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ravens-words · 4 years

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Tell me how all this (and love, too) will ruin us

For @bamfalexmanes ❤ Elle, I hope you like it

The one in which Michael and Alex have a talk, some truths are revealed and a new hope is born.

This is a sequel of a sort to we burned down our paper house.

Happy Reading!!

"Are you okay?"

Michael looked up quickly, too quickly if the way his vision blurred for a second was an indication, and found Alex looking down at him with a frown of concern.

Michael hated it. He also wanted to put his lips to those three lines that resided in between his brows and kiss it away.

"I'm fine," he mumbled pathetically, looking away before his thoughts became too hard to conceal and showed up on his face. Neither of them would be ready for that.

Alex crouched beside him and Michael's eyes flickered up to meet his. He smiled, and Michael's treacherous heart beat a hard rhythm against his chest. "You're not fine," he told him casually.

Michael laughed bitterly. Of course he wasn't alright. There was an ancient, psychotic alien who looked like his brother's twin living in his bunker. Max wasn't getting any better, seemed to be even more manic now that that they'd found Jones. And Michael had to live everyday with a regret that threatened to choke him alive every single time he saw Alex and Forrest together. When he'd walked away in the middle of Alex's song, he hadn't been thinking clearly. He'd been so sure that it wasn't their time, that they would have time later, that they weren't ready in that moment. He'd known, in his bones, that he and Alex were meant for each other. They'd loved each other through the worst of times, and still do after almost twelve years. Whatever thing he had with Forrest wouldn't last, Michael had convinced himself, but- Alex needed it. Alex needed something light and good and happy and fleeting, just like what he'd had with Maria.

After he had tried with Maria, Michael's belief that Alex was the only one for him had been cemented. Selfleshly, he'd wanted the same to happen for Alex. Michael had desperately needed that reassurance.

It had backfired on him, because of all the things he'd accounted for in the minute it took to make the decision to walk away, he hadn't accounted for the most important one; having to watch the love of his life be with someone else. Having to watch him kiss someone else, laugh with someone else and wishing that it was him.

Jealousy wasn't a new thing to Michael. He'd spent his whole life, it felt like, being jealous. Jealous of Max and Isobel for getting the family while he got bounced around from home to home. Jealous of Max and Isobel when they literally killed people, and yet his life turne out to be the worst out of the three of them. Jealous of Isobel for getting married to the person she loved and building herself a home (before Noah turned out to be a serial killer). And now, jealous of Forrest Long, of all people, for getting to be with Alex in a way Michael had not been in all the years they'd been in love.

"This is about me and Forrest, isn't it?" Even though it was phrased as one, Michael knew it wasn't a question.

He didn't answer. Ashamed and guilty and relieved that Alex got it without him having to say it.

Alex sighed. "I watched you be with Maria for a lot longer, you know," he told him mildly, tone almost teasing.

Michael found himself silent again, because yeah, Alex had watched him be with Maria for nearly a year and had been gracious about it. He had been supportive, even, according to Maria. Michael wanted to do the same, had been trying for a little less than a month with varying degrees of success.

He didn't know how Alex could stand it.

"It's not about you and Forrest." One last ditch effort to be the friend and not the helpless fool in love.

It didn't work. Of course it didn't work.

Alex raised his eyebrows. "Did you really think that would work?"

Michael shrugged. "Figured I had to try."

Alex shifted from his crouch to sit beside Michael, and their shoulders brushed. The touch sent shivers down his spine and he had to fight the instinct to lean closer. Damn, but he missed the closeness, the comfort of it. "Well, now that you have, are you ready to tell me why you're here on your own instead of being inside with all of us?"

"Is it me?" He found himself asking. He sounded like a small child and found himself looking down to avoid looking at Alex.

He felt Alex stiffen beside him And immediately wanted to take it back. He didn't, though. After a few seconds of silence, Alex relaxed and let out a slow breath. "Something that you never managed to understand, Michael, was that at no point in the past eleven years was I ever ashamed of you. It was never about you. It was my father, it was the military, it was me. But it was never you. That is, until you chose to do something illegal on our first date."

Michael looked up at the sky and shook his head as they both laughed softly. He marveled at how far they had come, that they could laugh about something that had torn them apart two years ago.

Once their laughter died down, Alex spoke again. "You have to understand that my father made me live in fear for a really, really long time. He- I was thirteen when I figured out I was gay, and twelve when he did. From that moment on, I lived in constant fear of being myself. The only time I wasn't aftlraid was with you. And we both know how that turned out."

It hurt to hear, because Alex didn't deserve any of it, but knowing that he had somehow helped, that Alex wasn't ashamed of him, was a balm on a gaping wound that had been bleeding for a long time.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Alex smiled, reassuring. "Now get up, suck it up and come inside." Though outwardly his demeanor was light, Michael could tell this was a test. He'd never failed a test in his life and he was damned if he was going to start now.

He got up, followed Alex inside and sucked it up.

.................

"Guerin!"

Michael grinned automatically and spun around to greet Alex. To his surprise, he wasn't alone. The man with him was just a little shorter, but was built like a tank. Alex clapped him on the shoulder and smiled at him. "Hey."

"Hi."

Alex gestured at the man. "This is Bradley Williams, a buddy of mine."

"Hey, man," Michael took over the introduction. "Michael Guerin. Nice-" he trailed off as the man's eyes widened and his head spun around to look at Alex with a speed that had him wondering how his head was still attached. "-to meet you?" He looked between the two men. The man was grinning ear to ear now, while Alex was glaring daggers at him. "Am I missing something here?"

"Yes," Bradley said.

"No," Alex countered, in a way that left no room for argument.

Michael was surprised to see the man back off immediately and wondered exactly how the two had met. It must have been the air force, but it wouldn't explain the evident closeness. The two seemed like brothers.

"Listen, his car is a mess. But h's stubborn and won't admit he can't fix it. Can you take a look at it and tell him he needs to have a professional fix it?" The last part, though addressed to him, was said pointedly in Bradley's direction.

"Sure thing."

The car was a mess. Alex took too much pleasure in being right and processed to give Bradley shit the second Michael confirmed it. Seeing Alex like this, happy and carefree, never failed to make Michael's heart swell with fondness for him. It was seriously a problem.

About fifteen minutes later, Alex got a call and stepped away from them. "You know, this is gonna take a while, so you can just go and I'll give you or Alex a call when it's ready."

"Nah," he said with forced casualness. "I'm good here. Plus, he's probably gonna go back to the base- yup, there's that look." When Bradley pointed the bottle in Alex's direction, Michael's eyes followed and noticed the serious look on his face.

"I gotta go back to the base," he told them, putting the phone in his back pocket. "Let me drive you to the house?"

Bradley leaned back in his chair. "I'm good here, cap; you go ahead."

They locked eyes and after a few seconds, Alex nodded, giving him a wry smile. Michael felt like an outsider as they seemed to have an entire conversation without saying a thing.

Once Alex was gone, the other man turned to him. "Forgive my bluntness, but why the hell aren't you two together?"

Michael's head whipped around and he stared at the man, pissed off and in awe in equal measures. Had he managed to figure out Michael was in love with Alex from spending twenty minutes with them? "What?" He spluttered.

Bradley shook his head. "He told me about you. The way-"

Michael's whole world did a somersault around its axis. "He- he talked about me?"

The older man's forehead crinkled in a frown, but then his features softened and he let out a huff of a breath that could have been a laugh. "Yes, he talked about you. Not much, mind you. He kept a lot of things close to the vest back then, still does, but- everyone in our unit kinda knew there was someone special for him back home, way before he told me."

Someone special. At a time where he'd thought of himself as an afterthought, a dirty secret, in Alex's life, the people closest to him at the time had thought he was someone special.

"Every time he talked to you on the phone, he'd be settled, more- alive, I guess- for the next couple of days. Sometimes, I'd even catch him on the phone with you and he'd have this look on his face and I just knew."

"Knew what?" Michael managed to say, heart in his throat.

"That he loved you. And from what I've seen, that hasn't changed, has it?"

A part of Michael wanted to snap at him and tell him to mind his own business. Another part wanted to get down on his knees and beg him to tell him more.

"What did he say about me?" He found himself asking, voice barely above a whisper.

"That you're smart. Kind. That he- he was bleeding out in my arms and all he could talk about was you." Bradley sucked in a harsh breath, and Michael envied his ability to do that, because couldn't draw a single breath. "He was dying, and all he wanted was for you to know; practically begged me to be the one to tell you."

"That he loved me?" Michael's voice cracked, but he ignored it, eyes on the other man.

"That he'd died, Michael. He didn't want you to keep guessing, I think." Bradley looked him straight in the eye and Michael saw the tears that had gathered there. It made Michael feel better about the tears in his own eyes.

"If something does happen to you, half the town will know before I do and that's because no one would even think to tell me." He remembered saying on the last phone call they'd had, nearly four years ago.

He'd been angry when he'd said that; angry and afraid. The idea that his words had stayed with Alex, that he'd been thinking about him when he'd been bleeding, dying, broke his heart and mended it in the same breath. Not for the first time, he ached for him, for them, for everything they could have been and everything they could have had.

Michael stopped working on the car and sat down heavily in the chair next to him, and Bradley kindly offered him the rest of his beer, eyes forward, probably to give Michael the opportunity to breakdown in peace. But Michael didn't fall apart, he just drank the beer and then stood up to finish the work, not saying a word even when Bradley stood up and walked closer.

"I met Forrest yesterday. Between you and me? I'm rooting for you," he told him with a smirk, patting his shoulder twice before he left, leaving a stunned Michael in his wake.

......

It took two days for Michael to gather up the courage to talk to Alex. When he reached his house, he found him on a lawn chair, headphones in and his head bopping to the beat of a song only he knew. Michael stopped to stare at him, and really, it was ridiculous how far he was gone for the man that he was staring at the back of his head like a lovesick fool.

He took a few steps closer, until he was beside him and when Alex looked up and smiled at him, Michael smiled back automatically. "Writing another song about me?" He asked, teasing.

"No," Alex told him with a laugh. "I think that was a one time thing."

His disappointment must have showed on his face because Alex shook his head. "Not many people have a song written about them, you know, you shouldn't get greedy," he chided and stood up.

He didn't know what made him do it; maybe it was Bradley's words ringing in his ears- he was bleeding out in my arms and all he cared about was you. He wanted you to know; that he'd died.- but the second he was on his feet, Michael pulled him into his arms. When Alex didn't push him away; when he pulled him in tighter instead, Michael buried his nose in the juncture between his neck and his shoulder and took in a lungful of air.

"Are you okay?"

Michael nodded against his neck and Alex's arms tightened around him. He tried desperately to think of something to say, tried to pull away, but found that he couldn't.

"Is this about your talk with Bradley?"

Michael nodded again and buried himself further in Alex's arms.

Alex didn't seem to mind.

They stood like that for longer than they should have, but neither of them seemed to want to let go, so they didn't. Until, eventually, they had to.

"Want to come inside for a beer?" He asked him gently.

Michael wanted more than that. Michael Wanted to hold him until the image of him, bleeding out in Bradley's arms while Michael was blissfully unaware, stopped haunting him in his dreams. He wanted to ask him to sing him the song again, just to hear the rest of it, to be able to appreciate it, to have a reminder that Alex hadn't forgotten about him. Michael wanted to talk to him about the mistakes they'd made and the future they could still have together. But, like he had a month ago, he knew it still wasn't their time.

So he settled for accepting the beer. And being Alex's friend. He owed it to the both of them to try. And he owed it to Alex to back off and let him be happy with someone else since that was what he wanted.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Yeah, I'd love a beer."

#alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #EJ Writes

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scentedstrangercreation · 5 years

Text

The Proposal

“We’re not getting a fire started in this.” Bull examined the perpetually grey sky of the Storm Coast.

“I hate it here, and I hate collecting those stupid shardy things for those stupid magic locks.” Sera walked around in a circle kicking the ground, “I mean who looks at a glowin’ skull and says ‘lets follow that thing’?”

Dorian sighed in frustration, attempting to wring out his soaked robe, “Really, how many keys does one bloody ancient temple even need?”

“A lot, apparently.” Sera kicked at the satchel holding all the shards they’d collected.

“Woah, watch it!”

Iron Bull ran forward and Sera turned around just in time to watch the bag tip open, spilling the shards off the cliff and into the rough waters below.

They looked helplessly over the cliff’s edge as rolling waves crashed against the sharp rocks, swallowing each and every shard.

“…‘kay…” Sera sat back on her heels, “so, no one tell the Inquisitor, a’right?” she looked between Dorian and Bull for confirmation.

“No one tell the Inquisitor what?” Ell’ian asked.

They turned around slowly as Sera discreetly pushed the now-empty bag off the cliff after the shards. The Inquisitor stood with her hands on her hips, eyeing the silent group.

“Nothing,” Dorian waved a hand, “Just the sh—ouch!”

“Sorry, saw a bug.” Sera said as she removed her foot from atop the mage’s, offering him a threatening glance.

He sighed, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “Right. We were talking about the sh…shiny ring…that…” Dorian looked around for help.

“Yeah, the great big shiny ring that…that Cullen got for you,” Sera ignored the disapproving sound Dorian made, “weren’t sure if we should tell ya or not.”

“A ring?” Ell’ian narrowed her eyes, “why would he…” she trailed off, her brow furrowing in concern, “did he…did he say something to you?”

“Me? No, no. I uh— just saw it. Complete accident!” Sera’s words increased in volume and speed as they tumbled out, “Was uh—was ya know, going to mess with that big desk again--center of power an’ all--,” she waved her arms around theatrically, “and there it was, velvet box n’ everything.”

“Did you know about this too?” Ell’ian asked Bull, the only one yet to speak.

“About a ring? Nah. Nothing ‘bout that.” Bull crossed his arms grinning.

“Okay…” Ell’ian still looked skeptical, but her doubt seemed to be slowly transforming into anxiety, “Well, I’m…going to get some rest. I…need to… I’m going to sleep.” She turned away without another word.

“A ring?” Sera turned to Dorian, smacking him in the shoulder.

“Don't look at me,” he matched her angry whisper, “You’re the one who said it was from Cullen. It could have been anyone’s ring!” He turned to Bull, “And you, what a load of help you were. Ben-Hassrath my ass!”

“But then I wouldn’t get to see you so flustered, kadan.” He reached out for Dorian who huffed and pulled away.

“Ugh—,” Sera rolled her eyes and started to walk away, “Okay, now I’m going to bed.” She stopped to turn around, fidgeting with her hands, “Think she’ll forget ‘bout this by mornin’?”

“…Sure.” Bull answered slowly.

“Now you’ll lie.” Dorian threw up a hand, continuing to mutter as Sera headed to her tent.

Right. She’ll forget about it tomorrow. Sera tried to reassure herself. Nothin’ to worry about, no consequences to lose sleep over. She wished she could be so easily convinced.

------------------------------------------------

Ell’ian was so distracted the rest of their trip back to Skyhold that she completely forgot about the shards.

Why would Cullen get her a ring? Was he… was he going to propose? They hadn’t even said ‘I love you’ yet. It was all too soon. There was too much to consider, too much at stake.

If forced, she would at least admit to herself that she did in fact love him, but they were in the middle of a war for creators’ sake! She knew humans could be rash, but Cullen had always seemed so steadfast and practical.

She continued worrying all the way up to the gates of Skyhold, where a small greeting party awaited them. Her heart leapt at the site of Cullen, but sunk again at the reminder of a ring. How would he react if she rejected his proposal?

“Inquisitor,” he greeted her as she dismounted.

“Commander.” She returned the greeting.

They had previously decided to maintain a professional rapport in public. Not that it did anything to quell the gossip.

