a notebook around with her, and will write in it whenever she notices something new about Runes she didn’t know before. He actually tries to help her use Runes at one point, but it ends up blowing up in both their faces because Eva was focusing more on her anxiety than on the effect she wanted to achieve.

Eva knew literally nothing about Emiya, so more than pretty much every other Servant that’s around, she tries to seem professional around him. That completely collapses when he catches her in the kitchen at 3 in the morning halfheartedly making grilled cheese. From then on she’s a lot more casual and every once in a while she pesters him incessantly about Reality Marbles. She’ll probably eventually figure out that he knows more about the Sabers than he lets on.

Medusa actually surprised Eva a bit. While Eva knows a lot about her from mythology, it took awhile for her to figure out anything about her as a Servant, other than what she could discern from practice battles. The first real bit of progress she makes is when she finds Medusa reading in the library. Now they just kinda have one of those “sit and read in silence together” type friendships.

Eva isn’t exactly all hyped up for whenever the next singularity is identified, but she promises herself that she won’t be scared to go and do whatever’s needed in order to correct it. After all, she has more allies this time, and it seems like her magecraft is getting better by the day. Now all that’s left is to save humanity.

New Servant Log:

Artoria Pendragon (Saber)

Artoria Pendragon (Alter)

Cú Chulainn (Caster)

Emiya (Archer)

Medusa (Rider)

I actually have an excuse to tag people and that makes me happy

@contractgreen @panyum @withanina @campanulabell @delfinaschiffer @princessaslan @armageddon25 @patproductions @xviicprc

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justlookatthosesausages · 4 years

Text

“Lift the Spirit” :: a post-Frozen 2 Elsamaren fanfic

Chapter 3: Clap together, snap together

Elsa watched Honeymaren sleep with a grin filled with love. She was lying down next to her, her cheek against her hand, her elbow propped on the fresh grass. The blonde had gone down to the river to fetch some water for them. But even when she tried to wake her wife up and insist that she should drink, the Northuldra leader refused to sit up from the comfy spot that Elsa had found for them two.

Trips to Ahtohallan however made one thirsty, contrary to popular belief, for humid glaciers didn’t change anything to the effort that was needed to hike them. So the Snow Queen was stubborn.

As Honeymaren went back to sleep, Elsa smirked discreetly and pointed with her palm to the bowl filled with water, then focused to make the drops blob out of it and form a sphere of liquid in the air. She bit her lip to refrain herself from laughing, and moved the sphere to above Honeymaren’s face.

Then she stopped focusing to make all the water fall. The brunette gasped, and accidentally swallowed water in the process. She coughed and grumbled as she wiped her face. Elsa was dead laughing, and even rolled on the grass, her hands on her belly.

“You… DORK! Okay, now I’m fully awake.”

“At least you’ve drunk water.” Mocked Elsa.

Honeymaren grabbed Elsa’s bowl, which was still full, and splashed its content on her wife’s face. Elsa gasped loudly when she received her revenge.

“You’ll regret this.” She glanced, threatening. “Water has memory, and I will not forget that.”

She waved her fingers around her wet face, and all the water on her skin floated to rearrange in another blob, which she threatened the brunette with. Surprisingly, Honeymaren then jolted forward to swallow it, and grinned after she did.

“What the hell?” Blinked Elsa.

“Well, the hares you hunted and cooked for us at noon were a feast, but I’ve got to admit, a bit dry. I’m actually thirsty.”

Elsa lifted an eyebrow. That was just tease, and she knew it.

“But that’s not the only thing I’m thirsty about…” Continued Honeymaren, smirking.

Oh. Here we go.

She turned to be in Elsa’s lap, and they were now sitting face to face, then she kissed her lips, cheeks and neck. The blonde giggled.

“You’re aware that even in the isolated patch of grass we’re in, any Northuldra can see us, right?”

“I don’t care.” Murmured Honeymaren, and Elsa could feel her smile against her skin.

Elsa bent her head and let herself go into the emotions that her wife’s touch conveyed, then she suddenly startled.

“Wait, do you hear that?”

Honeymaren giggled in her neck, her eyes still closed. “Your heart beating louder than drums? Yes dear.”

“No, I heard something up there.”

The brunette smirked from where she was, still kissing her lover’s neck, and quite enjoying how Elsa’s muscles had tensed right at the spot she was aiming.

“Honey, wait.”

The Northuldra was about to tell her she was imagining stuff, when she heard something too. Her head snapped up as she twirled, joining Elsa’s eye level, and starring in the same direction than her. Both women stood alert, keeping their gaze on the trees, but they didn’t know that it actually was a diversion trick. Another enemy was arriving from behind them.

“It’s probably a bear…” Relativized Honeymaren. It wasn’t that far-fetched, because they were often sniffing around their camp for food, especially after Elsa was the one to cook.

Elsa squinted. “No… It’s magical… I can feel it in the air.”

She then focused harder. “In fact…” She realized that the presence also was behind them, and she twirled around, throwing her arm in front of her wife, and grabbing her hand so she would get behind her.

“WATCH OUT!”

Right at the same time, a gooey monster, that had the silhouette of a two and a half meters tall muscular man, lowered its hand on them. Elsa’s fast reflexes saved them as she crafted an ice shield out of nowhere, so fast and so big fueled with her terror that it rose even higher than the size of the creature. It had the shape of a half circle barrier and was unmindfully decorated with a giant Spirits union snowflake symbol. The Snow Queen extended the shield with a flick of her hand, the other still firmly holding Honeymaren’s and forbidding her to make any move. She encompassed them almost entirely in a dome, and fled by the remaining space at the end of it. It protected them from the horrible yet clever double attack, and gave them enough time to flee. Elsa tugged on Honeymaren’s hand to take her in the move, but the Northuldra leader had already understood her plan, and they entered the village at high speed.

“ALERT!! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!! EVERYONE, GET IN FORMATION!!” Yelled the brunette with all the force in her lungs, and everyone heard, quickly placing themselves in positions.

While the Northuldra were getting prepared, Elsa kept her eyes on the monsters, trying all she could to not get physically repulsed by their hideous appearance.

So that was what dark magic could create… While her magic allowed her to bring snow and ice to life, this one seemed to make mutant humanoid forms crawl and stumble to her, like they were half alive and half dead. With a shiver, Elsa created another layer protection with a three meters tall shield to protect this entrance of the village, especially when she saw that the two monsters had followed them. The creatures didn’t run fast, in fact it was more like they walked in brisk steps, and they seemed a bit dumb because they bumped head first on her shield, due to the blur transparency of the ice. The magic matter they were made of splashed on the surface, but they didn’t die nevertheless; the two big spatters of dark black slime still seemed alive, and Elsa winced in disgust and worry when she saw it shape again. It was like ink had been mixed with mud, and was now getting the silhouette of two men again. Even if one could tell where their head was, they had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, so it made them even more scary in a way. They had long crooked fingers that now grinded, squeaked and creaked along the ice shield as they tried to climb it to get on Elsa’s side. The blonde gasped, and she waved her hands so that the surface would project them away with horizontal spikes. It was effective, for one of them got impaled right away, and the other stumbled to the grass.

The beautiful and comfy grass that Honeymaren and her had been relaxing on barely minutes ago. And that now Elsa would never want to touch again after she saw the way the monster was getting up, leaning on a hand that splattered black goo everywhere.

The creature that should have been killed with her spikes simply turned a bit more liquid to escape the ice stalagmites, shifted a bit on the side, then continued its ascension. It even helped itself with her upgrade to go to the top faster.

“Oh no, filthy slimes, not on my watch.” Muttered Elsa with a frown.

She moved her elbows back, then quickly projected her arms and hands forward, sending the ice shield slide on several tens of meters, projecting the two creatures away with the force of a freight train at full speed. She waved her hands so that the shield would splash them against the ones she had created earlier, and they all smashed in an explosion of ice and goo.

Nobody human could have survived that, for Elsa’s magical ice was as dense and unbreakable as diamond if she decided so, but she figured that they would still stand up harmless afterwards. She crafted a dome above them and flipped her hands down to trap them, but as soon as they reshaped, they started to dig to go underneath. Elsa extended the dome to go deeper in the ground, but she couldn’t do that eternally; also, she wasn’t willing to damage Nature in order to stop two stupid creatures.

She thought about if they deserved to be called stupid. They had an idiotic behavior, by they erratic moves, but they seemed really well made, or designed; she could tell quickly that the absence of eyes or nostrils actually meant that they were attracted to Elsa’s magic, and tracking her like hounds on a trail.

The blonde gulped at how the theory had been correct: she was, since the beginning, the target of those magic attacks. Victor Eiglatson was sadly as clever as she had expected. First, he had created those monsters to attack the camp in her absence to see if the Spirits of Nature could intervene against dark magic, but they couldn’t, because that was how the balance between good and evil was maintained; now, he attacked Elsa when she least expected it. He had waited for Honeymaren, her protector, to fall asleep, before launching the attack.

At the thought, Elsa crafted another ice layer for safety, and turned to search for her wife, inspecting the moves in the camp. To her deepest fear, but she had to admit, not biggest surprise, she realized that the Northuldra camp wasn’t attacked at this only entrance; the monsters had made their way to two other spots. One was taking care of by the tallest people of the camp, and the other by fearless hunters armed to the teeth led by Honeymaren. Meanwhile, the children were being taken care of at the center of the village by everyone remaining. Elsa’s eyes darted from one spot to another to count the assailants; there were six of them. Two for each entrance. She took a guess that Victor couldn’t create more creatures than that. She also noticed that, while it took at least ten people to stop the progress of two monsters, she had been able to take care of her two on her own. But this was no time to brag. It also was no time to admire how beautiful Honeymaren was when she fought, so she shook her head when her eyes checked on the Northuldra leader’s group a bit longer than needed.

Elsa twirled around to trap the two creatures in a giant ice cube, because she knew that an ice cage would be useless; they would go through the bars with their black ink constitution. She then ran to the group that wasn’t helped by Honeymaren, giving enough trust into her wife to hold the attack there longer. She pushed away the monsters with a blast of magic, and the Northuldra of the group smiled at her help and talent. However, the blonde winced and frowned; all of this was only making them gain time. They had to actually kill them, and she didn’t like this idea at all. Now she understood why Nature’s magic didn’t have to interfere with dark one. They didn’t have the same ethics. Elsa was a pacifist, and she pouted a bit at the task that was coming. She rose other walls of ice between the people and the monsters, postponing the moment when she would have to actually harm them.

Also, this use of magic against magic was starting to tire her a bit; she knew that sensation, for she had felt the same when she fought Bruni or Nokk ages ago. It wasn’t like she was raising an ice palace out of nowhere; dark magic was draining all of her forces at each and every defense she crafted. One creature had managed to pass on the left side of the shield, and Elsa’s head twitched to it, sending it back in one swift move of the coldest ice.

“AGH!” Suddenly screamed a Northuldra on Elsa’s left. She was holding her arm, trembling.

“What is it??” Worried the blonde.

“It splashed on me as you fended it off. The goo hurts…”

“It’s burning your skin?” Analyzed Elsa, looking away from the creatures for a moment to inspect the arm of the woman.

Indeed, until now, she hadn’t been touched by the enemy - she would never get a scratch in battle, had once said Anna - so she couldn’t know.

“It’s not exactly like fire…” Winced the Northuldra. “It’s more like it’s toxic. Like nettles mixed with rosary peas…”

Elsa blinked as she processed that. It helped that the victim was the botanist of the tribe, and yet made her confused for a moment. When she understood the sensation that the Northuldra botanist was describing, she hovered her hand above the touched part of her arm, and infused ice to calm the sensible skin.

“There. It will soothe it a bit, and I’ll have a look at it once this is all over.”

The woman blinked at the sensation. “I’m actually feeling way better already. Thank you, Fifth Spirit.”

Elsa nodded, then turned to the monsters. A frown wrinkled her usually calm features.

So they could harm the Northuldra, uh? Oh. That was it. She had a hard time motivating herself to actually harm them, but now she was enraged. When the ice wall crumbled down after the monsters insisted passing through with their long crooked fingers, she screamed and ran head first to the nearest creature, her hands glowing bright blue, her azure eyes vibrant with anger.

Honeymaren turned at her lover’s war shout. She had a peek at her between the trees. Elsa was fighting fiercely, but something made her frown. The Snow Queen rarely sweated, for her magical body always cooled off her skin. So when she saw the pearls of sweat on her forehead as she dodged from the monster’s blow, she knew that the situation was critical.

“ELSA!” She called, panic raising her voice.

“I’m okay!” Yelled the blonde back, not even looking at Honeymaren, which would have distracted her anyway.

She hit the creatures with a snow blast, and it stumbled back, then she waved in a discarding way at the Northuldra leader.

“Keep helping the people! And watch out for the dark matter they’re made off, it’s toxic!”

She could however still feel the insistent gaze of her wife on her shoulder, despite the silence coming from her that meant she had taken in account her advice.

Elsa turned around. “I’m fine, Honeymaren!” She said, but it was a blatant lie. She was out of breath, and perfectly aware that this fight was the most difficult she had ever been in.

“Elsa! Look out!” Screamed a Northuldra, pointing behind her.

The Fifth Spirit turned around, but it was too late. By the time she would raise her hands to make a shield, the creature would have finished extending their long hands to touch her.

When suddenly, something whistled next to Elsa’s ear, and planted loudly in the wood of the nearest tree, piercing the monster. It stumbled backwards with the force of the blow, and hit the three, splashing on the bark.

Elsa let out a gasp of surprise, but also relief to see that she had escaped death by a second. She recognized her wife’s arrows, identifiable by the deep green fletching feathers. The blonde twirled around and saw Honeymaren, face focused, her long bow taut for another shot, a new arrow already placed and ready to go. Elsa could see fire in her brown eyes, even with the distance. Despite the urgency and certainly her panic, Honeymaren had a perfectly composed posture, her whole body optimized to shoot the monster a second time if needed. Elsa had to say, both of those physical traits made her incredibly attractive. She gulped and focused on the way more urgent problem, and dove aside as the creature recovered and moved, refilling the hole the arrow had made in its magical body. Honeymaren immediately shot another arrow, and this time it planted right into where its heart would have been if it were human. The monster got planted to the tree from there, and stopped moving.

Elsa blinked in amazement at the precision of her wife. She had acknowledge it long ago, but now made the mental promise to never mess with her when she had a hunting bow in hand. If she could aim from that far, who knew what she could do when--

An idea suddenly struck Elsa’s mind, with the same force than an arrow.

“They don’t freeze once touched with my magic…” She muttered, thinking out loud. “Because they need to be killed with magic, though like humans.”

To prove that her suspicions were correct, the creatures started to move, like it came back to life, and started to break free from the arrow. It stood tall in front of Elsa, and the latter ran away. It wasn’t to save herself; she was running right to Honeymaren.

“Don’t shoot at it!” Ordered the Fifth Spirit.

“What?!” Frowned the brunette, and she unfocused from her aim to look at her lover. She saw on her face the familiar ‘I have a plan’ expression, and she relaxed her posture. She lowered the bow, the arrow still at the ready, and looked at Elsa.

She then looked down when she saw blue light shimmer from her hands. Elsa was staring at Honeymaren’s arrow and doing her best fo make a replica in ice, as close as she could get, while keeping the same weight and density than a regular wood one. She twirled and waved her hands until her work was done, and a satisfied grin stretched her lips.

“Try with that.”

Honeymaren delicately took the creation in her hands. It was just unbelievable. She spinned the ice arrow in her fingers. It was cold but not too cold, and radiating with strong magic to such a level that even herself could tell. It was like holding a glass replica of her own arrows, but she knew, by its density, that it would be unbreakable.

“Clever, snømus. With that, they will finally die.”

She spent a few more seconds to lift the object and observe the arrow point. Even the hafting was reproduced to perfection.

“Waow, the details are so precise…”

“No time for admiration!” Scolded Elsa.

Honeymaren hurried in her moves. She put her arrow back in her quiver, and placed Elsa’s. She looked in the distance to track the monster, which was getting hit by several Northuldra and their staffs. She aimed perfectly and, with the same astonishing precision than a regular arrow, she planted it right into the monster’s head.

Something incredibly happened then; until now, when the dark creatures were hit, they reshaped, to everyone’s disgust and disappointment. But now that they had been hit at a vital point by Elsa’s magic in a one-shot kill, they dissipated in the air, like when magic was vanishing after use.

A moment of silence appeared as most of the Sami stared at where the creature had been, pointing at the spot with their weapons. They expected it to form again, but when nothing happened, they shouted in joy. Honeymaren smirked at her successful revenge, and shook her head at her lover.

“More, more, more, create more!”

There was no need to say; Elsa was already at task. Several arrows were floating in the air around her as she modeled them in sequence, and Honeymaren grabbed them. She ran back and forth in the woods and between the huts to aim at the five remaining creatures, and in less time than it would take to say it, she killed them one by one. She hopped, she slid, she sprinted, and Elsa observed as she took care of all the enemies by herself. In satisfying ‘thwacks’, the creatures got hit at the head or at the heart, and all tumbled and died instantly like the first one.

When they all disappeared, the Northuldra couldn’t believe their eyes, but soon bursted in cheers. Everyone raised their arms in victory, some hugged, some danced, some jumped.

Elsa jogged to the middle of the camp to join Honeymaren, who was smiling widely.