“Here, allow me,” he brushed against her hand as he took the Hart’s reigns. She quickly retracted it, avoiding his gaze.

“Thank you.”

She reached up to pull her pack from the back of the animal. When it didn’t slide free, she gave it a forceful yank. The pack immediately came loose, sending her stumbling backwards.

Cullen’s hands quickly found her waist, but were slow to leave.

“Are you okay?” he asked, tilting his head and looking into her eyes. He knew her well enough to know she was acting strangely.

“Yes, of course.” she answered too quickly.

Ell’ian knew she was being ridiculous. She hated the way he made her head foggy and her chest flutter. Even more, she hated how vacant the space between them felt when he finally let go.

“Of course.” She repeated, this time with more composure and a smile, “Just tired.”

He returned the smile, soft and warm. She wanted him to step closer again, to forget about the ring. But someone coughed, snapping her back to reality and the audience surrounding them.

“Kiss ‘er,” Sera called through her hands, barely trying to conceal her voice.

“Right,” Cullen cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the Hart, “If you have time, I’d like to go over a few things. Later, in my office.”

“I’ll stop by.” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her nerves.

--------------------------------------------------------

Ell’ian paced outside the Commander’s door. She had almost decided to leave when it burst open and a recruit strode out.

“I want that on my desk by morning.” Cullen called.

“Yes, Commander.” The recruit had yet to fully turn around when she crashed into Ell’ian.

“Inquisitor!” the woman shouted, scrambling to right herself, ‘I—I’m so sorry.”

“Please, it’s fine.” Ell’ian tried to calm the recruit; perhaps Cullen hadn't heard the commotion. She might still have a chance to slip away.

“Ell—Inquisitor?” Cullen’s appearance at the door dashed any hope she had at retreat. It had been a cowardly thought anyway.

“Commander, Inquisitor.” The woman saluted each of them, “Please forg—,”

Ell’ian held up a hand to stop her, “No apologies, it was my fault.”

The woman still seemed ill at ease as she continued on her way. Once the solider had made some distance, Cullen finally turned to her,

“I’d leave the spy work to Leliana.” A small grin played at the corner of his lips.

“I wasn’t spying.” She protested as he ushered her into his quarters, “Just…thinking.”

“Thinking?” he asked, moving past her to order a stack of paper on his desk. Ell’ian felt his energy shift from confident to nervous. “I’ve been thinking too.” He finally stopped shuffling documents, placing his hands flat on the table and looking up at her, “There was…something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Is something wrong?”

“What? No!” he stood up straight seeming flustered, “of course not. I just—,”

She needed to stop this now. She needed to stop being a coward and face reality, for both of them.

“Cullen, we need to talk.” She took a few steps toward him.

His brow furrowed at her change in tone as he stepped around the desk towards her, “Oh—is everything okay?”

“Yes—well,” she hesitated, as he approached her cautiously.

“Ell, you can tell me anything.” He clenched his jaw as though bracing himself for bad news, “You don’t—if there is something—.”

When she hesitated, he took a calming breath and reached into his pocket, “I was hoping to do this somewhere—,” he looked around the drafty office, “anywhere else, but now seems a good a time as any—,”

She closed the space between them, putting her hand over his before he could offer whatever it concealed. Her heart was beating so quickly she thought it might burst from her chest.

“Cullen— I just. I love you.” She looked into his eyes and she truly meant it.

His expression transformed from concern into an earnest elation that would have sent her heart soaring if she didn’t fear what needed to be said next.

“Ell, I love you too.” He gently stroked her cheek with his free hand.

“I know you have a ring, but—,”

“Ring? I don’t have a—I mean…should I have a ring?” He looked at her, and she could see mind racing, “Is that a Dalish tradition...?”

Now it was her turn to look confused. She thought rings were a human tradition.

“No...not necessarily. I guess sometimes we exchange gifts as—,”

“Well, I—I did want to give you this—,” He tried again to retract his hand.

“Cullen,” she kept her hand over his, “I’m trying to say that I love you, but I’m not ready for marriage.”

“Marriage?”

They exchanged increasingly perplexed expressions as she slid her hand from his, revealing a worn coin in his palm.

“A…coin?” Everything slowly started falling into place.

There was no ring, no proposal. She was going to kill Sera and Dorian. She backed away, putting her face in her hands and turning around to conceal the red creeping up her neck and face.

“I know it's not much. My brother gave it to me before—,” he stopped behind her, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I am—I am such an idiot.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or run away, “Dorian and Sera…”

Cullen chuckled behind her, needed no further explanation, for now at least, “Come here.” He pulled on her waist, turning her to face him.

After a moment, she dropped her hands and he cupped her face again, “Ell, I love you. And I have…never felt like this before.”

She couldn’t help but smile, despite her cheeks still burning in embarrassment.

“And it’s not that I haven’t thought about it…about you and me—” he continued.

“I know,” she put a hand up to his face, gently touching his jaw, “you don’t have to explain—”

“I just—just figured with more time we might...” He began speaking a little faster now, a habit Ell’ian had noticed when he became flustered, “I mean ideally after this war, and when we’re both less...” he rubbed the back of his head, “If you would even want to—,”

She pulled herself up to kiss him, he would talk himself into a coma if she let him spiral. He returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up slightly.

“I feel the same way.” She whispered, then stepped back a little, clearing her throat, “tell me about this,” she touched the coin.

“It seems foolish now,” he chuckled softly, “It’s the only thing I’ve kept with me all these years—something of a good luck charm.”

“Luck?” she raised a brow, teasing him, “would you really call yourself lucky?”

He laughed a little, reaching up to tuck a stand of hair behind her ear, “I am here with you, aren’t I?”

She looked down shyly, “Cullen, I couldn’t—,”

“Please.” His tone became more serious as he pressed the coin into her palm, “humor me.”

“I’ll keep it safe.” She wrapped her hand around it.

He pulled her into another kiss, this one slower and deeper than the one before.

She drew back slightly, and rested her forehead against his, basking in his warmth, “Well, I guess the cats out of the bag.”

“What?” He smiled against her, “That you love me?”

“You said it too.”

“Yes, but you said it first.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but his expression stopped her. He seemed so satisfied, and happy. She wasn’t sure she’d ever actually seen him look so…vibrant.

She loved this man, and he loved her. Nothing else mattered, at least not in this moment.

---------------------------------------------------

“What are they doing?” Dorian whispered up at Sera, precariously balanced atop his shoulders.

“Just starrin’ at each other.” She said, peering through the small window, “hold still!”

“I would if you’d stop fidgeting,” Dorian hissed back.

“Shuddup!” she dug a heal into his shoulder, “Wait, they’re kissin’! Finally!”

“Oh thank the Maker.” Dorian sighed as a wave of relief washed over him.

“Dorian, Sera.” Josephine greeted the pair coolly as she walked by.

Startled, Dorian tripped, bringing Sera roughly down on top of him.

“Ey, Josie!” Sera waved from the ground, her arms twisted up in Dorian’s robe.

The Ambassador continued walking, ignoring them both.

“I need a drink.” Dorian yanked his robe from Sera, who was now draping the fabric over her head like a cowl.

“Good idea,” the elf jumped up and offered him a hand, “You buyin’?”

He accepted it, not even bothering to object, “Bull’s buying.”

#dragon age #cullen x lavellan #oc tober #fictober19 #dragon age fanfiction #cullen x inquisitor #sera #dorian pavus #iron bull #writing #autumn fluff

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eltonjohndenver · 5 years

Text

one-fucking-thousand

what the fuck

a breifing to anyone who doesnt know what is about to happen: i made a post saying that if that post got 50 notes at 1000 followers i would post my old legolas fan fic i wrote when i was 10. the post got almost 200 notes in 3 days. fuck you. the time is nigh

links to the saga 🧝🏼‍♂️ 🌿 🏹

ok so i hate to disappoint but i never got to the real action in this because i was lazy back in ol’ 2014. anyway the synopsis:

Cast [who they were based on kill me sdjkhsjdh]:

Eythriel, legolas’s cousin *barf* *kill me* [my old elf fursona]

Illeyis, the sister?? [my friend]

Indius, the grandma [my friend when she would do an old lady voice]

Scarpella, not sure a friend?? [my other hobbit friend]

Haldir, yep him. oh god he was supposed to become the love interest

Migan, i think eythriel’s brother???

the plot:

living deep in mirkwood forest, the author’s self-projected angsty elfsona Eythriel wants something more out of life. That comes in the form of a horrendously worded spider fight scene where she meets mysterious haldir who i guess lives in mirkwood now. He recruits her for the elf army but her stupid family wont let her! >:( ! so she has to decide between family and ???

brought to you by regret and shame

note: i copied this DIRECTLY from the pages doc it was in so i didnt change anything dhjfsgjh and yes it is titled ‘lol’ but i mean it was LITERALLY titled ‘fan fiction” so i mean which is better . have fun getting a stroke from reading the lack of spaces after commas

ill-ee-iss

ith-r-eye-ell

mee-gan

in-dee-us

Lol

By Me

CHAPTER ONE

"Oh come on, I almost shot it!"yelled Eythriel Fernwood as she opened the door to her house in Mirkwood forest."What in the name of Thranduil are you talking about!?"Her grandmother Indíus said. "I almost shot a deer but someone had to sneeze!"glaring at her sister Ilyeis." come on Eythriel ,I can't help it!"Yelled Ilyeis. "Avo Bedo!"Spoke Eythriel just before she slammed the door to her chamber ."don't worry Ilyeis she'l forget soon enough,now help your old grandmother chop these mushrooms!"

Infuriated Ilyeis threw her dagger into the floor and kicked off her boots,"fine I'll help".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eythriel heard a knock on her door "go away Ilyeis "she grumbled

"it's just me Eythriel "came her (half?)brothers voice

"what do you want Mígân!?"she said angrily."A messenger bird came today,her brother replied "it's from Scarpella ."

there was silence, then he heard footsteps and the door unlatching.

"give me the letter."she demanded.He handed it to her. She looked at him suspiciously "you didn't read it ,did you?""no......why are you going to Thranduil’s?"he questioned with a mischievous grin on his face"you stupid fool!"she said in a harsh wisper

"yes."

"thank you Mígân."she said as she shut the door and locked it,She broke open the seal and read:

"Dear Eythriel,

I have told Lord Thranduil

about your offer, we need

as many elves as possible

but he says you must be here

in no more than three moons,

leave at midnight tonight.

We will be awaiting your arrival.

Sincerely, Haldir of Brethil,court of Thranduil "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THREE DAYS EARLIER

eythriel trudged through the forest with a cloak to keep away the rain. Mígân could have gone and Eythriel could be at home sitting in front of a warm fire,but she wanted to eat before the next century,just put it this way,Mígân isn't the most graceful elf in Mirkwood. anyway she was wishing she was at home when she saw a party of elves fighting a group of (giant spid-E).Suddenly she forgot the wet and cold of Mirkwood, for being an elf she could not resist a fight.she swooped in start with her sword and shooting with her bow.such skill is only possessed by an elf.as she fought the last spider she felt eyes on her back.when the spider was dead,she looked at the other elves her face hidden in the shadow of her hood.The other elves smile,happy the fight is over.The largest of the three elves steps forward and introduces himself.”I am Haldír of Brethil,court of Thranduil,to who did we have the pleasure of fighting with?”Eythriel doesn’t respond

Haldír reaches out and

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eythriel crept out of her bedroom and opened the front door and ran out into the night .

She felt the cold autumn air on her cheeks,"this is what it feels like to be free!"she thought suddenly an arrow flew right past her head. So close that the fletching cut her face near her cheek bone.with extreme speed and skill,she turned,her bow drawn and ready to lose an arrow. But much to her relief she saw the beautiful elvish face of Scarpella.