“Well, I call that excellent teamwork.” Sighed the leader, in relief and pride, seeing how they all had successfully faced the dark magic attack. “Elsa, those arrows are simply amaz--”

She stopped talking when the blonde grabbed her collar and crashed her lips on hers, kissing her deeply. Honeymaren widened her eyes in surprise, and the few Northuldra around grinned and diverted their gaze politely. Elsa sighed in emotion once she stepped out of the kiss. She was slightly taller than Honeymaren, so when the brunette looked up at her confusedly and dizzily, the Snow Queen giggled.

“I had to. You have no idea how seductive you are when you’re archering.” She whispered.

Honeymaren smirked, delighted to see that for once, Elsa had taken the lead.

“Also, you saved my life. Thank you.” Said the blonde on a higher voice.

Her collar grasp turned into a hug, and Honeymaren held her tight with closed eyes.

“I will never let anyone or anything take you away from me, snømus.” She smiled.

=======

The Northuldra leader observed the state of the village, and smiled at how the Spirits now were making their best to prevent any other surprise attack. Gale, who already was a true snitch, made sure to shake every bush to check that no monster was hiding behind it.

The tribe also searched for the dark slime that had splashed on the trees or ground because it could be toxic for the environment. When they saw that no trace of it had remained once they got killed, they understood that just like Bruni’s flames disappear once Elsa stops him, the goo was linked to the creatures it belonged to and had vanished with them. Another thing that had vanished was the possible presence of Victor. The Northuldra had looked everywhere, but there was no sign of him. Only footsteps betrayed his presence, but they led to the river.

Honeymaren prefered it that way, glad that this was over, at least for now. She looked for her wife through the trees. After some time walking, she heard Elsa’s voice in the distance like she was chatting with someone.

“...doesn’t have a second wave. I love you. Bye.” She said when the brunette joined her, sounding like the end of a conversation, and the latter was confused. There was no one in front of her.

“Talking to yourself?”

Elsa turned at her voice, feeling better by her sole presence. “No. I needed to create a memory of me saying that out loud to…”

She waved her hand to be more explicit, and it was like humidity in the air formed around her palm, layers of snowflakes glowing with magic and looking like floating blue sparkles.

Honeymaren smiled widely when she understood, amazed. “To send a message to Anna. You’re going to craft an ice memory of you saying that.”

Elsa smiled, and nodded.

“Holy Ahtohallan, I married a genius.” Exhaled Honeymaren.

The blonde snorted with modesty. “Actually, I’m hesitant… Do you think this is cheating? Sending fake memories as a medium of communication?”

“Don’t panic, cute Spirit. These are not fake, the one you’re making for example had just happened. You’re not a fraud against Nature’s laws.” Chuckled the Northuldra.

She placed her hands on her hips. “This actually is brilliant. As my favorite redhead once told me: ‘You cracked it!’”

“You’re favorite redhead… Anna?”

“Yes, obviously. I’m not referring to Oaken.”

“I mean, I’m surprised that she told you that. What was the context?”

“We were playing chess. I apparently made her discover a new tactic. Though I still can’t fully grasp how this game works. Sidenote: she desperately wants to beat you.”

“I can pretend that she won the next time we play.” Shrugged Elsa.

Honeymaren puffed as the blonde then waved her hand to send the message.

They both watched the pack of glowing blue snowflakes fly away and leaving the Forest towards Arendelle.

“We should change our minds.” Suggested Honeymaren, already filling her head with a dozen tasks to do to stop thinking about the attack.

“Yeah. I need to fidget with something. I’m gonna go build a cairn or two. Or twenty.”

=======

Anna was standing up and pointing at a giant map on the table of the room, indicating to her daughter the strategic points of the kingdom, but also of other kingdoms, so she could get the big picture on a country scale. Eydis was standing up next to her, very attentive and taking notes, which warmed Anna’s heart and filled her with maternal pride. Her suspicions were correct: the young blonde loved to solve problems. Whether they were a broken chair to fix with tools, an ice shortage in Summer to palliate with thanks to ice harvesting expeditions, or an economical issue that Arendelle was facing. While she smiled as she gave a small pause in her explanations to let Eydis the time to write the advices down, something shimmered on the balcony.

It caught Anna’s eye, but she thought for a moment that it was just a seagull landing on the railing in a white blur. She didn’t pay much attention, and turned to her again.

The thing kept shining, though, so she interrupted her sentence a few seconds later to keep watching by the window.

“And uh… I was saying…” She said in a troubled voice, trailing off.

“Is there something distracting you?” Smirked Eydis. “Or maybe you’re thinking of escaping?”

Anna puffed. “Don’t be silly. I love teaching you. I actually missed these sessions. It’s just…”

She walked to the window to stare through it closely, and suddenly she gasped when she recognized what it was. The redhead violently opened the handle of the door and went on the balcony, staring at what had just appeared. Eydis turned to watch, and with the open window door, she could see it clearly.

Aunt Elsa?

Somehow, Elsa was standing on the balcony, and yet it wasn’t Elsa at all. Eydis squinted and then realized that it was a representation of Elsa, in the same style than the ice statues she made sometimes, and that always amazed by how detailed they are. This one looked like Elsa herself, but entirely artic blue, with almost imperceptible irises. Another difference was that this one seemed to move, and both the girl and the woman startled when it suddenly came to life and began to talk. The voice was undeniably Elsa’s, but sounded cristaline and echoed weirdly, like if she were talking in a glass bottle.

“Anna. I have to inform you about something. The Northuldra camp has been targeted by a man with dark magic. He can create monsters made of nearly indestructible and unstoppable matter, and he attacked twice to this day.”

Anna’s knees nearly buckled at her sister’s words. Wait what? What what what? Also, she hated already how fast this pre-recorded message was. She couldn’t intervene, because it kept going without interruption.

“My fears had turned to be right. Those creatures are after me, and they are made to kill me.”

The redhead missed a heartbeat at that sentence, and her breathing hitched. The magical message continued, undaunted.

“But what the most important is, I’m safe. Honeymaren is safe too. And the whole tribe has no body to mourn. We only have lost two men yesterday, but that was another attack.”

The message obviously was something that Elsa had made in advance, so she could not hear Anna’s current reaction or replies. However, the elder knew her little sister by heart, and it was like she had predicted what would happen. Right when Anna gasped loudly, Elsa immediately continued with: “Wait, no, don’t panic. I know you well enough to know that you’re already leaving the balcony to grab a coat to come to me, and please listen, because I’m not done.”

Anna grumbled and let go of the coat she had picked up from the wardrobe, and reluctantly went back to the balcony. Eydis laughed at her mother’s reaction, because it was even more funny than if she had been scolded directly; Elsa’s ice statue was now giving a few seconds of time for Anna to come back in front of her. That was just comedy gold.

“You’re back? Okay. Good. So, I actually really don’t advise you to come because those creatures could harm you. I believe in your skills, that’s not the problem, but it would be best if you stay in Arendelle. I need to tell you about who the enemy is too, but that can wait.” “THAT CAN WAIT?!” Jolted Anna, her jaw dropping.

“Shhh”, warned Eydis. “You’re missing the rest of the message.”

“...I’ll get to Arendelle once I’m sure that this current attack doesn’t have a second wave. I love you. Bye.”

Both Anna and Eydis blinked at how the message ended. The ice statue dissolved into tiny snowflakes, and they softly swirled to get carried away by the breeze. Anna’s shoulders slumped.

“What… THE HELL?!”

Eydis snorted. “Calm down.”

“How can I be calm?” Yelled Anna, and her daughter jumped, especially at the way her mother had come back in the room, closed the balcony doors, and grabbed her coat to… Immediately go?

“Hey, she told you to stay here.”

“Yeah, and I’ve stopped listening to her advice long ago.”

“But she’s right! If those things are after her, then you’re safer here.”

Anna pretended she didn’t hear that. She put on her coat, changed her shoes, tied her hair in a more practical way, and shoved random food that was on the table into a satchel that she put across her chest.

“Mother, it’s okay…” Soothed Eydis.

“But she NEVER send messages via ice statues! We usually use Gale, or she comes by herself! Something must be wrong. Or bad. Or both.”

“She doesn’t seem that panicked… Unlike you.” Noted the princess.

Anna wasn’t paying attention anymore. She was out of breath, her eyes darting left and right to check if she needed something else from the room, and she looked like a real mess. Eydis stared at her with a dropped jaw due to disbelief. She startled when Anna suddenly came close to her, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room in a gust.

“I’ll be back when… When I’ll be back!”

“What?” Said Eydis, staring at the corridor.

A moment passed, the room now completely silent, and she blinked in utter confusion. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She knew that her mother often had improvised behaviors like those, but she was flabbergasted. Eydis kept blinking, and one of her blonde dutch braids fell off her shoulder as a perfect representation of her disarray.

=======

Kristoff smiled at Eydis’ sudden entrance in the building.

“You escaped your lesson again, uh?”

Since she was a teenager, his daughter despised theory classes, and prefered to learn manual things, so it wasn’t the first time she was entering the ice harvesters guild in a hurry. However, this time, she was not running away from an angry teacher, and in fact, Anna’s geopolitics lesson had been interesting.

The ice harvesters greeted their princess with nods and waves, and Kristoff smiled from the seat where he was, at the end of the table, which was reserved for him as both the King and the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. He put his grinning face on his fist.

“You know, you remind me of your mother when she was younger. There was a time when she would cross the village running and find me here, in panic after she broke something in the castle or set the kitchens on fire.”

“Father!! You have to come to the castle right now.”

The blond’s smile fell and his face twisted to concern. Eydis indeed looked like her mother, but when the latter was utterly panicked. And something told him that Anna also was in a similar state as they were speaking.

“Why?!” He asked, standing and joining her on the threshold.

“Mother just received an ice message with a magical statue. I mean, a magical message with-- whatever. It’s from Elsa, and she’s imagining the worst. But I saw the message and it’s actually not that bad! And Elsa told her to not go to the Forest! But she didn’t listen! And she’s leaving anyway--”

“She’s leaving?” Repeated Kristoff, his eyes wide.

Eydis didn’t even have to answer. He already was running to the castle, and she followed him close. But it was too late. When they arrived to the courtyard, the stables doors were opened wide, with the evidence that she had just left.

Kristoff sighed. “Did she at least take food with her?”

“Well, mostly chocolate and strawberries.”

=======

Elsa was satisfied to see on the following morning that everything that had been broken during the battle had been fixed, and that they had managed to place everything back to where it was. Her hands on her hips, she smiled with a huff as she watched the village returning to its casual activities.

“Fifth Spirit, may I ask for your help?” Came a timid voice behind her, and she turned.

It was Hilka, a girl from the family living a hut away from the reindeer paddock. She was really shy and also very pious, so Elsa wasn’t surprised to see that she had took off her hat and was placing it above her heart, not daring to look at Elsa directly, and instead staring at the dirt on the ground.

“Please, Hilka, you can call me Elsa, I told you already.” Assured the blonde in a soft and smiling voice.

The girl blushed. “But I’d never dare to be this familiar with a magical divinity...”

“If that makes you uncomfortable, you can keep calling me Fifth Spirit, it’s okay. But I swear that I don’t mind it if you call me Elsa. In fact, none of us, the Spirits, mind.” She searched for an example. “See, you don’t have a name for the Wind Spirit, and yet since Olaf nicknamed them Gale, I call them Gale, and they don’t mind at all. You know, except from Nokk, who’s the most susceptible being I’ve ever seen, no one actually cares.” She giggled.

It made the Northuldra smile, and she seemed relaxed. She finally dared to look at her in the eyes, and Elsa realized for the first time that she had emerald-like irises.

“Could you please help me lift a barrel… Elsa?”

“Sure!” Chimed the blonde, delighted by the way she dared now.

They walked to the barrel in question, and the Fifth Spirit noted that indeed, they usually asked Gale or an Earth Giant to help with it, but they were busy keeping an eye on the village’s surrounding to prevent any attack.

Elsa casually waved her hand, and a gust of snowflakes surrounded the barrel in a magic blue glow, lifting it in a cold wind, and moving it to the spot Hilka was pointing at, a few meters away.

“There. Anything else?” Smiled Elsa once she conjured her snowflakes down to delicately place the barrel on the floor of the stock.

Hilka seemed to be in complete awe to the miracle that her deity had just made. Elsa had casually lifted a very heavy barrel that would have taken two strong men and a lot of effort to move away. Now, Elsa was just looking at her like she had simply picked a twig from the ground, and was asking for the next instruction.

“That… That is all.” Muttered the girl.

“Okay. Tell me if you need anything else.”

The Northuldra blushed and nodded vividly, then Elsa walked to her hut. On her way, she heard Gale going down from the treetops to float above her head, and the Wind Spirit shared a feeling, that resonated to Elsa’s heart. It brought a flash of the Elemental Stones to the blonde’s mind, and she smiled.

“Yeah, the four of you are forgiven and really helpful.” She said, interpreting the meaning of her emotion. “Together, we--”

Gale suddenly tugged on her double train, making her lose her balance. “Hey! Rude. I was talking. What did I tell you about not interrupting people?”

The magic wind however was insistent.

“What is it?”

They floated above her, making different sounds.

“Approaching from the South?” Frowned Elsa, interpreting Gale’s chimes.

She now understood why the Wind Spirit had exhaled that familiar feeling earlier. They had been mentioning the actual Elemental Stones place, not what they represented.

“Who is approaching from the South, Gale?” Inquired the Fifth Spirit, her worry rising, because she knew that Honeymaren was there picking up weeds with other Northuldra.

Gale then made a very specific chime, and it was absolutely unique; it meant one and only word.

“Anna?!”

Elsa twirled around, nearly tripping on the ground covered with pine needles as she suddenly dashed to the South. No time to summon Nokk. She was running so fast that wind was whistling in her ears, and even Gale had to rush to follow the athletic and dramatic human.

=======

Honeymaren startled when she heard hooves coming at full speed, someone heavily jumping to the ground and running to her. If that wasn’t enough to announce Anna’s arrival, the redhead appeared panting and haggard right in front of her, and yelled her name the instant she recognized her.

“HONEYMAREN! WHERE IS ELSA?!”

If the Northuldra leader wasn’t used to the Arendellian sisters’ drama, she would have stumbled to the grass instantly. There, she only dropped her jaw and tried to talk, but it was hard to ignore Anna’s dress that clearly wasn’t meant for riding.

Apparently, her processing took half a second too long to Anna’s taste, for she grabbed her shoulders and dove her teal blue eyes in hers. It felt like she inspected her very soul, and Honeymaren’s words vanished in her mouth even more.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!”

The brunette’s ears rang at how hard she was yelling. The other Northuldra stopped picking up the weeds to stare at the scene with worry.

“What is going on?!”

“Woah, Anna, okay, hello, and sweet Ahtohallan, calm down.”

“I don’t want to be calm! Is Elsa safe?”

“I… Yes, she is! What the heck, Anna?! Are you okay?”

Anna squinted suspiciously. “If I am okay? You’re not calling me ‘fire head’. Something must be wrong.”

Honeymaren blinked, torn between the need to burst of laughter or be seriously concerned for her sister-in-law. “Now you’re overinterpreting.”

“I just hate it when she uses ice statues memories as a message!”

The brunette finally understood what this was all about, from the context of Anna’s dress to why she was in such distress. The Queen was breathing loudly, close to hyperventilation.

“Yeah, I know. But she had no choice. The Wind Spirit is bu--”

“ELSA!!” Screamed Anna suddenly, looking over Honeymaren’s shoulder, and the latter jumped at the sudden shriek. Once again, her ears rang, and she winced.

While the redhead ran at full speed to her elder, she shook her ear lobe. “Ouch.”

“ELSA!”

She hugged her fiercely, but it was short; she then stepped back and checked her arms, legs, waist, face… Elsa couldn’t say anything for how rushed and abrupt her gestures were. Then, once Anna made sure that she was alright, she slapped her arm.

“AOH! What was that for??” Winced the blonde.

“Being an idiot!”

“I’m sorry…?!” Recoiled Elsa. She had no idea what was going on.

“Why did you send me an ice statue message?” Growled Anna, and the Northuldra watched as it looked like she was her mother in this moment.

“Gale’s busy, and the Spirits in general aren’t really in the mood to leave the Forest. We’re all a bit… Disarrayed…”

Anna’s scolding frown transformed into a worried expression. “Do you mean the Spirits, or the Northuldra?”

Elsa’s hands, which had remained in Anna’s after the hug, started to retract. The redhead gripped them.

“Elsa.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine now.”

Anna didn’t even bother to get the nuance. She didn’t believe her. She stared right into her eyes, and Elsa blinked at the intense irises. They were filled with wisdom and foresight, sharpened with her years of monarchy and motherhood. In addition, there also was the experience of years of knowing her elder sister by heart, and Anna recognized the mimics Elsa had when she minimized her actual mood to not panic her sister.

“No you’re not.”

Elsa came closer to insist. “I swear I am.”

The Queen still didn’t seem convinced. When Honeymaren approached, she turned to her vividly. “Maren, is she saying the truth? Is she really fine?”

“Hey!” Gasped Elsa.

The brunette chuckled at how she preferred to ask her to be sure. “She is. No trick there. She’s only very concerned, but you know, that’s just Elsa in the daily.”

Anna sighed. “Good.”

Elsa let go of her younger’s hands to cross her arms with a pout. Anna winced at her reaction. “Excuse me. It’s just that at least, with Maren, I know if you’re hiding something.”

The blonde kept pouting.

“Why did you come to the Forest!?”

“Well, happy to see you too.” Replied the Queen with sarcasm.

“I specifically told you not to come!!”

Anna put her hands on her hips.

“As far as I know, I’m a grown adult, and can do whatever the hell I want. Also, I HAD to. Did you even proofread your message, you dramatic oaf?!”