CHAPTER 2

"Scarpella!"she cried "thank goodness it's you!"she smiled at Scarpella then flinched and touched the place where the arrow cut her face. There was no blood,for it is not easy to make an elf bleed. "Did I hurt you?!"Scarpella exclaimed,her voice full of concern."im fine"Eythriel replied.At that moment a small beam of sunlight crept through the tall ancient trees."is that the time already?!"Eythriel said"well,we'd better be on our way!"

~~~~~~~

Indíus had followed Eythriel. She was worried this day would come. Eythriel was like a daughter to her since her parents left.since her own son left for Thranduil's Court and died in battle,she didn't want the same fate to befall Eythriel.

The sight of the two girls calmed her slightly,at least Eythriel wasn't alone. She thought.

Still she followed them closely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ileyis woke with a start. Her dreams had recently become strange,she new there was a meaning,all elf dreams have one in some way or another. She could hear Mígân snoring from his chamber. "Stop it Mígân!"she groaned. She out of bed and went into the hallway to make him stop. She was just about to force open his door when she noticed something odd,Eythriel's door was slightly open. Curiously she glided over and peeked inside,horror overcame her,Eythriel was gone.

(~~~~?)

She ran frantically to indíus' room,only to find it empty as well. Her sister and grandmother were gone!She cried out shocked. Mígân and Kiele her other(half?) brother."What is it?!"they asked concerned"(gramma-e)and Eythriel are gone!"

but for real thank you to all of my main hoes (lotr or otherwise):

@verycorrectlotr @panpervinca @70sdeakylesbian @angelatwell @hatsoff-forgandalf @lothlxrien @harmless-hobbit @bronweathanharthad @boromirthedad @finwe-the-disappointed @jewishfemme and @ladylouoflothlorien who needed to be tagged so here you are

#1000 #amlothy.doo

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raisingsupergirl · 4 years

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A Daydream In Defense of Classical Education: Love the Lord Your God With all Your Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Plasma

LentWatch 2020, Week One: Freedom!

Change is hard. Breaking habits is harder. And breaking habits without accountability is the hardest, which is probably why I've already "failed" at my personal Lent goals by snacking after dinner (c'mon, it was just a few cookies… and some meat-n-cheese… and some chips). But despite realizing my limits and having to drop that one goal, I've held strong to the rest (which you can read about by clicking here), and the results have been like a long sigh after months of holding my breath.

At first, I felt a little lost. Especially regarding social media and YouTube videos. It's amazing how we, in the 21st century, have lost the ability to sit idle. Every spare moment is taken up by checking our phones. Waiting at doctor's offices, going to the bathroom, five-second pauses in friendly conversation—they all fall victim to Instagram notifications, leaving no room for actual thought. And I almost forgot the joy of such idleness before I gave these little things up. And that, combined with cutting television down to a minimum and alcohol down to zero, has made way for that glorious thing that used to be so condemned by teachers and parents: daydreaming!

Now, one can't just cut out all entertainment cold turkey. I'm not even convinced that a human can survive on work and sleep alone. There must be some in-between where we recharge and enjoy pleasures of our own choosing. And so, instead of Facebook and Netflix and beers, I've been reading—at night, mostly, but also in the morning, and even a little during the day. As I said in my previous post, I started re-reading Celebration of Discipline. But I'm also reading The Book of Revelation, The Time Machine, and a creative young adult trilogy called The Illuminae Files. I've never been one to read multiple things at one time, but gosh, it seems like my mind has been hungry for too long, and now it's chowing down. And with the glut of all these stories and ideas, I'm finding that I pause every page or so to just think.

What am I thinking about? All kinds of stuff! For example, why water can't (typically) get hotter than 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Or why an open refrigerator will actually heat a room. Or whether Einstein was wrong about exceeding the speed of light. Or why four separate books of the Bible seem to disagree about how to love God (and thus, what it means to be human). You know, normal stuff.

WARNING: What follows is some serious musing and rambling. If you're strapped for time or are easily irritated by random details, skip to the last paragraph. You'll have no idea what the title of this post means, but hey, I'm not sure I really know, so…

Now, if you haven't checked out, you're probably just intrigued enough to wonder if I've completely lost it. But it may surprise you to know that all of the thoughts I listed above are quite related. And I never would have had them (or their subsequent "higher" questions) if I hadn't "wasted" tens of thousands of dollars on a bunch of classes that I "didn't need" in college. I would have just read the books I listed earlier with interest, and then I would have moved on with my life. But, you see, there are things that bind us—things that connect us to art, literature, history, architecture, mathematics, science, religion, and back to art again. And, for me at least, the more I fill in the gaps between these elements of the human experience, the more I appreciate it all.

I get that not everyone is like me. I get that most people are happy to learn a craft—become an expert, even—work at that craft, leave a legacy, and catch the last episode of their favorite TV shows. And that's the way it's always been. I mean, not everyone in ancient Greece was a philosopher. Not everyone in the Middle Ages received a classical education. But there may have been soldiers and peasants who would have enjoyed the experience had they been given the opportunity. And I, for one, am one of those peasants.

As I've said in previous posts, my young life was characterized by impulsiveness, which culminate in the idea that, "I should go to college and become a physical therapist." I just kind of had the idea one day, so I did it. I resonate with Elle Woods (from Legally Blonde) when she applied to Harvard Law School and said, "What, like it's hard?" Now, of course college was hard (and PT school was much more so), but I enjoyed it. All of it. Even the classes that I didn't need to take: philosophy, freshman English (in which I learned only about Little Red Riding Hood in all of her iterations throughout history…), physics, Old Testament studies, American history. Learning to enjoy education was a slow burn, and it definitely didn't peak until college. If I'd have followed my first inclinations as a senior in high school, I would have joined the military or the police academy, and I would have had a fulfilling career in either (likely with a more impactful contribution to society), but I never would have understood the universe in the way that I do now. And that would have been a real shame.

But I did go to college, and I did rack up student loans (which I'm scheduled to pay off this spring!). And I did come close to what could be called a classical education, which laid the foundation for me to continue to learn, grow, and connect thoughts and ideas into new and creative concepts… some of which are kind of insane, like the one's I mentioned above, which I will now explain briefly (but only if you see the dragon in this picture I took below. Why? Because it’s awesome, and if you don’t see it, you’re not worthy--aka weird enough--to continue):

Thanks to the books I'm reading in tandem—along with plenty of breaks spent daydreaming in idle, wandering thought—I've dredged up an old fascination of mine: Why is the Great Commandment represented in four different ways in the Bible? "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." That's how the author of Deuteronomy puts it. But then when the verse is quoted by Jesus thousands of years later, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all put it in slightly different terms: "heart, soul, and mind," "heart, soul, mind, and strength," and "heart, soul, strength, and mind," respectively. Now, I realize the differences are subtle, and Mark and Luke both say the same things in a different order, but they are different. And when the essence of the phrase is, "Love God with everything you have," it's easy to wonder if these components make up everything it means to be human. And further research into the original languages in which these phrases were written sheds some light onto the discrepancy: English (and Greek, for that matter) doesn't have the words to describe the original Hebrew text, so slight variations are represented based on who's writing it and in what language.

But the intrigue remains. What does make up a human? And the answer, for someone like me (OCD, science-minded, Christian foundation), it's clear that we're bound together by a multifaceted system, like the Holy Trinity or the Four States of Matter. And so, if we take the States of Matter approach, what if our strength (bones, muscles, tendons) is akin to "solids," our heart (hormones, neurotransmitters, basic emotions) is akin to "liquids," our mind (cortical thought, short-term memories, self-awareness) is akin to "gas," and our soul (that ethereal, immortal morality not bound to social constructs or genetic influence) is akin to "plasma?" And so, such extrapolation (i.e. going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole) naturally leads to all sorts of allegory and thought puzzles. Oh, what fun it is to dream!

LAST PARAGRAPH BELOW FOR NORMAL PEOPLE:

Like I said, cutting the distractions from my day has allowed me to get back to the things that bring me true joy: quiet contemplation, purposeful living, and totally normal ideas about what it means to be human. Week one has been a success. I'm thankful for the money I "wasted" on my education because it's made me the man I am today, and I'm thankful for Lent because, even though I will inevitably fail at some of it, my ultimate victory will be remembering who I am as a man (which, apparently, boils down to the various states of matter…). So, thanks for reading, y'all. You could have been doing a bunch of other things (and you probably wish you had), but hopefully my rambling forced you to have at least one thought of your own.

And maybe, just maybe, that thought will lead to a daydream…

#lent #lent 2020 #science and religion #science #states of matter #great commandment #daydream #daydreaming #free thinker #amreading #classical education #legally blonde #like it's hard

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themyskira · 5 years

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The Life of Captain Marvel - issue #4, part 1

Last time, as Sadie the Kleaning Lady closed in on the town, Carol and Marie pulled out all stops to avoid progressing the plot, throwing tantrums, chucking mysterious alien devices out the window without a second thought and melodramatically swooning into a lake.

But despite their best efforts, the plot has arrived in the form of a naked blue cyborg, forcing Marie to reveal her true identity as a Kree soldier.

This issue, we get hit with Carol’s new origin story, the sheer stupidity of which is so immense that I’m going to split this recap in two to cover it.

The issue opens with a flashback to Marie/Mari-Ell’s childhood, narrated by Marie. The POV shift is jarring and out-of-place (until this point, the entire story has been told from Carol’s perspective), but this is what happens when you spend three issues of a five-issue mini doing nothing to drive the story forward: the next twenty-odd pages are going to be all infodump.

We see a young Marie — I’m just going to keep calling her Marie, to cut down on confusion — in combat training, systematically taking down a good dozen bigger and stronger Kree teens. Marie tells us that this was her childhood, raised to be a soldier in the Kree Empire’s endless wars, taught to survive but not to live.

As she grows older, she seeks harder and harder training, pushing her body and her abilities to the limit and, fuck me, you just went ahead and stole Carol’s origin story, didn’t you?

Marie: Come on, General F’Zon! Gimme another shot at that Pain-Trainer! General: No, Mari-Ell. Marie: But I’m supposed to be seeking painful learnings, remember? General: Learn that a Level 11 Pain-Trainer will rip your suit to ribbons. Marie: Ugh! It’s my turn, I’m going! General: Mari-Ell! Wait!

Ambitious? Impatient? Forever pushing herself to go higher, further, faster, to punch holes in the sky? Look past the hacky dialogue, and this is Carol to a tee. Or it was Carol, before you went and made her an alien who didn’t need to push herself to her physical and mental limits to succeed, because she was already superior and destined for greatness.

Wait, no, I take it back, turns out Marie is just ~*special*~ too, because on the next page she tells us that she never lost a single battle and enjoyed an unbroken path of success and promotion until she was appointed the youngest captain in history of Intelligence Empress Pam’a’s Elite Guard.

Yes, Carol’s mother is Captain Mari-Ell. Captain Mari-Ell. Kill me now.

Pam’a sends Marie on a covert mission to Earth, and then we cut back to the present day, where Carol has been once again reduced to a blithering incompetent.

Carol: M-ma? Who— who are you? Marie: I’ll explain, I promise. But right now, we need to move. That thing’s a Kree Kleaner. And it’s here for me. Carol: But if you’re… you’re… Marie: A Kree soldier. Carol: …then… then I’m… Marie: You are Car-Ell, daughter of Mari-Ell, Captain First of the Supreme Protectorate, Champion of the Kree Empire, Daughter of Hala by bloodright and by starlight… Carol: Ma, stop it. This is crazy. You’re you. You… you just made me pancakes…

Oh, bullshit.

This is insulting, and I don’t just mean “Car-Ell” (CAR-ELL, FOR SHIT’S SAKE).

Carol is a soldier. She knows how to compartmentalise and she doesn’t crack easily under pressure. Her mother has just revealed herself to be an alien, and that is some personally earth-shattering stuff, but right now there’s a deadly Kree cyborg threatening innocent lives — including those of her family — so the identity crisis is gonna have to wait. She is going to get in the game, stop the bad guy, and then she’s going to have her meltdown.

Ah, but it gets better.

Marie: It’s coming. Get out of the way, Carol. Let me handle this. Carol: Ma, you can’t!

While Carol and Marie argue over who gets to punch the bad guy, Pine-o-Klean is able to get in a barrage of laser-fire. Both women dive out of the way; Carol full-on faceplants, while Marie lands in a neat crouch, saying, “Trust me, Pumpkin. I can.”

Carol is a tactician. She has commanded troops and she’s led superhero teams. She has led alien armies into war. There’s no way Carol wastes time arguing over this. Because while her heart may be crying out at her to protect her mother, the soldier in her would recognise like — would recognise a fellow officer and somebody with superior knowledge of their foe.

And, you know what, let’s assume Carol’s not at her best. She’s shaken by this revelation, and the instincts to protect her mother and to distrust this stranger with her mother’s face are both shouting at her to keep Marie out of the fight. Here’s what happens: After the initial moment of shock and ‘who are you?’, Carol forces herself to focus her mind on their attacker. She turns to Marie: ‘You said it was here for you. What is it and how do I stop it?’ Marie starts to answer, and before she reaches the ‘but’, Carol has impulsively thrown herself into the fight. She’s not prepared for it; she gets in some hits, but the villain gets the upper hand before Marie appears between them and staves it off.

This establishes the villain as a formidable threat, demonstrates Marie’s fighting prowess and sets the stage for the inevitable team-up in issue #5, all without having to throw Carol under the bus. She fails, yes, but not through abject incompetence: her actions are understandable and in character.

Anyway, yeah, none of those things happen. Instead, Carol freaks out for two pages, falls on her face, then watches helplessly while Marie fights Dishwasher single-handedly.

(lol bum)

No really though, whose idea was it to make the assassin a nudist?

Of course, it was a man. Forget I asked.

So then Marie… temporarily explodes the Janitor? Or something?

idk, it’s unclear and nobody particularly seems to care what’s happened to the homicidal naked cyborg or how quickly it might regroup or what it wants or how many ways it can kill them.

“Um, wut?”

JJ Danvers asking the question on all of our minds.

Carol: Ma? I mean… Captain? Marie: Thanks, Captain. JJ: Captain?!

JJ: Hold up, Beans. The Kree thing is contagious? You gave it to Ma? Carol: I think… she gave it to me. Right, Ma? Marie: What humans see as Kree ‘powers’ are just our biological adaptations to a life of combat. JJ: “Our”?! Marie: They’re triggered in battle, usually around adolescence. Sadly, most of us have known war by then.

So, um. Can somebody who knows more about the Kree tell me if this is even vaguely the way that their powers work? Because I am not hugely up on the Kree, but my understanding is that the usual Kree powerset is simply superhuman strength, stamina, agility and durability, and that those Kree characters with additional abilities like flight and photon blasts are the result of genetic/mutagenic manipulation, advanced technology and/or mixed parentage (e.g. Teddy is part-Skrull, Phyla-Vell and Genis-Vell are part-Eternal).

Marie is basically telling us that she — and, later, Carol — developed the powers of flight, energy absorption and photon blasts purely as a biological reaction to being hit often and hard enough.

But wait, there’s more.

Carol: Wait— So if I didn’t ‘get’ my powers when the Psyche-Magnetron [sic] exploded… Marie: You activated them. You triggered an ancient Kree defence mechanism. Not borrowed. Not a gift. Not an accident. Carol: My powers. Marie: They’re not anyone’s but yours. They never have been. Carol: I don’t… believe it. Marie: But you feel it. Light and power and speed and strength, because it’s who you are. Carol: Who we are.

YOU FUCKING WHAT.

“Not borrowed. Not a gift. Not an accident. … They’re not anyone’s but yours. They never have been.” YES AND NOBODY HAS EVER SAID OTHERWISE, YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKNOGGIN.

So, okay. Let’s pick this apart.

The assumption that the writer and editors behind this comic appear to be working from is that Carol’s pre-existing superhero origin is flawed in that it denies her power and agency within her own story.

There is an argument to be made that this is the case.

Looking strictly at the 1969 Captain Marvel #18, in which Carol first gains her powers, we see a story that casts her as a pawn in a battle between two men, a woman halfway into the refrigerator. She has been kidnapped by the villainous Yonn-Rogg, when her love interest Mar-Vell arrives to save her. Yon-Rogg shoots at Mar-Vell, but hits Carol instead, inciting Mar-Vell into a rage.