Elsa blinked as she moved back at the scold. “Uh… No…”

Anna sighed longly and rubbed the top of her nose with her thumb and index. “Sometimes I wonder if you didn’t leave your brain cells up the North Mountain.”

Honeymaren bit her lip as she sadly looked at Anna, then at her wife. “Elsa, she hates it when you use ice statues for messages.”

The blonde was so preoccupied by other topics that her mind didn’t grasp the problem, and she frowned as she was about to ask ‘Why?’.

And then it hit her.

She distinctly remembered the day Ahtohallan had showed memories of Anna curled in that pit, sobbing after she thought that she had lost everything. And one sinister thing had started this long night of sorrow. The last message that Elsa could send before freezing eternally for going too far in the glacier: an ice statue.

With an audible gasp, the Fifth Spirit then realized that it meant that Anna had thought, when she received her message in Arendelle, that it was her last way of communication before tragedy.

Without any further addition, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Anna, clenching tight as she buried her face in her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I didn’t realize…”

She passed a hand in her younger’s back in case she needed to cry.

Yet Anna didn’t cry. She simply sighed. Of course Elsa hadn’t meant it. But what kind of crazy situation were they in that she forgot it when she sent the message?

She gave a pat to Elsa’s shoulder to tell her that she was fine with it, and that she had long figured that it was done by mistake.

The blonde looked deeply sorry as she detached from the hug. “Now it makes sense on why you wanted to come... Wait... How did you come? I thought that Kristoff didn’t want to have another reindeer after Sven.”

“I rode a horse. I had to think fast. In every meaning of the term: I rushed to the royal stables and asked for Rask.”

Elsa lifted surprised eyebrows, and looked over her sister’s shoulder to see the now fully grown horse calmly walking to them, as Anna had hurried to go down to finish her route running.

“Rask!” Exclaimed Elsa, her face lighting up.

The horse neighed, and she petted his head with affection, scratching him in the right spots.

“Hey there. It’s been a while, uh?”

“That’s a very athletic horse.” Commented Honeymaren, impressed.

“He is.” Smiled Elsa. “He proved his talent many years ago. And his name definitely suits him.”

“So you’ve rode him already. I was wondering how you knew him.” Smiled her wife.

“Yeah, she did.” Confirmed Anna. “Fun fact: it also was out worry and need to go fast to a neighbor land.”

Elsa giggled, admitting that the parallel was funny. She looked at Rask’s eyes. “You live through the sisters’ drama, don’t you?”

The horse snorted, like he actually laughed from that.

She took off his bridle, saddle, stirrups and bags, and gently led him to the water point where the reindeers were.

Anna and Honeymaren followed, mute at the expert way she did that.

“I hope we have enough hay for him to eat. We obviously weren’t expecting you.” Said Elsa.

Anna frowned.

“Wait, if you didn’t expect me, then how did you know I was there?”

“Gale is standing guard. I mean… Floating guard...? So they told me when they saw you arrive at the horizon. They make a specific sound when they’re carrying a letter from you. I quickly learned that this sound meant ‘Anna’. Honestly, this is one of my favorite sounds to hear in the world now.”

“Aww. And what’s your top favorite?”

“Hmm… That’s a good question. Probably Honeymaren’s laugh.”

The Northuldra eye-rolled as she was petting Rask. “And I’m the romantic flirt, uh?” She mumbled.

The redhead had lifted her head to the sky and observed the Wind Spirit guarding the camp, shaking the pine trees branches on their way. “They’re doing a great job.” She smiled. “Now I understand why you didn’t want to send me a letter, to not disturb their work. Or maybe their duty?”

Honeymaren shrugged at the nuance. The Spirits were so dedicated to protection that it could also be called ‘vocation’.

“If you understand, does that mean that you’ve forgiven me?” Asked Elsa, only half joking.

“Certainly not.”

Elsa pouted at Anna’s frown. It made Honeymaren laugh, and she lifted her hands to put one on each sister.

“Come on, you two. Let’s sit down.”

“No, wait, no time to sit down.” Rejected Anna. “Maren, you will stay here. Elsa and I, we go back to Arendelle and suit up, with outfits and weapons, warn everyone about the situation, and come back ASAP.”

Elsa blinked. “Waow, waow, calm down. No ASAP. You will get some rest. Even if we go and come back on Nokk, you can’t make all of that in one go. Have some sleep.”

“Look who’s talking!”

“Listen to her.” Advised Honeymaren.

Anna stared at her judgingly. “Of course you defend her. Tsk, I miss the time you two weren’t married and you were on my side, Maren.”

After some insistence, they sat down on a lying trunk.

“I’ll need to talk to Mattias when we’re in Arendelle.” Announced Elsa. “We had planned to ask him something through a letter too, and, well…”

“What was it?” Asked Anna.

“He knows who Victor Eiglatson is.”

Anna rose an eyebrow. “What does Victor Eiglatson have to do with any of that?”

Elsa and Honeymaren widened their eyes. “You know him too?” They said, in one voice.

The redhead stared at them. “Why, yeah. We put him in jail years ago with Mattias, for insulting the Crown. He recently escaped.”

She thought it would be impossible, but the two women dilated their eyes even more.

“Escaped? Someone escaped Arendelle’s prison?” Asked Elsa.

“Why didn’t you tell us anything about him?!” Asked Honeymaren.

Anna blinked. “Do you guys ever read newspapers?” She reproached.

Then it hit her that no, obviously. And that was why her sister-in-law made that remark. “Sorry, but you didn’t ask about him. Also, the investigation is still ongoing to know how he managed to escape. He’s the first one in the History of Arendelle to do that.”

“Anna.”

“What?”

“He’s the man who attacked us with his monsters. He has dark magic.”

“Ohhh, that would explain how-- WAIT, WHAT?!”

The Queen’s eyes darted from Elsa’s face to Honeymaren’s, and they both nodded. She blinked confusedly. “Are you certain? Did you ask Ahtohallan?”

They nodded again.

“Holy cheese and crackers. Now I’m terrified. But it all makes so much sense.”

“Let me guess…” Started Honeymaren. “The hate he has towards the Crown… He insulted Elsa’s name, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, how do you know?”

The brunette sighed. “He has some common past with the previous Fifth Spirit. And it’s obvious that they were enemies.”

Anna nodded slowly. “Yes… It would just explain everything. He used to be in the Arendelle army, Mattias can tell you more about him. He kept proclaiming that Elsa should die.”

Elsa gulped and looked down. “Well, he’s consistent. And tenacious. He tried to kill me, after all.”

Anna looked at her, feeling heartbroken for her.

“Hey, Elsa… Are you okay?”

She didn’t have the time to put her hand on Elsa’s back that the blonde stood up. “I’m fine. Do you want tea?”

“Uh… Yeah, actually, it’s a good idea.”

She watched her walk away, but had enough experience to know that Elsa needed some time alone with her thoughts. The blonde had obviously used this suggestion as an excuse to make the most of the round trip to the hut where they dried the herbs. Anna sighed and looked at Honeymaren.

“She’s feeling guilty for the two deaths, right?”

The brunette nodded sadly. “You know her. And she still think that she doesn’t deserve anyone’s love. As her sister, you surely know what I mean…”

“And as her wife, you do as well.” Snorted Anna.

They giggled a bit. It was best to laugh about it.

“You should see her face when she opens your letters next to me.”

“Maybe I send her too many…” Winced the redhead. “Sometimes I feel like I’m too talkative, or too worried, or too curious.”

“Don’t. She loves them. She even keeps them and stores them neatly in a wooden box. It’s in a chest in our hut.”

“Oh my goodness, really? It’s so nice!” Grinned Anna.

Elsa had come back with three mugs, holding them in a way that would have burned the hands of anyone not fitted with ice and snow powers.

“You keep all of my letters?” Asked Anna, her smile not leaving her while her sister sat down.

“No, I actually always give them to Bruni and ask him to burn them down.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. I’m dead laughing.”

Elsa smirked and sipped, watching her with a side glance. Anna smiled, because she saw in her azure blue eyes that all guilt had gone, now replaced by tease. She loved that Elsa could switch from one mood to the other.

They drank their tea peacefully, though their topic of discussion remained about this mysterious Eiglatson.

=======

Elsa hugged Honeymaren tight, her face buried in her neck, taking in her natural scent.

“I love you.” She muttered, like she was still shy to say it, even after 4 years of marriage.

Honeymaren slightly pulled back to look at her lover. “I love you too, snømus. You’re glowing.”

Elsa’s eyes widened, panic suddenly stretching her features.

“I am?”

Her hands detached from her wife’s waist, like she was afraid of hurting her, and even took a safe step back.

Honeymaren laughed. “No, not really! I mean, you do, baby. You always do. But not literally.”

Elsa blinked, then sighed. The brunette continued to laugh, taking her hands back. “Why are you so tensed about it?”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Muttered the blonde, looking elsewhere. “Since the magic attack, I’m afraid that my powers got affected in a way…”

“Shh… They aren’t. They never will. Ever. You’re safe for the rest of your life now.”

She caressed her cheek, and a small smile tugged Elsa’s lips, but it went away too soon. “I just don’t want to go through this again.”

“Losing control?” Guessed Honeymaren.

Elsa missed a heartbeat at her wife’s wise analysis.

“You’re not losing control.” Assured the brunette.

“I know, but those creatures will come back, you can’t deny it. What if that time, I’m not--”

Honeymaren silenced her with a kiss. She had found out long ago that it was an infallible way to make Elsa’s worries vanish right away. The blonde closed her eyes, and melted in the kiss. Yep, love indeed was the key against anxiety. Honeymaren looked at her when they parted.

“We’ve been ready for this one. We’ll be even more for the next. Even if it means more angry.”

Elsa smiled, her eyes still closed, then chuckled. When she opened them, two calm walnut irises were embracing her mentally in a warm cocoon.

She bit her lip, her hands roaming the brunette’s hips.

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?” She teased.

“How is taking care of a tribe ‘stupid’?” Smiled Honeymaren. “Also, now that the dork one of the couple is gone, I’m safe.”

“I’m not a dork.” Huffed the blonde with a pout.

“Sure you are. May I remind you that I surprised you and Bruni having a tongue blep competition the other day?”

Elsa blushed lightly. They often had fun with the Fire Spirit, and she refused that Honeymaren made this an awkward moment. They had laughed a lot.

Ryder snorted. “Did you win?”

The Northuldra leader turned to her brother, frowning at how he once again eavesdropped one of their conversations. “You do not get to tease her. Only I do. And of course she did.”

They all laughed. Anna smiled as Elsa kissed her wife deeply, then the blonde joined her on Nokk’s back.

The Fifth Spirit placed her hands on the water horse’s neck, and Anna placed hers around her waist.

With a final nod, and wave to the Northuldra, they dashed to the South, Anna once again impressed by the swift moves of Nokk, even if it was for the hundredth time. Via the water stream, they would arrive to Arendelle in a record speed.

A long silence passed after they disappeared on the horizon, the Sami slowly getting back to their tasks.

Ryder looked at her sister’s behavior, and smiled tenderly.

“Nervous much?”

Honeymaren stared at him. “How do you know I’m nervous?”

Ryder chuckled. “First, because I am your brother and I can tell when you’re worried about something. And second, because you have that big mannerism when you’re concerned about Elsa. When she’s away in Arendelle or in Ahtohallan or simply not around for too long... You always fiddle with your ice wedding ring.”

Honeymaren sighed. She couldn’t help this mannerism, so actually, she was fairly certain that Ryder wasn’t the only person who noticed it; the whole folk probably did. Except of course for Elsa, because Honeymaren didn’t do that in her presence, by definition.

“It relaxes me to touch her magic. And this ring is the product of her magic mixed with her love for me. So it brings a lot of happiness to my mind and heart. It erases sad thoughts. Also, it’s the easiest way to know that she’s safe.” She confessed.

Ryder didn’t have to comment out loud to say that he understood her drift. If Elsa were to die, then the ring would instantly melt.

Honeymaren gulped, looking at her brother, who now felt sorry for bringing that up.

“Damn, I didn’t mean to make you think about that. Look, Elsa will be fine. She’s with Nokk and Anna. And they’ll arrive to Arendelle soon. We’re worried about her too, you know? She’s still our Fifth Spirit.”

“I know, of course. I’m not hogging on her.”

Ryder smiled. “Those last days filled with dangers and threats have been heavy for all of us.”

Honeymaren nodded. “And it’s out of question that I get some rest.”

Her brother grinned. “Let’s go practice.”

========

Wind blowed in Anna’s ears as they traveled at high speed to Arendelle. In fact, they could see the castle appearing in the horizon, and the Queen smiled as she held her sister in a hug.

“Are you alright back there?” Worried Elsa, wondering why she was now holding her that way.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Assured Anna, and the blonde was happy to hear the smile in her voice. “I’m just happy that you’re safe.”

“It’s been a crazy week, but Honeymaren helped me go through this. She’s purely amazing.” Admitted Elsa.

Her younger could feel the upcoming praise, and grinned in advance.

“I owe her so much. You know, I used to be scared of thunderstorms because they reminded me of that night we lost mother and father, and that time I almost drowned in the Dark Sea because of... You, buddy.” She smirked as she patted Nokk, and they neighed.

“...But she healed me from them. She has a way to take care of me that is… So unique. And sweet, and nice.”

Anna smiled. “Like honey?”

Elsa frowned, and turned to slightly stare at her. “Honey is nice?”

“Well, it is unique and sweet. But also nice because it’s used as a medicine.” Smirked the redhead.

“I meant that Honeymaren had a warm way to reassure me.”

“Honey can be heated.” Grinned Anna.

“Will you please stop comparing my wife to actual food?”

“Well, by the way you constantly devour her with your gaze… Ouch!”

Elsa had pinched her leg, and she laughed.

They finally arrived in the kingdom, and Nokk made a show when they let them them go down on the harbor pontoon. Elsa thanked the magical horse with a loving scratch and they left in a bounce, merging with the water. The Fifth Spirit got all the usual acclamations from the townspeople, and she, as usual, blushed a bit and thanked them bashfully as they made their way to the castle.

“Walk faster, Anna. Why are you so slow? I thought you were in a hurry.”

“I am. But I want you to fully get those claps that you deserve.”

Elsa grumbled with modesty until they arrived to the castle’s gates. Inside, they quickly were greeted by the servants, and the youngest of them hurried to go upstairs to warn their family of their arrival.

“His Majesty got a bit worried by your sudden leave, but Princess Eydis was able to reason with him.” Smiled Ronny, the new butler.

Anna giggled. “I expected no less.”

“AUNTIE!!” Yelled two children at the top of the hall’s stairs, and they smiled at their joyful and loud entrance.

“Next praise; after the people, your nephew and niece.” Announced Anna with a tap on her elder’s shoulder.

Elsa got emotional when she understood that Anna insisted she should get more into the spotlight.

Isak tackled her waist for a hug with his tiny arms. Eydis search for room and decided to hug Elsa’s neck. The blonde’s lips trembled in joy, and she closed her eyes as she hugged them as tight as possible with her arms.

“I missed you too, little rascals.”

Then she realized how tall her niece was.

“Eydis!” She exclaimed. “You’re growing up so fast!! I’m astounded.”

“The physician says that I’ll be taller than mother when I’m an adult.” Grinned the girl.

“I don’t like idea at all!” Frowned Anna, who had been hearing her from where she was talking with Ronny to check on the news.

“Though, you haven’t seen me in a while. That’s maybe why you’re impressed.” Said Eydis.

Ouch. Touché.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to come more often.” Muttered Elsa, feeling bad, and her guilt was perceptible.

“Eydis, do I need to remind you that last time she came to the castle, you were up the eastern mountains in an ice harvesting expedition?” Reprimanded the Queen.

Isak looked at them, his eyes darting from one to the other. Did she say that to defend her sister or to scold hers for going out of the castle for too long?

“Yeah, sorry…” Groaned Eydis.

“It’s okay. How was it?” Asked Elsa.

“Elsa!” Frowned the redhead.

“What? I’m genuinely interested.”

“Sure you are. You should see your face when ice is mentioned.”

Isak giggled at her mother’s remark.

“The lake on the north-east valley had a thick surface and we harvested a lot of ice this year. It was awesome.” Whispered Eydis to her aunt’s ear.

“Tell me more at dinner.” Grinned Elsa.

Kristoff soon came down the stairs with diplomats he visibly had a meeting with, and they greeted.

Elsa later asked to talk to the King and Queen alone, and suggested them to go to Mattias and Halima’s house to ask him about Victor Eiglatson. It was better to keep it secret from the children and staff for now.

“Maybe that later, we can warn the guards.” Suggested Elsa on a low voice.

The two other nodded, and they exited the castle, pretending to go on a walk.

What they didn’t know was that Eydis had been listening in the shadows, and now was following them discreetly from a distance.

=======

“Please come in, I’ll make some coffee.” Invited Mattias.

Elsa worried instantly. Since Mattias was retired, he had little habits that Anna and her had become really good at finding out. When he prepared coffee at such a time in the afternoon, it meant that he was embarrassed about something. Given his face when they explained their venue and said the name ‘Victor Eiglatson’, she would bet that he was not willing to talk about him.

“This Victor is a terrible man.” He murmured once they were all seated in his living room.

Halima and Anna exchanged a gaze. Victor’s arrest had marked the old man thoroughly. Mattias was deeply kind and sensible - which made him a compassionate general - and to face Victor’s mean and violent personality had shocked him.

“I suppose that Anna told you about when and why we put him in prison.” Gulped the black man, talking to Elsa.