“Carol! Carol Danvers! She was struck by your wild-eyed blast... perhaps killed!”

Yon-Rogg has already been responsible for the death of one of Mar-Vell’s loves, and now he may have caused another! Mar-Vell is on the brink of killing his foe when he reels back in horror at his own actions — and suddenly realises the Psyche-Magnitron is about to explode. He grabs Carol and runs, shielding her from the blast with his body.

“WAIT! That humming... growing ever louder...! The Magnitron... it throbs with heat... light... as if to explode! And the girl... still draws a faint breath!”

In fact, it was only much later, in 1977’s Ms Marvel #2, that this was retconned as the moment in which Carol became superpowered. As written, her experience in Captain Marvel #18 truly was nothing more than a helpless damsel being rescued by the noble hero.

Ms Marvel doesn’t give Carol much more agency in her origin story: while the exploding Psyche-Magnitron is said to have given her incredible abilities, the strain on her mind was such that it split into two personas, ordinary human Carol Danvers and Kree warrior Ms Marvel. The two are initially unaware that they even share the same body, let alone that they’re actually the same person. Since each 'blacks out’ when the other assumes control of the body, for a while Carol genuinely believes she’s going crazy. It’s not until Ms Marvel #13 that the two personalities are integrated and Carol is able to fully own her superhero identity.

“Oh no... this can’t be happening. I’m in my apartment, in my bed... and I don’t know how I GOT here!”

Superhero origins are rarely static, though, and in the four decades since then Carol’s story has undergone various additions, transformations and retcons. Her background as an Air Force pilot and civilian contractor has been fleshed out to establish her as a hero and legit badass long before she became super, and some of the dodgier aspects of her backstory have either been re-interrogated (Yon-Rogg and the Psyche-Magnitron, in DeConnick’s run) or else studiously ignored (there’s a reason nobody remembers the split personality nonsense).

Nevertheless, the broad strokes of Carol’s origin — a woman caught in the middle of a confrontation between two superpowered men, an exploding alien device that imbues her with the male hero’s powers, and her subsequent adoption of the male hero’s symbol, costume and name — remain more or less unchanged. And with a movie poised to introduce the character to a new generation of readers, now is a good time for a modernised reinterpretation of the story that addresses some of the dated or sexist elements.

So if we accept that Carol’s current origin story is flawed, the next question we have to ask is, what’s the problem that needs addressing?

And this is where The Life of Captain Marvel comes undone.

Because the problem the creators identify is this: Carol gets her powers as a result of a battle between two men. She gets powers patterned after those of a male hero. She carries on the legacy of a man, and she bears the name, symbol and costume of a man. And for this reason, they conclude, Carol’s origin is Sexist™.

Based on this simplistic assumption, the creators set about displacing the male Mar-Vell in favour of a woman. They create an alien mother as the source of Carol’s powers. They give the mother a name, costume and symbol reflective of those Carol uses. And then they smugly congratulate themselves for being Feminist™, despite having only served to erode Carol’s agency further.

The real problem with Carol’s origin story, I would argue, is that she’s an entirely passive character within it. A helpless captive, she does little but yell at Yon-Rogg that he’s mad and that Captain Marvel will stop him, before being hit by a laser blast for the sole reason of making Mar-Vell sad. She collapses, semi-conscious, and is carried to safety by Mar-Vell, unaware that the radiation from the Psyche-Magnitron is transforming her.

It’s crappy by any standard, but it’s particularly egregious in the context of the hero Carol is today — one whose story has come to be defined by unerring determination, an urge to constantly push further and reach higher, and a refusal to ever back down.

Making Marie the source of Carol’s powers doesn’t repair this lack of agency — it makes it worse. Carol not only remains a passive figure in the events that (for all intents and purposes) bestowed her powers, she becomes an increasingly passive figure in her own life.

Her ambition and determination to fly, to punch holes in the sky and glimpse the other side of space? It’s no longer a personal calling that she doggedly pursues in the face of every rejection and roadblock. It’s her Kree blood calling her home, a ~destiny~ that’s written in her DNA. Her fierce grit and persistence as she pushes her body to its very limit? No longer particularly relevant; as a half-Kree, she has always been physiologically superior to humans in every way. Her successes in the Air Force and in NASA are no longer hard-won; they’re just second nature.

By contrast, consider Kelly Sue DeConnick’s early run on Captain Marvel, which revisits Carol’s origin story through a time-travel adventure. It introduces past and present female mentors in the form of Helen Cobb and Tracy Burke -- women who have supported and inspired Carol throughout her life in a way that the virtually absent Marie/Mari-Ell never does in this story. It subtly retcons the effects of the Psyche-Magnitron to underline Carol’s agency — it’s not merely a freak accident that turns her into a Kree hybrid with Mar-Vell’s powers, it’s the overloading machine responding to the force of Carol’s willpower and making her wish manifest.

“I wished... for more time, that I’d done things differently, but mostly I wished that I’d been powerful enough to stop it. That I’d been strong enough to save myself, to save my friend. The device magnified brainwaves and manifested them as tangible weaponry. It was a wishing machine, almost... but one designed for war. In its last act, it gave me what I wanted. It made me powerful.”

It enables Carol to confront her own self-doubts and affirms that, powered or not, no matter the personal stakes, she is a hero who will not quit.

Carol [narration]: I don’t go in because I’m choosing to change anything. I go because he’s hurt and I can help. I go because I’m an Avenger and that’s what we do. Carol: Mar-Vell! Mar-Vell, can you hear me? Past Carol: [reaching for Yon-Rogg’s gun with a bloodied hand and pointing it at him] Y-you’re mad. C-Captain Marvel... battles to save both his world... and my own!

And you could absolutely go further on this! Give us a retelling of Carol’s origin in which she’s not Mar-Vell’s damsel, but his equal ally. Go a step beyond the original Captain Marvel comics — in which Carol rightly suspects that ‘Walter Lawson’ (Mar-Vell’s secret alter ego) is being duplicitous and goes to great efforts to catch him in his lies — and have her actually uncover Mar-Vell’s true identity. Have them confront Yon-Rogg together, and have Mar-Vell be the one who gets shot. Have Carol — injured, outgunned and hopelessly outmatched — defy Yon-Rogg even in the face of certain defeat, and let this be the moment when the overloading Psyche-Magnitron answers her unbending will with the power to enforce it.

And yes, by all means, give Carol’s mother a more substantive role in her backstory, give her more female role models and colleagues and friends, and continue to build the diversity of the Marvel Universe! All of these things are important! But boosting women’s representation is fucking meaningless if none of those women are given any agency, and that’s what is happening in this comic.

That’s it for this time. Stay tuned for part two, when Marie reveals the story of how she came to Boston, why it’s totally not Joe’s fault that he was an abuser, and why we should overlook the hulking mountains of evidence that Marie is a terrible parent and embrace her as Carol’s One True Hero.

#comics talk #the days of our lives of captain marvel #carol danvers

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olliehaldstan · 6 years

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Olympian Aesthetics - Olyviane Haldstan

APHRODITE: laughter-loving, sweet smiles, dressed in silk and satin, flower in their hair, sees the world as a runway, unapologetically sexual, the sea washing their ankles, in love with love, stirrer of passion, cunning concealed by painted lips, secret daggers, doves, revolution in their kiss, delighting in the waves, flirtatious winks, strolling along the beach, staring wistfully from a balcony, this is how to be a heartbreaker, wants to be adored, gets turned on by danger.

APOLLO: glitz and glamour, art galleries, turning the volume up, being made of gold, neatly-organized music sheets, notebooks filled with poetry, bathing in the sunlight, the powerful urge to create, collecting vinyl records, beautiful cover of Wonderwall, playing multiple instruments, tasting like sunshine, healing touch, speaking in prophecies, smile mingled with wrath, shunning lies, sporting shades, hanging out at music festivals with their friends, sleeps naked, arrow to the heart, paint brushes, probably has a Tinder account

ARES: armed for battle, wants to raise a dog with their significant other, soft spot for children, gives piggyback rides, scarred body, blood on their hands and face, willing to fight the world for the ones they love, fights against injustice, warm hugs, well-worn combat boots,boxing gloves, bandages wrapped around bruised knuckles, fist raised in protest, ignites revolutions, fear is a prison, more sensitive than what their tough shell would have you think, exhausted, damaged goods, force to be reckoned with, red roses, curses under their breath.

ARTEMIS: keen sense of a hunter, freckles like constellations on their skin, piercing eyes, disheveled braid, moonlight peeking through the shadows, the calm of the forest at night, lying on the grass and staring at the stars, mother doe and her fawn, protecting their kin, the moon shimmering on a still lake, quiver full of arrows resting against the bark of a tree, running with wolves, bonding while circled around a campfire, not being much of a people person, arrow hitting a target, popping egos, patience on 3%, touches heaven and returns howling

ATHENA: discerning gaze, unreadable face, quiet museums, owl perched on their finger, armour that intimidates, eye for architecture, plays the sims for the sole purpose of building houses, studied the blade while everyone else was busy getting laid, big fan of logic, loves brain teasers, ancient buildings, sweaters in neutrals and cool colors, hair done up, can kill you with their brain, heads to the library often to research, sharpened pencils, abs that can cut steel, stoic statues, pottery classes

DEMETER: soil-covered hands, smile that can bloom flowers, skin loved by the sun, being the mom-friend, can lift you and your friends, flowers kept in the pockets of overalls, takes pride in their beautiful garden, speaks to their plants, leaves rustling in the wind, stalks of wheat, picking fruit, greenhouses, heart as strong as a mountain, values simplicity, daisies dotted across a collarbone, curls crowned with flowers, folded pile of sweaters in warm hues, pulling out fresh-baked bread out of the oven and the smell wafting through the air

DIONYSUS: drunk shitposter, on their sixth glass of wine before you’ve even finished your second, seductive smirks, untamed curls, rich fabrics on dark skin, sleek-furred panthers, theater masks, stage productions, receiving a standing ovation, rose caught between their teeth, being the baby of the bunch, wild parties that last from sundown to sunup, creeping vines, inspiring loyalty, grand opera houses, masquerade balls, rolls of film, shattered chandeliers with broken glass scattered across the wine-spilled floor, pouring champagne into flutes, lives for the applause

HEPHAESTUS: the calloused hands of someone who knows labour, sweaty brow, flame burning in their eyes, inventive mind, broad shoulders, steampunk goggles, nuts and bolts stored away in little boxes, ashes, striking a match, blueprints for future projects, fixing up a busted up car and giving it cool upgrades, wrestles with bitterness, work boots have seen better years, wrinkled plaid shirts, iron melted in blazing fire, huge jackets, crafting masterpieces, greased-stained overalls, fascination with robotics, pain is fuel, stack of weaponry, even their muscles have muscles

HERA: resting bitch face, dressed to the nines, cows grazing on a pasture, cool rain, loving and hating fiercely, hand clutching a string of pearls, large chandelier with glittering crystals, plays the sims for the sole purpose of killing off their sims, romance to realism, pictures of the sky while flying on a plane, files that under fuck it, downs glasses of wine as they relax with a scented bubble bath and netflix, like their selfie or you’re grounded, knows 57 convenient ways to murder a man, dark eyes that penetrate your soul, marble and gold

HERMES: devil-may-care smile, always up-to-date on the latest technology, will steal your french fries, does it for the vine, shitposter, puts googly eyes on everything, meme hoarder, long drives on the highway, ma and pop diners, spontaneous road trips, folded maps, fingers dancing across the keyboard of a laptop, shooting hoops on the basketball court, chatting up strangers as you all journey to your own destinations, goes jogging in the morning, mixes redbull with coffee, menace on april fool’s, hoodies and sneakers

POSEIDON: storm with skin, colourful coral reefs, waves crashing against the shore, stroking the soft fur of a cat, their heart pounding as their horse’s gentle trot speeds into a gallop, tousled locks, clothes smeared with paint, owns several sketchbooks yet always yearns to own more, leather jackets, fondness for diy projects, handwriting that flows across the page, nimble fingers playing the strings of a violin, velvety singing voice that haunts your dreams, mood as ever-changing as the sea, the roar of a motorcycle, compass with a spinning arrow

ZEUS: thunder in their heart, running on coffee, flash of lightning, natural charisma, eloquence, badass in a nice suit, aficionado of history, force of nature, lenny face ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), nightmare-filled nights, proud arm around their lover’s waist, high-rise buildings, planes soaring through a cloudless sky, technician on the piano, maintains order, strong handshake, juggling multiple events on their busy schedule with ease, expensive watch

Tagged by: @halforc-mercenary @vex-duskspear @wildname @natharaiebonrook

Tagging: @auroryn-dawnsworn @professor-bache @sunset-sword @asharri @ashendusk @fang-and-dagger @farronthornbeck @elutia-shadowstar @eve-schofield @evelonholmwood @cordeliaeresholt @sarahniholt @elaianna @ophelia-gampre @sistersolis @ladyloala

#aesthetic #Olyviane Haldstan #Ollie Haldstan #Olyviane

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martinmcg · 3 years

Text

FREEDOM

Gull idled. This was what she lived for, these moments high above Freedom, released from the city’s grasp. Pedalling just fast enough to keep her paracycle in the air, she circled and ignored the stall light fluttering orange on its console. The city span slowly around her, but Gull was not part of it.

Even here where the black towers of the corporations pressed against the dome’s sharply sloping roof, she could glimpse The Elle through the city’s artificial canyons. The needle at the heart of Freedom rose from Rhaeticus’s floor to the dome’s roof. Close up it was too large to comprehend, it was overwhelming, but from out here, on the edge, it seemed slender and graceful.

Lifting off her goggles, she twisted her head and stretched to look upwards to the point where The Elle met the top of the dome and passed through. It glowed, sunlight reflecting off its smooth white walls, throwing light into the shadows between the towers. It lifted Gull’s heart. The Elle was the only way out of Freedom. The Elle was escape.

Charlie’s plink-plink chime dragged Gull’s attention back to business. Confirmation had been received. Gull looked down and saw the delivery platform lowering, like an ancient drawbridge, below her. She pushed forward and the paracycle’s nose dipped.

Charlie’s carbon-fibre skeleton groaned softly as they picked up speed. Gull smiled, patting the cycle’s side. Charlie could take it. Gull pedalled harder into the dive, struts straining as she pushed closer to the cycle’s limits.

The wind ripped at her clothing and slapped at her cheeks. Gull’s smile broadened and curled, suddenly reckless, at one corner. She loved to fly. At her back the propeller blurred, its whine all but lost as the wind whipped at her and roared away.

Gull came in fast and tight, pointing Charlie’s nose directly at the landing platform. A warning sounded but she slapped the manual override. At the last possible moment, when it seemed certain she would dash herself against the platform, she yanked back on the stick all her might, hauling Charlie’s nose up and slapping him down hard on to the landing platform. The paracycle bounced once then twice – long, looping and languid in the Moon’s low gravity – then began skidding towards the edge of the platform and a three hundred metre drop. Gull leant against the stick, bringing Charlie’s nose round, bleeding speed, letting the tail slide out until it seemed certain the little glider would topple over the edge. Then she flicked on the magnetic anchor.

The paracycle juddered to a halt slamming Gull forward against her harness then back into her seat.

Gull leant back, dragged her goggles off over her shaven scalp, and pushed back the sweat from her forehead with both palms. The only sound was the soft whine of the paracycle’s propeller, still spinning freely. She patted the frame of the paracycle.

“Good boy, Charlie.”

She reached back and grabbed the parcel, popped the console from its docking port and stepped between Charlie’s carbon fibre ribs onto the landing platform.

The guards were obviously groundhogs. They were clumsy and squat in a way only those born in high gravity could be. Still wrapped in bulky muscles, they were fresh from Earth.

“Do you have a death wish?” One of the guards bounced awkwardly towards Gull. He cradled his rifle in one arm – like a pet. It was a sleek, black M10 and Gull’s opinion of the guard dropped even further. The M10 looked impressive but it had a kick like a jackhammer and if the dumb guard ever actually fired the thing on The Moon he’d be flying arse over tit all the way to Copernicus.

“A girl has got to have some fun,” she said, trying to keep the contempt from her voice.

The guard leered, something dirty on the tip of his tongue, but Gull looked into his eyes and met his gaze nervelessly. She dared him. The joke died, dry in his throat.

“Identification?” The guard tried to reassert himself.

She handed him her company ID.

The guard snapped opened the little case.

On one side was a chip containing her biometric details. The guard ignored it. On the right was a credit chip. He scanned the chip and checked the read out.

“One hundred dollars?” There was contempt in his voice.

Gull sighed. She knew this was going to happen. Groundhogs were always the most trouble.

“It’s one hundred dollars for you, one hundred dollars for the next guy, one hundred dollars for everyone. It’s the going rate. Check the market board.”

The guard shook his head. “This is a free market, I can charge what the market will bear.”

“Well, this market will only bear one hundred dollars,” she stepped away from him, lifting her parcel. “And one of your bosses is waiting for this. If you want to go to arbitration, you can explain to him why his package was late. Is that what you want?”

“Okay! ” The guard raised a hand, suddenly smiling. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

She could, but she wouldn’t.

“Can I go now,” Gull read the name on the guard’s badge, “Castor?”

“Sure,” he waved her away. “Look after yourself.”

“No one else will.”

It took several moments, but eventually Paitoon was able to open his eyes again. His lips were still making the shapes of a mantra as he tried to calm himself.

A man in a blue uniform was standing in front of him, a sympathetic smile on his face. Paitoon’s head only reached the level of the golden shield emblazoned on his chest. “Freedom Constabulary Inc.” it said.

“Sawatdee-krap,” Paitoon said, performing the wai – placing his hands together at chest height and bowing slightly.

“Constable Hayek, sir,” the man bowed slightly, he had sandy coloured hair and blue eyes. “Do you speak English or should I send for a translator?”

“Pardon,” Paitoon flushed. “No translator necessary. I speak English. My name is Paitoon, Paitoon Chattaponsiri“

The guard looked over his shoulder at the seething mass of people on the station concourse.

“Overwhelming isn’t it?”

“Incredible,” Paitoon nodded, letting his eyes close again for a moment. “I never imagined it could be so huge, so busy…”

“Is this your first time in Freedom?”

“My first time off Earth.”

“I thought so,” Hayek grinned. “You have family here?”

“No. Not yet,” Paitoon looked away. “I have escaped the war. I hope to earn enough to bring my family here soon.”

Constable Hayek nodded slowly.

“You have a job arranged?”

“Not yet, but I’m sure –”

Constable Hayek shook his head.

“Do you have the means to support yourself?” Hayek asked. Paitoon looked at him blankly. “Money? Do you have much money?”

“I spent almost everything I had to get here.”

The constable sighed. “Well then, I’m afraid I must mark you as an indigent migrant. Freedom does not restrict entry, but those who cannot pay for air and water must –”

“But I am a programmer,” Paitoon protested. “I am very good. I earn lots of money in Bangkok. I do good work.”

“How many of these people do you think programmers, Paitoon?” The constable said, shaking his head. “There are no jobs. Without money or a company registration you cannot get insurance. Without insurance you cannot get credit, you cannot rent property, you cannot get work. You will have no status. You would be better to go home.”

“Please…” Tears welled in Paitoon’s eyes. “My family. The war.”

Hayek ran a finger over his chin, thinking.

“I’m not supposed to do this,” the constable said. “But there might be a way. I know some people. It won’t be cheap.”

Paitoon reached into his pocket and showed Hayek a small bundle of credit chips.

The constable nodded and gave Paitoon a card and pointed to the back.

“Give this to a man called Kush at this address,” Hayek turned the card over and tapped it, an animated map sprang to life. “That’s how to get there from here.”

Paitoon bowed.

“Thank you very much,” he said, then remembered what the flight attendant had said to the passengers as they left The Elle. “Take care of yourself?”

Hayek laughed, shaking his head. “Look after yourself.”

“Sorry. Very sorry,” Paitoon bowed again. “Look after yourself.”

The constable nodded.

“No one else will.”

Dropping the package off took longer than Gull expected. The wage slave behind the reception desk seemed to have had a lobotomy.

By the time she finished her console was flashing frantically with queries from Buck about where she was and a list of jobs she was to bid for. She sighed and shoved open the door to the landing platform.

The first thing Gull noticed was that the guards were huddled in one corner giggling and scanning chips.

Then she saw her paracycle drop away from the landing pad.

“Charlie!”

At first she thought they’d turned off the magnetic tether and let the cycle be blown away, but then Charlie turned sharply right, his wings wobbling, and began to gain height. Gull saw a flash of black hair. Then the cycle swished around the edge of the tower and was gone.

“My ‘cycle,” she turned to the guards. “You bastards let someone steal Charlie.”

The guards had straightened up. They weren’t laughing anymore. Their rifles were levelled at Gull’s belly.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Shit!” Gull turned back to the now empty open space of the landing pad. “Bastards!”

“If you don’t have any more business here madam, I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you to leave.” The big guard, Castor, stepped forward. He was grinning.

“I paid you,” Gull said. “We had a contract.”

The guard shook his head and tossed her credit chip back to her. She caught it. It hadn’t been drained.

“It can be very dangerous up here. We wouldn’t want an accident, would we?”

Gull’s shoulders slumped. She nodded. The guards escorted her to the lift.

“Look after yourself,” the guards chorused as the doors slipped closed.

“No one else will,” Gull whispered to herself as she began her journey to The Floor.

“Freedom is a dream.”

Everyone who came to Freedom believed it, at least for a moment.

Clutching his only bag and the card the constable had given him, Paitoon forced his way through the mass of people milling around the elephantine columns at the exit to the Elle station.

He stood before The Monument to the Founders, a slender pile of polished golden chains rising fifty meters above the ground. Each chain was at least as thick as a man’s leg and every link had been burst open.

Beneath the monument was a plaque, ten meters tall, with the proclamation of the three laws.

“Freedom is a dream built by man’s imagination,” it began. Paitoon didn’t need to read the words. He knew them by heart. “The dream will be built on three laws. The market is free. What can be bought, may be sold. Do what you want, and so will I. From these simple rules will flow liberty and justice for all.”

Paitoon stood before those broken chains and thought of his family on Earth and of what he’d given up to get here. His father had told Paitoon not to leave the monastery. He had begged him to keep his promise and complete his three-month’s retreat in the sangha. But the war had come so close and there was no shame in leaving.

Paitoon took a final look at the monument and closed his eyes, offering a prayer that his father and his family would soon see it too.

Gull was pushed out through what felt like an airlock – one small metal door clanging closed behind her before another swung open – and stepped into what appeared to be a busy street market atop a dump.

This was The Floor. Rotting rubbish fluttered in tottering heaps and the stink forced Gull to pause and fight back the urge to puke. Crowds swept this way and that in fast-moving torrents, each eroding its own path through the rubbish. Between the mounds of detritus, market stalls were wedged up against the side of the towers or huddled on eyots in the heart of the flow of people. Some of the stalls sold food, fresh and cooked, some of them sold clothes or electronics or drugs or people. One or two appeared to be trying to sell the rubbish on which they were built.

She had survived down here before, she told herself, and got out. She could do it again. She could feel the comforting weight of Charlie’s console in her jacket. As long as she still had that, she had a link to his transponder and she could find him.

She needed a Mission. She needed The Church of Christ the Entrepreneur.

Kush greeted Paitoon with a broad smile, placed a heavy arm across his shoulders and swept him inside the hostel.

It was not as Paitoon had been expecting.

The ground floor was a busy club. Music thumped loudly, so that the whole room seemed to throb, and a large group of bored looking young men lounged by the bar. Paitoon could make out a few couples leaning close together in dark booths arranged against the wall and on a second level above.

Kush rushed Paitoon through to an elevator.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened onto a narrow corridor, thick red carpet covered the floor and walls.

“I’ll show you your room,” Kush led the way. “And then we can talk about your new job and how you can pay your way.”

Missions weren’t hard to find, signposts were on every corner. But the guys blocking Gull’s path meant that getting through The Mission doors was going to be expensive.

Gull could hold her own in a street fight, if she had to, but she was giving a hundred pounds to even the smallest of these guys. Anyway, the ordinance conspicuously strapped to their hips suggested they didn’t do fistfights.

The biggest guy grinned and held out his hand, palm up. Another groundhog. His skin even still had that brown tint that suggested naked, non-fatal exposure to the sun.

“Pay up.”

Gull’s mind raced. She couldn’t afford street tax.

The second thug stepped forward, he could have been the first one’s brother, or clone. He let his hand drop to rest on the handle of his pistol.

“Come on! Don’t waste our time.”

The third one held back, at first Gull hadn’t notice him. He was tall and slender and pale. A Lunie, born and bred, Gull reckoned. He had the lean, rat-like face of someone who’d spent too long on The Floor.

Gull wondered.

“I am looking for escort to The Mission. I cannot pay street tax but I have enough credit to pay one of you the going rate.”

The two groundhogs grinned stupidly at each other, shrugged, reaching for their guns.

“Contract?” The Lunie asked.

“Contract,” Gull replied.

“What?” The first groundhog turned in time to see the butt of the Lunie’s gun catch him flush on the bridge of the nose and drop him, his face a bubbling, bloody mess on the floor. He was trying to scream, a mixture of fury and pain, but his throat was full of his own blood.

As the second groundhog fumbled to drag his gun from its holster he found the sudden blade of a razor-thin knife pressing on his Adam’s apple.

“Drop the gun, Ronnie.” The heavy weapon thudded to the ground. The Lunie nodded at Gull. “Pick it up – and strip Duke as well, before he works out he isn’t dying. Make sure you get the piece in his boot.”

“You better kill me now, you piece of shit,” Ronnie was trying to talk without moving his throat, a trickle of blood was running down the groundhog’s neck.

The Lunie laughed.

“Ronnie, I’m going to take every weapon and credit you have and then I’m going to leave you down here on The Floor. If you pair of witless groundhogs survive long enough to see my face again – and I doubt it – then you’re welcome to do you worst. This lady is not paying me to kill you but, if there’s a next time, I might just do you for free.”

The Lunie kicked out the back of Ronnie’s knees and he collapsed to the ground.

“Thank you,” Gull said.

“No need for thanks as long as you can pay,” the Lunie said, then smiled. “I’m Laslo.”

“I’m Gull,” she looked at the two groundhogs. “What do want to do now?”

“Empty their pockets, then I’m all yours.”

They kept Paitoon awake for six days. Someone would punch him, someone would be nice to him, someone would kick him, someone would feed him. At first he’d been overwhelmed by the horror of it all. He’d cried and begged and promised them anything. But by the sixth day, Paitoon had gone cold. The pain and the misery were still there, but he had become detached. His real self was somewhere else.

The first time they raped him, tying his hands and feet to the legs of a table, he had frozen in horror and disbelief. He’d simply refused to accept that this could be really happening. Later he’d kicked and bit and scratched and screamed, fighting them with every ounce of his strength, to no effect. Finally he’d fallen silent again, numb and beyond the kind of pain they could inflict on his body.

“Will you take the job?” Kush asked him.

Paitoon just nodded. He’d been saying yes almost since the moment the beatings had started. He’d have said anything to get them to stop.

But this time he just nodded.

Kush grabbed a handful of Paitoon’s hair and pulled his head up, staring into Paitoon’s eyes.

“Will you take the job?”

“Yes,” Paitoon’s voice was a whisper.

Kush stared at him for a moment longer then let Paitoon’s head drop. Paitoon heard him leave the room.

Paitoon had said yes a thousand times, but this time Kush seemed satisfied. And Paitoon knew that it was because he meant it now. He’d do whatever they wanted. He should never have left the monastery. It was karma. He knew it.

Kush came back, holding a hypodermic.

“This is Zoom,” Kush said, pressing the needle into Paitoon’s arm. “You’ll like it.”

The world began to dance.

The lay accountant in The Mission had to check with a Brother before he let her access the grid without paying in advance. Gull explained that they’d make no money if her credit was stopped and the Brother smiled sweetly and nodded.

Gull called base and cleared things with Buck. Technical problems, she’d said, and promised to be back on station tomorrow. He bought it. That gave her credit for another day.

Behind her, the Brother coughed politely.

Gull turned. “I need to find a paracycle.”

The Brother bowed slightly.

“There are many paracycle dealers, the nearest –”

“No,” Gull cut him off. “I need to find a particular paracycle. Mine. It’s been stolen. Can you help?”

“I have sworn to help others,” the Brother said, reaching into his robes for a retinal reader, “and make a profit.”

Gull swiped the reader across her eye and keyed in a figure. It was everything she could afford. She handed it back to The Brother. He checked the figure and then showed it to the accountant.

“And I’ll need a taxi.”

“I am certain that the Lord will look favourably on your gift, my child.”

Castor was a regular. He came to the hostel twice a week and, since their first time together, he always asked for Paitoon. Paitoon didn’t mind Castor. He was quick, didn’t talk and always left a generous tip.

This visit started like all the others. Paitoon began to undress, thinking of the money and trying to judge if Kush would think he’d done enough to deserve today’s fix. He could feel the need slithering behind his eyes.

He wanted to zoom.

Paitoon turned and was surprised to see Castor unmoved, sitting on the bed, hands clasped between his knees, staring at the floor.

“I don’t even know your name,” Castor said.

Paitoon closed his eyes. He could cope with the sex, and the beatings, and the humiliation. Zooming helped. He could cope with the violence and the pain. For the times between fixes he’d built a wall in his mind. The things that happened outside the wall happened to someone else, not to him. But he hated the customers who wanted to talk, who behaved as though he was their friend. They chipped away at the wall. They made it all feel real. He hated them.

“I’d like to help you,” Castor said.

Through the window of the hostel room Paitoon could see down a long open canyon between Freedom’s high towers. A flyer bobbed and swooped like a bird.

“Can you get me out of here?” Paitoon said it bitterly, sarcastically. He knew he was trapped. He turned to face Castor. “Can you?”

The big man nodded. “I think so.”

Paitoon paused. That wasn’t what he’d expected.

“Why would you help me?”

Castor looked up, meeting Paitoon’s gaze for the first time. He was a boy.

“I love you,” Castor said very softly.

Paitoon turned back to the window.

“You could live with me,” Castor insisted.

Paitoon turned back.

“I love you too.”

“I knew it,” Castor leapt across the room and grasped Paitoon, pulling him closer. “I knew it!”

Gull had no time for the Church’s religion but she had to concede that they were efficient. Within ten minutes the Brother had returned with a small tracking device and an address.

“Your initial payment covers the use of this device,” he held out the tracker, “for a twenty-four hour period. If, by the end of that period, it has not been returned to a certified representative of The Church of Christ the Entrepreneur you will be charged at these additional rates.”

The Brother held out a pad. She thumbed down through the terms and conditions. The rental rates for the tracker were exorbitant but it didn’t matter. If she didn’t have Charlie back in twenty-four hours, The Church could join the back of the line of creditors who’d be queuing up for a pound of her flesh.

She blinked into the pad and handed it back.

The Brother nodded.

“A taxi has won the bidding for your contract. Are you ready to leave?”

“Tell him I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” Gull said. “There’s one more thing I need to do.”

Stealing the paracycle had been easy. Castor bribed the security crew to get Paitoon into the building and the receptionist to delay the girl while they busted the locks.

Flying the paracycle, though, was altogether more difficult. Paitoon wobbled off the tower’s landing pad easily enough and turned quickly to get out-of-sight, just in case the girl was armed, but almost at once he realised he was dangerously out of his depth.

The little flier was being buffeted back and forth between Freedom’s immense towers. Paitoon was swept back and forth, up and down, on an invisible, violent roller coaster of rocketing updrafts and plummeting downdrafts.

Paitoon gripped the control-stick in two pale-knuckled, sweat-slicked hands, hunched down in his seat, and pedalled harder. He looked down at the computer’s controls and, timidly, twitched the control stick to the left, altering course as instructed.

The console he’d plugged into the paracycle’s computer had been expensive but it was old and not perfectly compatible with these more modern systems. He had, however, been able to create a simple emulator to allow him to get most of the basic functions working. Later he’d reprogram the whole thing.

Suddenly, a slicing crosswind burst from between two towers. It caught the raised wingtip of the paracycle and flipped the flier over, filling the wings like a sail.

All across the computer console lights flashed a frantic red. Paitoon jerked at the control stick. The paracycle refused to respond. It wrenched, twisted and turned. Helpless, Paitoon was thrown about in his harness.

A downdraft ripped at the flier, tossing it, nose down, towards to distant floor. Paitoon felt the wind rip at his face. To one side a silver tower was so close he felt sure that he could reach out and touch it. Looking down, the gap between the tower and its neighbour appeared to narrow. Somewhere, down there, was The Floor. Paitoon closed his eyes. How long will I fall, he wondered.

But after a few moments he felt himself tugged sideways. The console beeped.

The paracyle jerked again.

The flier was levelling off.

The lights on the computer turned green.

Paitoon looked at the console screen. A message was flashing.