The latter nodded.

“What else to do know about him? Maybe information about his past? Anything would be helpful.”

Mattias took the time to drink a bit of his cup before answering with a sigh.

“All I know is that he used to be a merchant, with a business based on trades between kingdoms, and he often went back and forth between the Forest and Arendelle; even before King Runeard started looking into the potential of the Northuldra land.”

“Waoh, long ago then.” Kristoff noted.

No wonder why Elsa described his face in the memories of Ahtohallan as an old cranky and stiff man.

“I was told that he was very rigid when he was in the army”, added Mattias. “Something must have happened in his life, because I always found it odd that a merchant could become this harsh. Who knows, maybe he enrolled in the Arendelle military forces to plan revenge over something.”

He then pretended to stir his coffee to look down.

“Anyhow, high-ranking soldiers started reporting his hateful behavior to me, so I had to act.” Said the man in a low tone. “He was extremely violent in his words and swore many times he would kill Elsa one day.”

He lifted his face, and Elsa’s eyebrows knotted in a sad expression.

“Don’t ask me to repeat what he shouted when we took him away and locked him in the prison. I’d never dare to put such words in my mouth.” Muttered Mattias.

She gave him a sad smile. “It’s okay. You don’t need to. I know how much he hates me.”

Anna turned an intrigued face to her, so she continued: “When we saw memories of him in Ahtohallan, I saw that he had a common past with, say, my previous life. The former Fifth Spirit.”

“The man who was the Northuldra leader before Yelena, right?” Remembered Halima.

Elsa nodded. “Yes. For now, I can’t access his memories about the moment or moments he met Victor, but when the day comes, I’ll certainly have to face a truth I might not appreciate.”

They all gave her sad stares over their coffee cups, and Anna put a hand on her thigh. They had learned that their grandfather was murderer and a colonizer, and now they might learn that the previous Fifth Spirit did something that was worth a deadly revenge? The sisters exchanged a gaze to bring the other courage, but in their souls, they both were trembling.

Anna gulped. “Thank you for your help, Mattias.”

“Please, stay.” Smiled Halima. “There’s plenty more of coffee, and it’s been a while since we’ve last seen you. We have a lot to catch up on.”

“It’s true.” Grinned Elsa.

Her smile then turned malicious.

“By the way, do you have one more cup? We have another person joining us.”

Anna frowned. “What?”

Mattias did as well. “Who?”

Elsa simply stood up in silence, and opened the nearest window briskly.

A girl suddenly screamed on the other side, jumping in fright.

Anna’s eyes jolted wide. “Eydis?!”

The princess titled her head back within sight, and smiled nervously with gritted teeth. “Hiii.”

Anna dropped her jaw in astonishment. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“She’s been following us since we left the castle.” Informed Elsa with a sly smile. “I was wondering if she would dare to come in or sneak back through the village.”

Eydis blinked at her aunt. “Wait, you could tell I was following you all along?”

“What, you think you can escape my sight?” Smirked the Snow Queen. “Eydis, I hunt several times a week. And now that I mention this, I actually realize that I have a lot to teach you about how to walk silently to go undetected.”

“You will NOT teach her that.” Scolded Anna.

The princess grinned with a giggle. Elsa closed the window when Halima opened the door for her, and the teenager entered. Then she cleared her throat, and huffed as she placed her hands on her hips, proud chest up.

“Well, now I know your little secret. So you have to take me with you.”

Everyone exclaimed.

“No, Eydis, you can’t possibly--”

“That’s too dangerous.”

“You shouldn’t--”

“There’s no way we’re allowing you--”

She snorted at all their refusals flying at the same time.

“Say what you want, I heard all about this Eiglatson, and I want to come.”

Her mother frowned. “Oh, you won’t, young lady. This is adult business.”

“I’m thirteen!!” Exclaimed the princess.

“And that is way too young.” Persisted Anna.

“You were eighteen when you had your first big adventure!” Replied Eydis with a rebellious frown. “What does it change?”

Anna scoffed. “Well, five years, for starters!”

The young blonde sighed and pouted. “Mama, please let me come with you.”

“Oh, now you ‘Mama’ me?”

“Please! I can fight, I can think strategically, I can help you!”

Elsa recognized in her niece’s begging the traits than Anna.

“I swear I’ll stay with you, Mama.”

The Queen sighed longly, looking at Kristoff to get his advice. But the blond was staring at Halima as she poured a cup of coffee to the new guest.

“Wait, do you have something else to drink? She’s too young for cafeine.” Frowned Kristoff, worried for her health.

Her wife stared at him with sarcasm. “That’s the only part that concerns you?”

“What?” He said with lifted eyebrows.

Anna blinked. “I’m sorry, did you miss the whole part where our daughter asked to come with us and face mortal danger?”

Kristoff didn’t seem to be bothered by it. He shrugged. “She’s excellent at fighting. You said it yourself the other day. And if she swears to stay with us, she doesn’t risk anything.”

Anna jaw dropped. Eydis smirked. “You said I was an excellent fighter?”

Now the redhead blushed. “I… I did not understate that you could come along with us in a battle.” She insisted, weighing on that word as she stared at the King.

Kristoff was ignoring her now, helping Halima pour a glass of fresh fruit juice to Eydis.

Mattias and Elsa were enjoying the scene with discreet smiles.

“Also, it would be rude to doubt about my worth.” Teased the princess, referring to her encounter with no less than Thor when she was a child.

Anna grunted at that clever point. After a while, she sighed longly, and her shoulders slumped. “Fiiiine. Eydis, you can come.”

The princess bit her lip and tried all she could to not make any noise as she internally screamed in joy, her fists tight.

“But you NEVER leave our side, okay?”

Eydis nodded with sparkling eyes. “I promise. Pinky promise.”

Anna melted in a smile, and Elsa observed as mother and daughter tied their pinky fingers together.

The blonde noticed once more how close they were. She was intrigued by the pinky promise, and wondered when they had decided of the cute gesture. Eydis wasn’t the type of child who lied. She even sometimes was awfully direct, and rarely put filters to her remarks if she wasn’t in a royal context or surrounded by dignitaries. She was never afraid to speak the truth. Then why the pinky promise?

Elsa gulped. Was it because when she was the one to promise something, she only did it it orally, and often broke the promise because she used it as a device? She looked at Anna sadly. Was it because her younger sister had been disappointed multiple times and hated it? And therefore created this with her daughter so that she would never break her promise, unlike her?

“Elsa?”

Did Anna hate her for how many times she had broken her promises?

“Elsa!”

The blonde startled, suddenly aware of her surroundings. Time had passed, and Mattias had just told a really good joke, to which everyone laughed, except for Elsa. Anna looked at her while the others were distracted.

“What’s wrong?”

The Fifth Spirit gulped. “Nothing.”

“Elsa.”

Now she had called her with a scolding tone.

“You can tell, uh?” Sighed the elder.

“Obviously.”

The blonde inhaled calmly, and muttered what she had on her heart. “Are you… Are you mad at me for the numerous times I broke my promises?”

Anna blinked at that odd doubt. She then linked it to what had possibly made her come to this conclusion, and smiled sadly.

“Elsa… Of course I’m not. You know, even if I’m upset sometimes, I also have an open mind. I know that there are times when you can’t keep them. And yes, I have entirely forgiven you for that one time you sent me away to save my life. You do realize that, if you didn’t break a promise here and there, I’d be dead by now?”

Elsa giggled slightly. “I suppose.”

Anna booped her nose. “Take those sad thoughts out of your mind, okay? Tonight, I’m gonna ask the cooks to make us a chocolate cake.”

The blonde grinned.

Eydis turned to her mother. “Hey, I was thinking… Why can’t Ahtohallan help?”

The Queen smiled at her clever question. “She already is helping, sweetheart. By giving Elsa her blessing to use her powers against Victor. And based on what happened on the last attack, I can tell you they’re very effective.”

“Awesome.” Beamed Eydis, admiration in her eyes. “In fact, you’re like Joan of Arc.”

Mattias blinked. “Uh?”

“Yeah, because she heard voices, then those voices asked her to go at some place, then she became a fierce warrior, and now she’s a tough legend.”

Anna laughed, then suddenly gasped with wide eyes. “Oh my gods, you are like Joan of Arc.”

Elsa puffed. “And you only realize it now?”

They started helping Halima to clear the table, and the redhead approached her elder. She started to open her mouth, and Elsa rose a finger to stop her right in her tracks.

“No, I will not pose for an epic painting riding Nokk and waving the Arendelle flag.”

Anna closed her mouth and pouted.

=======

They prepared their battle gears and equipments and placed them in a wagon, that would be drawn by two horses given the four people on it and the heavy weapons and armors that were transported. Anna had asked the soldiers to stay in Arendelle, for there was no need for them to come alone and this was the perfect opening to attack the kingdom while they were gone.

“Why don’t you go there flying?” Asked Isak when they packed their stuff, still unaware on how physics work.