“Warning: Do not exceed aircraft tolerances. Emergency recovery procedures in effect.”

For a long moment, Paitoon gawped helplessly. He had not known that was possible. He patted the computer box and began to pedal again.

“Khawp khun, little flier.”

Getting inside had been easy. Gull showed the guards an empty parcel, her company identity and paid them with credit. They waved her through.

Inside, she tried to look like she knew where were she was going. She made confident, but not aggressive, eye contact with each of the groundhogs she met in the corridor. This was a company building. The same company that she’d called at this morning. Someone there had set this whole thing up. One of the guards? They hadn’t seemed smart enough.

She glanced at the tracker again. She was on the right floor. It must be just down that corridor.

Then the signal went dead.

Gull tapped the tracker against her palm.

Nothing.

She reset it, waiting nervously in the narrow corridor, trying to look like she belonged.

Still nothing.

She sighed.

She’d have to try every door on the floor and hope that someone recognised her.

Paitoon had finished making all the modifications and was getting ready to leave when the doorbell rang. He checked the room’s security system and saw a messenger girl in the corridor holding a parcel. He opened the door with his hand out, wondering whether Castor had ordered something else that he might be able to sell.

He stood there for a moment, arm extended, wondering why she wasn’t giving him the parcel? He looked up into the girl’s face. She was shaven-headed and had that deathly white shade that marked out real Lunies. They all looked the same to him.

Then the pieces clicked into place. He looked left, to where the paracycle sat folded against the wall and a wave of panic broke over him.

“Yet mang!” Paitoon tried to slam the door but it bounced back off the girl’s foot, jammed into the frame. Paitoon grabbed the door with both hands and tried to force it shut, but the girl slipped her body between the door and the frame.

“I want my cycle,” the girl said softly. “Just give me Charlie.”

Suddenly the pressure on the door increased. Paitoon was driven back across the room, scrabbling to stay on his feet. He crashed with a thud against the far wall. His hand brushed a bag full of Castor’s stuff. His gun was on top, just out of reach.

The girl was standing inside the doorway.

“I just want my ‘cycle,” she said.

Paitoon lunged for the gun.

Pfft!

An insect bit the side of his neck.

No. That was wr-

Gull weighed the stunner in her palm, looking down at the little Asian lying on the floor. She didn’t know enough about Earth to be able to say exactly where he was from, but she was fascinated by how fragile he seemed. He could have been a Lunie.

Gull checked the other rooms. She was cautious but, she reckoned, if there’d been anyone home the sound of the struggle at the door would have brought them running.

Her plan had been to take Charlie and leave, but when Gull saw that little guy had been hacking at the console, she realised she was going to have to wait until he woke up. He’d done something to the systems. She couldn’t make her console fit and she couldn’t fly the paracycle without it. He’d have to fix it.

Finding the bag full of credit chips, a stash of Zoom and a good quality pistol, all the way from earth – worth plenty of credits – had made her pause. That was an extra complication she’d liked. It wasn’t what she’d come for, but she decided she’d deserved the money for what the little guy had put her through. Today had been expensive as well as frustrating.

She propped the bag next to the door. She pushed the little thief up against the sofa on one side of the room and sat in an armchair opposite him, setting the stunner on her knee. Then she sorted out her insurance.

When Paitoon awoke he was slumped on the sofa. His arms and legs were numb. He could feel a stream of warm spittle pooling at the base of his neck. It was strangely comforting.

He looked up.

The girl, the one he’d stolen the paracycle from, was sitting opposite him. She had the stunner levelled at his chest.

Paitoon tried to move his arm, but it flopped uselessly at his side. He noticed the girl’s eyes flicker at the movement. She was nervous.

“Tell me what you’ve done to Charlie,” the girl said.

Paitoon shook his head.

“Whomf?” His lips and tongue felt as unresponsive as his arms and legs.

“The paracycle,” the girl waved the stunner towards the machine. “What have you done to the systems?”

“Maggin’ it c’mpabable…” Paitoon shook his head in frustration. The stuff was wearing off, but it was hard to speak.

The girl ignored him walking over to Charlie, poking suspiciously at the changes he made.

“Fix it.” She turned back towards him, waving the stunner. “Put it back.”

He shook his head.

“’s beddah!”

“What?”

“Beddah!” Paitoon tried nodding at the console.

“Better?”

Gull watched as Paitoon started working on Charlie.

Something was bothering her.

“How did you plan to get jobs?”

“Wha?” Paitoon looked up over the edge of the magnifying lens he was using while working on the electronics.

“Jobs?” Gull waved the stunner around. “How were you going to get jobs with the paracycle. You haven’t got a company registration.”

“I do not need one,” the little guy was smiling broadly. He tapped the console he’d jury-rigged to Charlie’s systems. “I’ve set it up to adopt a different registration identity for every bid. Each one looks like a platinum-rated ID. No one ever checks up on identities with a high-trust rating but even if they did, by the time they’ve blocked one bid I would have already moved on.”

“But the whole system depends on the market being secure, everyone knows it can’t be hacked. The encryption -“

“The encryption is intact. I cannot read other people’s messages. The network is secure, but people are not,” Paitoon was suddenly quite animated. “Each bid is supposed to be authorised with a unique registration identity as it leaves each company. But people get bored or lazy so they do them in batches with the same code key. My console scans the network for clumps of messages from one node sent at the same time. It can then compare the identifier codes and construct a valid pattern that fits within the pattern of the clump and attaches it to my bid.”

“So you can bid without a company?”

“Yes.”

“But someone will work it out eventually?”

“Perhaps. But by then I should have enough money to incorporate – and I’ll have a trust-level based on delivering platinum-rated contracts.”

“I don’t…” The girl’s forehead creased in concentration. Paitoon watched, interesting to see if she could work it out. “Ah, I get it. The bidding and the trust rating systems are separate. You bid with the fake corporate identity for the bid, but when you complete the order you present the console and take the payment and trust-points to you own identity –”

” – just like any sub-contractor,” Paitoon smiled.

“Smart,” the girl shook her head. “And you worked this out by yourself?”

“I’m a good programmer. No one would believe me when I arrived,” Paitoon looked away, a mournful expression on his face. “I earned a lot of money in Bangkok, before the war.”

“You know what that means,” she pointed to the console.

Paitoon nodded.

“Freedom,” they both said together.

Then the door opened.

Gull watched the guard come through the door, dumping a bag of gear on the floor, unaware of anything unusual. She recognised him at once.

“Hello Castor.”

“Huh?” Castor turned, confusion spreading across his face. It took a moment for him to spot Gull sitting in her seat opposite the door. It took a moment longer for recognition to be flash across his face. And it took longer still for him to realise that he should be reaching for his gun.

“Don’t move, Castor,” Gull waved the stunner as menacingly as she could. “Your friend Paitoon can tell you what sort of sting this thing can deliver.”

“How did she get in?” Castor was looking at Paitoon.

The little guy opened his mouth but Gull hushed him.

“You concentrate on my flier, Paitoon,” her eyes never left Castor. “You know for a building full of company guards, security around her is a joke.”

Castor grumbled something, and started scanning the room. His eyes fixed on the bag of credits and the gun. He took half a step.

“Don’t do it Castor!”

The guard just leered and began to reach down.

Pfft!

The stunner’s compressed air jet fired a needle into Castor’s chest.

Dunk!

That wasn’t right.

Castor laughed – opening his jacket to reveal his work uniform – mesh and body-armour – beneath. Gull could see the little needle futilely trying to pump its sac of venom into the unfeeling plastic.

He put his hand on the gun.

“Don’t do it Castor.”

Castor laughed harder.

“How long do you think it will take that little peashooter of yours to recharge? A lot less time than it will take me to load this – so screw you, you’re dead.”

Castor checked the pistol, it was unloaded. He reached into the bag, looking for a full clip. Then he stopped. He pulled out a watch and some jewellery.

“This is my stuff! But this was all in the vault. How did you get this stuff?”

“I didn’t,” Gull shrugged, looking at Paitoon. “He had it all packed up when I arrived.”

“Paitoon?”

“I was almost free,” the little guy didn’t look up from the work he was doing on the console.

“After all I did for you?”

At this Paitoon did look up and Gull could see the hate in his eyes.

Castor rocked back, his face an image first of abject misery that morphed quickly into fury. He delved into the back, coming up with a full clip.

“Stop, Castor,” Gull stepped towards him. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Shut up!” The guard swept out a heavy arm and caught Gull across the side of the head. She sprawled across the room, tripping over a sofa and dropping to her knees.

Gull reached for for her stunner, but it was gone.

“I think I’d like to invoke my insurance policy now,” she said.

Laslo stepped from his hiding place in Castor’s bedroom, two pistols levelled.

“Put down the gun, Castor,” Gull said.

Paitoon saw the stranger, another Lunie, step out of the darkness of the bedroom and heard Gull warn Castor but he could tell that, even if the guard was aware of what was happening around him, he wasn’t paying attention.

He watched Castor finally succeed in slamming the clip into the pistol, flip the safety and pull back the slide to put a bullet in the chamber.

“Stop it Castor!” Gull was shouting.

“Castor!” Paitoon tried to put himself between Castor and the Lunie. “Don’t do this!”

Castor’s eyes were fat with tears. His chin was trembling. He looked like a child having a tantrum. Castor brought the pistol up, pointing at Paitoon’s chest.

Gull said something that Paitoon couldn’t make out over the pounding of blood in his ears.

Crack! Crack!

Castor slumped back against the apartment wall. Two roses of blood blossomed on his chest. His pistol flew across the room, landing at Gull’s feet.

For a moment there was absolute silence.

Paitoon found himself kneeling beside Castor, cradling his hand, gazing into the piercing stare of dead eyes.

“You silly boy,” Paitoon whispered and found his throat constricting and his eyes burning.

“Does he have insurance?” Laslo leant over Castor’s dead body. Gull took the opportunity to dip and scoop Castor’s pistol from the floor. She slipped it into her waistband at the small of her back.

Paitoon looked up, trying to compose himself.

“Does he have insurance?” Laslo pointed one of his pistols at Paitoon’s head.

“Yes… no…”

“Which is it?” Laslo pressed the gun barrel into Paitoon’s forehead. “Retard!”

“Not for this,” Paitoon took a deep breath. “His company provided him with investigation and retribution insurance but it only covered him while he was on duty.”

“Good,” Laslo smiled, poking Castor’s arm with his boot. Then, satisfied that Castor was dead, he turned to Gull. “So, contract fulfilled?”

Gull nodded, suddenly aware that two pistols were pointing at her midriff.

“Well you can keep your cash,” Laslo grabbed Paitoon by the collar and dragged him to his feet. “I’ll take this retard, his little console and that bag, and we’ll call it quits.”

“No! Please!” Paitoon squirmed but the Lunie pressed the gun to his neck and he settled down.

“Get your console,” the Lunie pushed Paitoon across the room. “You are going to make me rich.”

“I can’t you let take him,” Gull said.

“You can’t stop me,” Laslo smiled broadly.

Slowly Gull began to reach around behind her back, feeling for the butt of the pistol. The smile disappeared from Laslo’s face.

“And if you so much as touch that gun you’ve got tucked back there, I’ll blow your stupid head off.”

Gull froze and was suddenly aware that she’d underestimated the Lunie.

“In fact, I think I might have to kill you anyway,” Laslo walked across the room, his spidery limbs picking a path between overturned furniture.

“There’s no profit in it,” Gull said, trying to meet Laslo’s gaze.

“But maybe I think that you know too much about the retard’s clever little machine,” Laslo raised a pistol. “Maybe you’d report me to the Chamber, just to get your own back.”

Gull tried to take a step backwards, but she was already pressed against the wall. She raised her hands.

“Laslo, I…”

The Lunie put a finger to his lips.

“Stop!” Paitoon yelped.

“Shut up retard!” Laslo didn’t even turn round and Gull’s view was blocked.

“This is your last warning!”

Laslo laughed.

“What are you going to do, little man?” Laslo glanced over his shoulder then stopped laughing, taking a step to one side.

Paitoon was clutching Gull’s stunner.

“That thing isn’t even charg-“

Pfft!

Laslo’s eyes rolled back in his head and his mouth dropped open. Then his knees trembled, gave and, slowly, he collapsed to the floor.

“That bastard was going to kill me,” Gull said, lashing out with her boot against Laslo’s unprotected sides. Then she stopped, and turned to look at Paitoon. “You saved my life!”

Then she turned to the wall and puked.

Paitoon brought the girl a drink of water and she rinsed her mouth.

“Thank you.”

“Mai pen rai,” Paitoon dipped into a wai. “You’re welcome.”

“So I guess we should get out of here.”

“I certainly do not wish to be around when he wakes up,” Paitoon nodded at Laslo.

“Mmm,” Gull wiped at her mouth, then she looked over at her paracycle, Charlie. “Is he fixed?”

“Yes,” Paitoon looked away. “I am sorry for the trouble I caused you.”

Gull wandered over to the work table and picked up Paitoon’s hacked console.

“Do you really think this thing will work?”

“I am certain of it, at least for a while.”

Gull took another three steps to where Charlie lay folded against the wall. She stroked the paracycle’s wings.

“I won’t be your slave,” Paitoon said. “I won’t live like that any more. If that’s what you expect, then you’d better kill me now, because I won’t work for you.”

“I’m not going to kill you.” Gull scratched at the stubble on the top of her head. “Did you enjoy your flight in Charlie?”

“It was terrifying!” Paitoon’s complexion paled visibly at the memory.

“Then maybe we do a deal,” Gull said. “You run the technology, I’ll do the flying and we share the profits. We’ll call it a cooperative.”

Paitoon’s eyes narrowed.

“But I thought you Lunies only looked after yourselves.”

“Can your scam make both of us rich?”

“I think so,” Paitoon nodded. “With luck.”

“Then if I look after you, I am looking after myself. Right?”

Paitoon smiled.

“Contract?” Gull held out a hand. “Contract,” Paitoon replied.

“Freedom” was first published in Jupiter SF #12

FREEDOM was originally published on Welcome To My World

#science fiction #Short story

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waroftwowolves · 6 years

Text

Olympian Aesthetics- Lochlan Almash

APHRODITE: laughter-loving, sweet smiles, dressed in silk and satin, flower in their hair,sees the world as a runway, unapologetically sexual, the sea washing their ankles, in love with love, stirrer of passion, cunning concealed by painted lips, secret daggers, doves, revolution in their kiss, delighting in the waves, flirtatious winks, strolling along the beach, staring wistfully from a balcony, this is how to be a heartbreaker, wants to be adored, gets turned on by danger.

APOLLO: glitz and glamour, art galleries, turning the volume up, being made of gold, neatly-organized music sheets, notebooks filled with poetry, bathing in the sunlight, the powerful urge to create, collecting vinyl records, beautiful cover of Wonderwall, playing multiple instruments,tasting like sunshine, healing touch, speaking in prophecies, smile mingled with wrath,shunning lies, sporting shades, hanging out at music festivals with their friends, sleeps naked, arrow to the heart, paint brushes, probably has a Tinder account

ARES: armed for battle, wants to raise a dog with their significant other, soft spot for children,gives piggyback rides, scarred body, blood on their hands and face, willing to fight the world for the ones they love, fights against injustice, warm hugs, well-worn combat boots,boxing gloves, bandages wrapped around bruised knuckles, fist raised in protest, ignites revolutions, fear is a prison, more sensitive than what their tough shell would have you think, exhausted, damaged goods, force to be reckoned with, red roses, curses under their breath.

ARTEMIS: keen sense of a hunter, freckles like constellations on their skin, piercing eyes,disheveled braid, moonlight peeking through the shadows, the calm of the forest at night, lying on the grass and staring at the stars, mother doe and her fawn, protecting their kin, the moon shimmering on a still lake, quiver full of arrows resting against the bark of a tree, running with wolves, bonding while circled around a campfire, not being much of a people person, arrow hitting a target, popping egos, patience on 3%, touches heaven and returns howling

ATHENA: discerning gaze, unreadable face, quiet museums, owl perched on their finger,armour that intimidates, eye for architecture, plays the sims for the sole purpose of building houses, studied the blade while everyone else was busy getting laid, big fan of logic, loves brain teasers, ancient buildings, sweaters in neutrals and cool colors, hair done up, can kill you with their brain, heads to the library often to research, sharpened pencils, abs that can cut steel, stoic statues, pottery classes

DEMETER: soil-covered hands, smile that can bloom flowers, skin loved by the sun, being the mom-friend, can lift you and your friends, flowers kept in the pockets of overalls, takes pride in their beautiful garden, speaks to their plants, leaves rustling in the wind, stalks of wheat, picking fruit, greenhouses, heart as strong as a mountain, values simplicity, daisies dotted across a collarbone, curls crowned with flowers, folded pile of sweaters in warm hues,pulling out fresh-baked bread out of the oven and the smell wafting through the air

DIONYSUS: drunk shitposter, on their sixth glass of wine before you’ve even finished your second, seductive smirks, untamed curls, rich fabrics on dark skin, sleek-furred panthers, theater masks, stage productions, receiving a standing ovation, rose caught between their teeth, being the baby of the bunch, wild parties that last from sundown to sunup, creeping vines,inspiring loyalty, grand opera houses, masquerade balls, rolls of film, shattered chandeliers with broken glass scattered across the wine-spilled floor, pouring champagne into flutes, lives for the applause

ZEUS: thunder in their heart, running on coffee, flash of lightning, natural charisma, eloquence, badass in a nice suit, aficionado of history, force of nature, lenny face, nightmare-filled nights, proud arm around their lover’s waist, high-rise buildings, planes soaring through a cloudless sky, technician on the piano, maintains order, strong handshake, juggling multiple events on their busy schedule with ease, expensive watch

Tagged by: @nym-wildseeker

Tagging: @isolde-revmore @conwulf @leora-strauss And anyone else interested.

#Tagged

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halforc-mercenary · 6 years

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𝔒𝔩𝔶𝔪𝔭𝔦𝔞𝔫 𝔄𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔰

𝔗𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔡 𝔅𝔶: @thuashdore 𝔗𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤: @stonestridernerd @anierous-sunblade @demonhunter-atram @leavenohoofprints @wanderersofazeroth @keeper-of-eternity @kiyastrasza @crownofearth @thelightsking @vindicatorz @valerians-travels @vaesha-draecon @olliehaldstan @thehumbleknight @crownofstormwind @regennt @nightscng @gellintalah @thesistersdastorio @dasachtleoncroi @justusreece @warcraftings @arcane-harbinger @wclfbrood @valathael @asharinhun @obsidianprinxess @renalah @renserrar @theforgottenflight @shcmanisms @keynelis @verosmoonshine @sindoreisisters @ceruleanelf @y-rel @xuldran @mohiican @hannyandfriends @thepaletroll @elendeare @mciev @ofmielikki @pitiflame @donttell-myfather…and everyone else!

ARES: armed for battle, wants to raise a dog with their significant other, soft spot for children, gives piggyback rides, scarred body, blood on their hands and face, willing to fight the world for the ones they love, fights against injustice, warm hugs, well-worn combat boots, boxing gloves, bandages wrapped around bruised knuckles, fist raised in protest, ignites revolutions, fear is a prison, more sensitive than what their tough shell would have you think, exhausted, damaged goods, force to be reckoned with, red roses, curses under their breath.

#headcanon #hihi tis was cute xd

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keeper-of-eternity-blog · 6 years

Text

𝔒𝔩𝔶𝔪𝔭𝔦𝔞𝔫 𝔄𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔰

𝔗𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔡 𝔅𝔶: @halforc-mercenary 𝔗𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤: @grannyshanny @wardennerd @unabashedrebel

APOLLO: glitz and glamour, art galleries, turning the volume up, being made of gold, neatly-organized music sheets, notebooks filled with poetry, bathing in the sunlight, the powerful urge to create, collecting vinyl records, beautiful cover of Wonderwall, playing multiple instruments, tasting like sunshine, healing touch, speaking in prophecies, smile mingled with wrath,shunning lies, sporting shades, hanging out at music festivals with their friends, sleeps naked, arrow to the heart, paint brushes, probably has a Tinder account

ARTEMIS: keen sense of a hunter, freckles like constellations on their skin, piercing eyes, disheveled braid, moonlight peeking through the shadows, the calm of the forest at night,lying on the grass and staring at the stars, mother doe and her fawn, protecting their kin,the moon shimmering on a still lake, quiver full of arrows resting against the bark of a tree, running with wolves, bonding while circled around a campfire, not being much of a people person, arrow hitting a target, popping egos, patience on 3%, touches heaven and returns howling

ATHENA: discerning gaze, unreadable face, quiet museums, owl perched on their finger,armour that intimidates, eye for architecture, plays the sims for the sole purpose of building houses, studied the blade while everyone else was busy getting laid, big fan of logic, loves brain teasers, ancient buildings, sweaters in neutrals and cool colors, hair done up, can kill you with their brain, heads to the library often to research, sharpened pencils, abs that can cut steel, stoic statues, pottery classes

DIONYSUS: drunk shitposter, on their sixth glass of wine before you’ve even finished your second, seductive smirks, untamed curls, rich fabrics on dark skin, sleek-furred panthers, theater masks, stage productions, receiving a standing ovation, rose caught between their teeth, being the baby of the bunch, wild parties that last from sundown to sunup, creeping vines,inspiring loyalty, grand opera houses, masquerade balls, rolls of film, shattered chandeliers with broken glass scattered across the wine-spilled floor, pouring champagne into flutes, lives for the applause

#character quiz

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spacedace · 1 year

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I had more thoughts about my "Elle is the Ancient of the Speedforce" au idea so I'm gonna dump them here in bullet point format:

Elle decides to formally claim the Flash Fam as part of her Court, no one thinks much of this outside of "Oh that's neat" until it comes out that if anything happens to Elle, the FlashFam becomes the new Royal Family of Speedforce and that due to weird Infinite Realms laws Bart is the next in line for the mantle of Ancient of the Spaceforce

Elle can use any Speedster as a portal. She just decides who she wants to see and just comes crawling put of their chests like a god damn horror movie. It doesn't hurt the Speedster at all (it actually gives them a power boost for a bit) but it is absolutely fucking terrifying to witness this eldritch entity burst its way out of the Speedster in question. The FlashFam uses this as the ultimate intimidation tactic. It's super effective.

Now that they are in direct contact with the Speedforce itself (in a way) the Speedsters can get away with So Much Shit that they didn’t used to. Elle can now just pull them out of her core if they end up going to fast and now that they have someone who has the Ancient of Time on speed dial (ha) they get a heads up on what that particular attempt to fuck with time will result in

Technically Diana & the FlashFam are cousins now. The family reunions get a little wild. Batman has no idea how he's supposed to make contingencies for this shit

Anytime any of the Speedsters are having issues with the Speedforce they call Elle and she helps them figure it out and get it under control. Sometimes to help calm them down she will pull the Speedforce away from them completely

Elle decides that her Speedsters all need therapy. Jazz won't do it because since they're family now it'd be a conflict of interests but a few Yetis from the Far Frozen step up to help.

Anytime it looks like there is something truly world ending about to go down thr FlashFam call Elle to help out. Since she looks like a tiny twelve year old girl it results in a lot of funny moments of the Biggest Big Bads being like "This is all you got?" Seconds before having their faces melted off.

The reason Bart is Elle's heir is because he "inherited" Elle's. (And therefore Danny's) ability to duplicate.

Everyone finally chills out about the idea of Bart being Elle's heir only to discover that being her heir also makes him second in line for the throne of the Infinite Realms.

Constantine - once he stops having a panic attack about it - does try to sell his soul to each of the Speedsters just to see if it would work. It does, but since they technically out rank everyone else he's sold his soul too, anyone who has a soul contract with Constantine takes this to mean the new members of the Royal Family want *all* of Constantine's soul and hand thier contracts over to try and gain favor. Constantine now constantly feels like he's on the brink of having an adrenaline crash and no one will buy his soul off him anymore because no one wants to piss off the new royals lol

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grither55 · 3 years

Text

The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic) - Chapter 108 - The Crossroad

The highborn women stared up at the stone steps with guarded looks in their narrowed eyes while the light from the ancient gateway accented the inside of the frozen cave.

While Elle still stood with her mouth open in disbelief as she listened to the sound of Naoki making her way down the staircase.

All the while as Azula snarled violently with her ruthless golden eyes forming a murderous stare.

"I said that I would be back for you after I concluded with the military. I meant it. And now you are coming back with me Elle." Naoki announced in an impassive voice while she gazed down at the younger girl's startled face.

While the four older girls stared back up at the redhead with their eyes narrowed into protective glares.

"H-how…. how did you get here before us Naoki?" Elle questioned with a nervous expression in her sensitive eyes as she backed up with her friends standing defensively before her.

All the while as the redhead stared back down at her with her usual hauntingly cold smile.

"I told you that you couldn't outrun me Elle and I told you that there is no one faster than me. Not a single one of you can even begin to compare to my Diminished Earth." The assassin stated in a sanguine voice while the team stared up with perplexed looks in their eyes.

"This kid beat us here on foot?" Mai asked in a shocked voice while Ty Lee gazed on in shock beside her.

While Azula pursed her lips together in a furious scowl as she glared frigidly up at the emotionless teenager.

While Zoe listened with her golden eyes agape in attentive fascination.

"D-Diminished Earth?" The handmaid pondered as she peered up at the redhead with an unnerved look in her timid eyes.

While the supersoldier continued to smile confidently down at her as she quietly strode down the stone steps.

"It is the ultimate technique of my own creation. It is a technique that allows the user to move with godlike speed." Naoki spoke in a chillingly confident voice while the five girls stared up at her in disbelief.

Just before she vanished in a flicker of speed while the Fire Nation women stared on with stunned expressions in their eyes.

And then not a second later the redhead reappeared before them at the bottom of the steps with her lips curving into a lethal smirk.

While the princess and the captain gazed on with their eyes widened in fascination.

All the while as Elle gripped the straps of her backpack as she gazed anxiously back into the redhead's eerie brown eyes.

"I see now. This girl…is somehow using her chi to move at inhuman speeds." Zoe stated with her golden eyes conveying an impressed gleam while her companions gazed on in awe beside her.

The fighting style of this girl was nothing like that of the traditional earthbenders that they were accustomed to with dealing with.

The girl has managed to completely reverse the usual earthbending strategy of waiting while fighting on the defense.

And in its place, she created a technique that instead focuses on attacking her opponent with overwhelming speed.

And in the process…she has almost completely eliminated the primary weakness of earthbending.

That being a reliance on the earth!

Unlike the earthbenders that they knew. This girl was a force to behold with or without the earth!

The only other earthbender that she has ever seen create such a revolutionary style was Earth King Jaran.

And not even he was capable of moving at such blinding speeds!

'An earthbender…. with superhuman speed! If wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes!' Azula thought with her frigid golden eyes closely studying the younger prodigy's emotionless face.

Only for her fist to clench at her hip while her eyes narrowed in frustration.

There was no doubt that the addition of both this unconventional earthbender and the combustionbender to her military forces would grant her an even greater advantage over the rebels.

If only she could sway the girl to come to her side!

"It is how I crushed the military. And it is also how I am going to crush your friends if you don't come back with me…Elle." The assassin remarked in a merciless voice while she stared back into the younger girl's shaken amber eyes.

While the highborn women stared back with their eyes narrowed into unwavering glares.

All the while as the princess stared on with her golden gaze taking on an utterly tyrannical glare.

"I am afraid that you are mistaken…peasant. If you don't get out of my way, it is you who is going to get crushed just as your friend was." The princess sneered in a beyond ruthless voice with her lips forming a regal glower while her young girlfriend shivered behind her armored back.

While Mai and Ty Lee nodded in affirmative as they stood in combat stances as they glared back at the redhead's undaunted face.

All the while as the cold air continued to bite at their skin.

While the supersoldier stared back at them with a gaze that somehow seemed even colder than the arctic climate itself.

"You aren't going to be defeating me Azula. I am stronger, faster and smarter than Katsu. And besides, you are going to have a difficult time taking us both on at once." Naoki declared with her machinelike brown eyes staring defiantly back into the princess's enraged golden eyes.

While the acrobat and the markswoman gazed on in disbelief over hearing the redhead state that she was stronger than the combustionbender!

All the while as the captain's golden eyes flashed with intrigue as she stood her ground beside her furious princess.

Only for all eyes to turn to the entrance when a ball of snow suddenly darted through the mouth of the ice cavern.

And not a second later Katsu comically shook the snow from her body like a wet dog on the floor of the cave.

While the redhead's lips pulled into an even larger smirk as she turned to gaze tauntingly back into the princess's glaring eyes.

While the Fire Nation women stared at the bomber with uneasy looks in their eyes.

All the while as the wild girl's golden eyes now gazed from one face to another.

And before the mighty princess could take another menacing step toward the smirking redhead.

She found herself pausing in her footsteps when she felt a gentle hand pull back on her wrist.

Azula could only scowl with her icy eyes still glaring in the young assassin's direction while Elle now stood nervously beside her.

While the chill from the northern winds blew through the air as Elle gazed pleadingly back at Naoki's unfeeling face.

"Please…Naoki. We…don't have time for this. It's…so c-cold here and I just want to go back home." Elle begged in an exhausted voice with her arms shivering underneath her coat while her friends glared back at the redhead's expressionless face.

While Katsu stumbled to her feet as she gazed between her two clashing friends.

"Are you leaving again already Elle?" Katsu asked in a disappointed voice while the other girl took on a remorseful expression.

While the older girls gazed between the three teenagers with guarded expressions in their eyes.

All the while as the princess glared on with a returning possessive gleam to her ruthless eyes.

"I…" The handmaid trailed off with the words dying in her throat while the princess took a controlling step in front of her.

"Yes, she is! If you want to see Elle any further then your only option is to come back with me. If not…then too bad!" Azula snapped in a livid voice with her callous eyes turning to glare daggers back at the redhead's stoic face.

While the bomber glanced back and forth with an increasingly worried expression in her eyes.

All the while as the three noblewomen stood in the cold air as they gazed about in apprehension.

"Unfortunately, that isn't an option for us Elle. The circumstances don't allow it. I must insist that you return with us." The assassin spoke as she ignored the princess's furious stare while she stared back into her childhood friend's emotional amber eyes.

While the older girls bristled in an ever-increasing sense of anger.

"You don't listen do you kid? She already told you no." The markswoman stated with anger in her voice while she glared back at the redhead.

"Elle is free to go wherever she wants! And no one here has any right to tell her otherwise!" Ty Lee exclaimed with in a supportive voice with her arms folded over her chest.

While Azula let out a scoff as she stared on with controlling golden eyes.

Before the princess turned to gaze down in hidden emotion when the younger girl stepped forward.

"Why! So, you can use my power to slaughter people?" Elle retorted with a fist gripped at her side while Team Azula stood in silence behind her.

Only to find herself gazing on in confusion when the redhead shook her head.

"No. While it is true that you will become like me in time. I am more than capable of killing without you. I already told you Elle. I need the cutting power of your Component." Naoki replied in a nearly mechanical voice with her emotionless brown eyes gazing back at the younger girl's bewildered face.

While the four highborn women listened in curiosity behind the confused teenager.

"The…cutting power of my Component? What for?" The handmaid pondered in an innocent voice while the tall princess glared on from over her shivering shoulder.

"I need you to use your power to strike down a magical barrier." The assassin stated in a calm voice while the younger girl's face broke out in awe.

All the while as the older girls listened with their own faces agape in astonishment.

"I-I can do that?" Elle asked in a lovably naïve voice with her mouth open in wonderment while her friends gazed at her in marvelment.

The princess could only stare on with her golden eyes wide in fascination as she turned to stare down at her young servant's adorably surprised face.

Even after all this time it was still hard for her to believe that her little servant could be capable of taking down a magical barrier connected to the spiritual plane!

"Of course, you can. Weren't you listening to anything that the old woman was telling you?" Naoki chided with a shake of her head while she smiled back at the other girl's sheepish face.

All the while as she strode closer while the princess and her noble friends excluding the captain glared back at her.

'Not only was this girl spying on us in battle…she even had the nerve to eavesdrop on our meeting with the old hag.' Azula thought with her callous golden eyes staring dangerously over her girlfriend's shoulder at the redhead's aggravatingly smiling face.

"No…I was listening. It's…just all just so much to take in." The handmaid admitted in an embarrassed voice while she gazed uncertainly back at the redhead.

"See Elle! Naoki was right when she said that you had special talent." The bomber stated as she made her way up behind the redhead while the blonde tried her best to smile back at her.

"Listen well, Elle. We need to talk. Just me and you." The assassin remarked in a cool-headed voice while her emotionless eyes purposefully ignored the princess's outraged face.

While the three noblewomen shared a leery glance as their princess glared daggers down at the younger prodigy.

All the while as Elle nervously swallowed the lump that was in her throat as she fidgeted on her shivering feet.