Eydis burst out of laughter. “Oh my, if only. I’d love to go there in a flying house.”

Anna overheard them as she closed a chest aboard the wagon. “You know, there’s a guy named Zeppelin in Germany who’s thinking about that.”

The two children exhaled in amazement.

“I love technology.” Smiled Eydis broadly. “You know, Isak, science actually is really close to magic, in a way.”

“Oh?”

“That makes me think… Father, did you pack my Thermos flask?”

“Yeah, I did.” Answered Kristoff, his voice muffled as he was checking the wheels with the cartwright.

They spent the afternoon with family and talked about so many different topics at dinner that Elsa’s head spinned with joy at how many things had changed in Arendelle. She also got to know Ronny better, now that he was the new butler and replacing Kai, and the servant promised to keep an eye on Isak while they were all gone. Mattias also had promised to check on the little prince from time to time, feeling sorry for not helping in the battle, given his old age.

The Fifth Spirit was now lost in her thoughts, staring at the night sky from Isak’s bedroom.

“Auntie! Thank you for the magic colors!” Jolted the boy, grabbing her out of her reverie.

Elsa turned and squinted in confusion. “Uhh… The what?”

He lifted his head with a big smile, and pointed at the windows. “The beautiful magic lights in the sky!”

She tried to understand. Oh. He was referring to the northern lights.

“Sweetie, this is not my doing. They’re due to solar wind and magnetic disturbances.” She simply said, on a casual nerdy tone.

Therefore, the boy stared at her with a blink. “What?”

Elsa realized what she had said, and remembered that she was talking to a child, and shook her head as she immediately corrected herself. “I’m kidding. Yes. Magic. Of course it’s magic. Obviously.”

She then smiled when the boy grinned and looked up at the aurora borealis with sparkling eyes. She sighed tenderly at how he was the perfect mix of Kristoff and Anna, having exactly what she found touching in the two people, in addition to his usual cuteness. While Eydis was the spitting image of her mother, minus the freckles and with messy blonde hair, Isak had as much facial features from his father than his mother, and sported very curly red hair.

Elsa passed a hand in that tiny bush. “You know what those magic lights also mean? That it’s time to go to bed.”

Isak giggled at her touch. “Mama says that it means that the sky is awake.”

“Yeah, well, your mother isn’t really the best example for sleeping schedules. Come on, chop chop, in the sheets.”

He groaned a bit, but once his aunt tucked him in and sang half of a lullaby, he dozed off. Elsa smiled tenderly again, looking at him. She would never stop being emotional at how her family had grown. Isak always had loved magic, literally from the earliest age. The Spirits had been keeping an eye on Anna’s children every time they would visit the Forest, and Isak had been born there. Elsa remembered with a smile how Gale actually was the first one to have played with him as a baby, twirling softly above the wooden cradle and waving his rattle.

“Elsa, can we talk for a minute?”

The blonde jumped high in surprise at the sudden voice at the door frame.

“Damn it, Anna, do you want me to freeze your son??” Gasped Elsa, one hand on her heart while the other clenched on Isak’s sheets, trying her best not to let out the ice that had rushed to her fingertips at the spook. She furiously glanced at her sister, who apparently found her reaction funny.

“I couldn’t help observing you. You’re very cute.”

“You mean, Isak and I? Or just me?” Asked Elsa, standing up to join her, and matching her whispering tone to not wake the child.

“Mmmh, both.” Answered the Queen, thinking it would be the best answer.

Elsa eye-rolled, and she followed her to her study so they could be in a private spot.

“Okay, what did you want to talk about?”

“I need to know as much information as possible before we leave. What were the creatures like, from your point of view?”

Elsa tried her best to not omit any detail when describing the monsters.

Anna frowned. “How can something be loathsome, disgusting and fascinating at the same time?”

“That’s truly how I feel about them. As they’re also magical beings, I can’t help but admire how they’re made.”

She had a shiver at that admission, and Anna passed a hand in her back. Her elder was having conflicted emotions lately. She wanted to know more about Victor Eiglatson, and stop his doings, but he also captivated her. The redhead smiled as she thought of a joke to make her feel better.

“You know what else is loathsome, disgusting and fascinating at the same time?”

“What?” Snorted Elsa, hearing the jesting tone.

“Your wife.”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you ever seen Honeymaren running away with her face covered with purple after she ate all the berries you spent an hour picking up?”

Elsa burst out of laughter.

“Yeah, very funny.” Groaned Anna. “I’m never helping Northuldra gatherings again. She’s a dork.”

“I’m well aware.” Giggled Elsa, who couldn’t stop imagining Honeymaren laughing out loud as she was chased by a furious Anna.

“She hides that childish personality really well under her serious leader and calm lover masks.” Admitted the blonde.

They smiled and looked at the beautiful night through the study’s window.

“Why did you ask me about the creatures?” Frowned Elsa, suspicious.

“Well, we don’t all have magic to protect us. And I just ordered a new custom-made armor that I couldn’t wait to use. This is the perfect occasion.”

She rubbed her hands excitedly with a spark in the eye, and Elsa laughed.

=======

The Elemental Stones was a symbolic place for a meetup, but the spot where once stood the dam had turned out to be just as well. Indeed, now that it was completely destroyed since years, moss had appeared on the rubble and stones, and where once stood a horrible construction, had grown a tree. On the bank of the river, it was now the size of a house, and the Northuldra had decided not to cut it because of how beautiful this sign of Nature was. How meaningful was it, that a fruit tree had grown at this exact place, among the ruins? And now was feeding the whole tribe?

Anna often asked to see the tree when she visited Elsa, so naturally, when Honeymaren picked a place to go to celebrate their venue, she had chosen to sit in the resplendent grass under the tree.

“I’m getting good at this.” Smiled Eydis happily, turning the wooden spoon in the kettle.

Kristoff smiled down at her. “Yeah, you’re getting a hand to it. I think that all the Northuldra can’t wait to taste your soup.”

Anna looked at them lovingly and sat down next to Elsa and Honeymaren, who were cuddling on the ground. The brunette noticed how nervous Anna was when she kept staring at the corn she was in charge of cooking.

“You don’t need to put your family through pressure to cook a perfect meal, fire head. Your presence among us already is fulfilling.”

The Queen drummed with her hands on her knees. “Nonsense. I want to make sure that the whole tribe eats well.”

Elsa smiled. “You don’t need to watch over the corn like that. You know, we were on a hike once with Honey and we forgot it on the fire because we got distracted, and all the kernels had exploded. Yet the result turned delicious.”

Anna scoffed.

“Exploded corn? You can’t make much of that. A lot of Northuldra specialities will certainly go through time, but this? Naaah.”

Elsa shrugged as she drank some water.

“Wait…” Suddenly realized Anna. “Distracted? What had possibly distracted you during meal?”

Honeymaren smirked. “It depends what you mean by ‘meal’...”

Elsa spat and coughed at her wife’s words. The brunette grinned happily, but Anna was confused and didn’t catch the naughty innuendo.

Kristoff turned to them.

“The meal will be ready soon. Hey, Anna, could you get Ryder? He’s surely busy in the vicinity of reindeers.”

“Sure.”

The redhead stood up and walked through the camp. When she found him, he was painting the enclosure with a layer of odorous lacker.

The Queen winced like she had just received a physical blow. “Waoh! What’s that smell?”

With the wind blowing in her direction, she felt attacked, and almost blamed Gale for doing it on purpose. Ryder interrupted his brush strokes to look at her apologetically, though with a smirk.

“Yeah, you don’t want to know what I put in that brown mixture for it to resist heavy rains.”

Anna’s eyes widened. She wanted to ask ‘reindeer poop?’ but refrained herself.

“Boiled linseed oil is what smells the worst.” Explained Ryder, resuming to polishing the barrier. “But with it, we can go through Autumn’s weather without any problem.”

The redhead smiled with admiration. “It’s nice to see that even as a nomad tribe, you put so much effort and care into those little things.”

“Just because we change our living place every now and then, doesn’t mean that we can’t let the wood get damaged. I prefer our reindeers’ enclose to be pretty.” Smiled Ryder.

Anna grinned back. His love for reindeers would always be cute to her.

“Where are you moving after Winter?”

“Hmm, a bit more West, at the same hills we’ve been to last year.”

“Oh! Yeah! They’re beautiful.”

“They are. It’s not all; the soil fertility is why we go there again. We had good seed stock.”

He finished painting the fence, then looked at the spot where the Arendellians had set up.

“Do you need help to unload your wagon?” Proposed the man.

Anna smiled. “No, it okay. We took care of it already. There is no shortage of kind people in your tribe.”

Ryder tilted his head at the enormous chest that had been added to the armory hut.

“Waoh, that looks heavy.”

The Queen smirked. “Yeah, not gonna lie, we all brought our own battle equipment.”

“I wonder what type of weapon each of you picked.”