"Whatever you have to say to me. You can say it in front of my friends Naoki." Elle replied in a timid voice while Azula loomed angrily over her shoulder.

And then the redhead reached out and set her gloved hand on the shorter girl's shoulder.

While the young assassin never once so much as even looked in the enraged princess's direction.

"How dare you ignore me peasant." The princess snapped with her teeth ground together while she glared icily at the redhead.

Only for the fury in her eyes to grow even further when the girl began to speak in a foreign tongue once more!

All the while as Mai and Ty Lee flinched as they gazed out of the corner of their eye at their leader's infuriated face.

While Zoe gazed on with a noticeable grimace in her golden eyes as she watched Elle stared up at Naoki with a sliver of fear in her eyes.

'I now see why the princess is unable to win this one over to her side. It's because Naoki is a force of dominance. And she has no intentions of kneeling…at least not by choice.' The captain thought as her golden eyes quickly gazed from one face to another.

Just as Elle's amber eyes grew wide in what appeared to be a display of surprise while her friends stared on in confusion.

All the while as the four older girls stared between the two girls as they tried to get a better feel for what the redhead was saying.

While the meaning behind the girl's words was uncertain.

It was clear that the redhead was speaking in another language just to spite Azula to her face.

"There is a mythical place that is said to hold a legendary power. I have personally verified its existence and have begun to narrow down its location." Naoki spoke in Japanese tongue with her cold eyes staring back into Elle's widened amber gaze.

While Azula's face continued to contort in ever rising anger.

"Elle! Tell me what she is saying right now!" Azula commanded with her golden eyes narrowing in a tyrannical glare while she glared down at her unusually absorbed serving girl.

"I…I don't understand Naoki. A legendary power?" The handmaid mumbled in English while her big sisters listened in puzzlement.

While the princess's greedy golden eyes flashed with an eagerness to hear more as soon as she heard her serving girl mention a legendary power.

All the while as her eyes continued to burn with offense as the redhead began to speak in Japanese yet again.

"It is said that this power is able to grant the heart's desire of those that are able to unlock its secrets." The assassin informed with a smile on her lips while the younger girl stared back at her in astonishment.

While the Fire Nation women still listened with looks of bewilderment in their eyes.

All the while as Katsu seemed to furrow her brows as she tried to follow what the redhead was saying.

While Elle peered on with her eyes still agape in wonderment.

Only to find herself jumping in panic when Azula stomped her boot behind her.

"I said translate servant." The princess ordered in a demanding voice with her arms folded over her breasts while she scowled down at her handmaid's hurriedly nodding face.

"S-she said that this power has the ability to give people whatever their hearts desire." Elle answered in a still confused voice while her friends listened in fascination behind her.

While Azula now gazed on with her golden eyes flickering in unmistakable intrigue.

All the while as she coldly regarded the redhead through the corner of her ruthless eye.

"It can even…give you back what you have lost." Naoki continued in an enrapturing voice with her unfeeling eyes staring back into Elle's wonder-filled amber eyes.

"G-give me back what I have lost?" The handmaid repeated in a dumbfounded voice while her friends listened in suspicion behind her.

"That's right Elle. You could even restore your parents." The assassin announced while the teenager's amber eyes welled up in an expression of indescribable emotion.

And that was all it took for Elle's hands to fall to her sides while a spellbound expression rapidly overtook her face.

All the while as the older girls stared at their young friend in concern before they glanced warily at the redhead's almost victorious face.

"Are you alright Elle?" Mai inquired in a concerned voice while she still cast the redhead a warning stare.

"Why…do you look like you are about to cry? What did she say to you?" Azula snarled in a controlling voice as she stared hard down at her girlfriend's inexplicably overly emotional face.

"I-I can bring my…my parents back to l-life?" Elle stammered in an overwhelmed voice while her highborn friends stared back at the redhead in disbelief.

And not a second later a look of immeasurable rage overtook each of the older girls faces.

The mere fact that the girl was cruel enough to pull such a heartless ploy against their young friend made their blood boil.

"Elle…" The acrobat trailed off with the rage in her voice just barely under control while she trembled in her fury.

All the while as the teenager still gazed on with her eyes agape in a newfound sense of heartbreaking hope that she didn't have the heart to shatter.

While Azula's eyes now bubbled in murderous wrath as she took a menacing step forward.

Just before she moved to pull the emotional girl aside while her golden eyes glared a hole through the redhead's skull.

'You have some gall girl!' The princess thought with her flames reigniting in her nostrils while she furiously snorted out a small puff of fire.

There chance of there being any magic capable of reviving the dead back to life was slim to none!

In other words, it was nothing more than hippocow shit!

All the while as the markswoman seethed with her tawny eyes now staring at the emotionless girl with a glare of disgust in her eyes.

While the captain scowled with her golden eyes never leaving the redhead's remorseless face.

"Once all of the pieces are assembled and we uncover its location. We can do whatever we like once we reach Elysium. Including restoring what has been lost to us." Naoki insisted with her cold eyes gazing from Elle's stunned face to Katsu's amazed countenance.

All the while as Elle quivered with her hands still shaking at her hips while the older girls bristled in anger.

"Don't listen to her Elle!" Azula snapped in a voice of eroding patience only to find herself staring on in grudging concern when the small girl excitedly moved forward.

Yet despite the anger that she felt over the redhead playing with her innocent girlfriend's feelings.

She couldn't help but find that her curiosity was stroked over the concept over a magical power that could grant the one who found it whatever their heart desired.

And for the briefest of moments an insatiable lust for power flashed before her dominant golden eyes.

Only for it all to fade away when she turned to gaze down at her serving girl's naively hopeful face.

"I can have Mom and Dad back! What are we waiting for? Let's go find Elysium!" The handmaid cried out while the redhead's hand lingered on her shoulder.

While the highborn women stood frozen in a state of pity beside their friend.

'Is that really true Naoki?' Katsu thought with her golden eyes gazing back at the redhead's strikingly stony face.

"We'll find Elysium Elle. But it won't be with these aristocratic friends of yours. We cannot risk betrayal from those who have an avaricious lust for power in their eyes." The assassin stated with her machinelike eyes staring back at the princess's utterly incensed countenance.

All the while as the acrobat and the markswoman nervously glanced back at their leader's enraged face.

While Elle's mouth dropped open once more as she turned to peer back at her royal born girlfriend.

'So…that's her game.' Zoe thought with her stony eyes gazing on more calmly than her furious comrades.

"You! I have heard enough out of you filthy peasant!" The princess barked in a monstrous voice with her teeth bared in her fury as she stomped up behind the two girls.

While her heated fists hung at her womanly hips as her vision began to turn red in unrivaled anger.

"A-Azula-sama isn't like that Naoki. She wouldn't do that to us. We can trust her." Elle insisted with a lovable shake of her head while her highborn friends listened with amazed expressions in their eyes.

"Elysium…" The bomber muttered with an awed look in her eyes while her two friends gazed back at one another.

"The only good aristocrat is a dead aristocrat. Besides, you don't need her anymore anyway. You don't need any of them. After all they were only replacements for the family that you lost so long ago. Isn't that right?" Naoki countered in a nearly mechanical voice while Elle stood with her amber eyes shaking in emotion.

While Team Azula stood around their young friend with their eyes gazing on in concern.

All the while as Azula now looked as if she were to about to tear open Naoki's heart.

'I won't listen to this! How dare this girl try to take my Elle away from me!' Azula thought with her lips crushed together in her anger while she advanced behind her motionless girlfriend.

"T-that's…. that's not true." The handmaid protested as she swallowed audibly while she shivered under both the frigid air and the redhead's haunting stare.

"It is. And it is time that you cast her aside Elle. I am only person other than Rieko that can take you to Elysium. And I will not take you there with anyone who is not one of us." The assassin spoke in a ruthless voice while the other teenager stepped back with her amber eyes wide in distress.

All the while as the four highborn women gazed on with greatly angered expressions in their eyes.

While the princess's golden eyes shook with unfathomable rage as she stared furiously back at the redhead's face.

Only for the emotionless prodigy to simply stare right back into the blonde's emotional amber eyes.

"Now make your choice Elle. Will you choose the cherished past or the replacements of the present?" Naoki interrogated with her unfeeling brown eyes staring hauntingly into the younger girl's sentimental soul.

All the while as the older girls watched with a sense of inexplicable apprehension.

While Azula waited with bated breath as she glared on with the tiniest flicker of emotion momentarily passing over her cold golden eyes.

Only for Elle to raise her eyes to gaze right back into Naoki's machinelike brown gaze.

"I choose Team Azula." Elle announced in a firmer voice with her head held high while Naoki's eyes briefly flashed in surprise.

While Katsu also stared on with her golden eyes wide in confusion.

All the while as the Fire Nation women now found themselves unable to resist allowing small smiles to form on their lips.

None more so than Azula herself.

While the tall princess now held herself with a proud posture about her while the anger in her eyes began to slowly abate.

'That's my girl. You would never betray me.' The princess thought with her arms crossed confidently over her armored breasts while she stared victoriously back at the redhead's surprised face.

"How can you say that? You haven't even known them for more than forty days." Naoki replied with a rare sense of bewilderment in her voice.

"It doesn't matter. They are my family and they aren't replacements Naoki. And beside them is where I belong. They are…my home. And I won't go anywhere without them." The handmaid explained in a passionate voice while the two supersoldiers listened in puzzlement.

All the while as Azula smirked haughtily back at Naoki while the redhead's mouth parted in confusion.

'Azula….' Ty Lee thought with a tear in her eye while she allowed herself to smile in the younger girl's direction.

While the captain and the markswoman smirked as well as they exchanged a brief knowing glance.

"Now…now if you'll excuse us Naoki. We really need to leave." Elle remarked in a soft-spoken voice as she moved to step past the now silent girl while the light from the portal illuminated the cavern.

While Naoki still stared back at Azula's smug face with expressionless brown eyes.

While the three noblewomen moved to follow their young friend.

And then in that very instance the redhead's eyes transformed into that of a much more brutal gaze.

And that was all it took for the older girls to pause in their steps with their eyes widening while they stared right back at the dangerous redhead.

Just as the young assassin placed her gloved palm on the blonde's shoulder once more while Elle froze in her tracks when she turned to stare back into the redhead's all-encompassing eyes.

All the while as a cold sweat now dripped down Elle's terrified cheek.

"Naoki…. w-why are you giving Elle that scary look?" Katsu pondered in a worried voice with her golden eyes staring warily back at her comrade's callous face.

"That wasn't a request. It was an order. I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this. But you have left me with no other choice. If you do not agree to return with me…Elle." The assassin trailed off with a shake of her head while she gazed back into the younger girl's intimidated eyes.

While the Fire Nation women found themselves unable to fight the sudden sense of uneasiness that was coming over them.

All the while as they stared hard back at the teenager's frighteningly ruthless face.

While the princess still glared at the redhead with a murderous gleam in her golden eyes.

All the while as Elle loudly gulped while she shook as she peered back into the unsettling abyss that was Naoki's eyes.

"Then I will have no alternative but to use one of my nuclear warheads to reduce your new home and every living being in it to ashes." Naoki announced in a stunningly heartless voice while Elle's face turned pale in horror.

While the teenager now took a horrified step backwards with her mouth hanging open in a state of shock.

All the while as her amber eyes shook with terror as she gazed back at the redhead's unforgiving face in incredulity.

While the highborn women's eyes had all grown wide in disbelief as they registered the threat in the pit of their stomachs.

And even the bomber was staring on with her mouth agape in surprise.

And that was all it took for even Zoe and Azula to realize that the extent of the girl's ruthlessness went even further than they had ever imagined!

"Did…she just threaten to genocide the Fire Nation populace?" The markswoman questioned in a barely perceivable voice with her tawny eyes wide in shock.

While the princess gazed on with widened golden eyes as her girlfriend shook in terror.

"Y-you…. you have nuclear warheads? But h-how? They…. they haven't produced any more of them since the end of the great war." Elle sputtered in a completely terrified voice with a cold sweat dripping down her cheek.

"What did you think I meant when I told you that I have the whole world locked in a state of terror?" The assassin replied with a sanguine smile while the younger girl gazed on with her eyes wide in horror.

"Y-you can't! The Fire Nation is so beautiful Naoki! I-it is full of so many amazing wonders! If you launch a nuclear warhead on the Fire Nation you will effectively sentence all of the people and animals living in it to a slow torturous death over the decades to come! The soil will be rendered infertile and the nuclear fallout will block out the sun!" The handmaid protested in a panicked voice with her hands trembling at her sides.

While her highborn friends stood listening in speechless disbelief with a look of fright even coming over the captain's eyes.

"B-by Agni Azula…our military can't compete with a bomb like that." The acrobat stammered in a fear-stricken voice while the princess seethed in indignation beside her.

'This girl just crossed the line! I don't care what she does here but I will not allow her to hurt my countrymen!' The captain thought with her golden eyes taking on a look of indescribable rage while her palm shook over her sheathed sword.

"Then come back with me…Elle. If you do. I will give you my word that no harm will come to any land or people that you hold dear." Naoki stated as she took another step towards the terrified girl while the others listened in a shocked silence.

And then she reached out to set her gloved hand on the stunned teenager's shoulder once more.

"Let's do it Elle. Let's kill them all…Strados…Sayomi Saito, her family and everyone in the government. And then we'll reach Elysium. We'll do it together as comrades." The assassin urged in a fixated voice as she stared right back into her childhood friend's wide eyes.

All the while as Team Azula exchanged wary looks with one another as they kept a close watch on the redheaded leader of the trio.

The meaning behind the girl's words was loud and clear.

It was the girl's way of saying that they were not considered part of Naoki's group.

While the princess glared on with an outraged expression in her callous golden eyes.

All the while as the frigid arctic winds blew through the mouth of the ice cave.

While the light from the gateway once again shined upon the faces of the three teenagers.

Until at long last Elle swallowed the lump that was in her throat while she mustered up the will to gaze back into her childhood friend's now warped eyes.

"What…. what the hell is wrong with you?" Elle asked in a still taken aback voice while Naoki's brown eyes nearly flashed in recognition.

While Katsu stood with her hair swaying behind her as she worriedly gazed between her two clashing friends.

All the while as the older girls remained silence with their eyes constantly remaining trained on the dangerous redhead's inexplicably bewildered face.

"A-are you listening to yourself talk? You are talking about killing possibly hundreds of millions of people and murdering the family of a woman who have never personally done you any wrong. They got exactly what they wanted…they've twisted you into some horrible killing machine like…. like Strados!" The handmaid called out as she held a hand at her hip while the redhead stood gazing with reflective brown eyes.

And for the faintest of moments the supersoldier almost seemed to hesitate as she quietly stared back at her emotional friend.

While the highborn women watched with taken aback looks in their eyes.

It was just nothing short of astonishing to see just how good the girl was at getting through to cutthroat individuals who otherwise wouldn't be reasoned with!

And then they gazed on in amazement when the small girl reached out to set her hand on the redhead's motionless shoulder yet again.

"You're pushing yourself too hard Naoki…you're letting this consume you." Elle remarked in a soft voice while Naoki stood silent with her lips parted in contemplation.

All the while as the cold winds blew through their hair while the two friends gazed back into one another's eyes.

"I think it would be in your best interests if go take a rest. It would probably do you a lot of good." The handmaid advised in a helpful voice with her amber eyes gazing back at the taller girl's silent face.

While the older girls stared on with bewilderment in their eyes to see that the girl was willing to let the bomb threat slide so easily.

'Foolish peasant! You are far too forgiving for your own good!' The princess thought with her fists clenched at her hips while she glared on with possessive golden eyes.

"Naoki was just joking! We don't have any nuclear bombs! Ain't that right Naoki" The bomber exclaimed with a nervous smile while she stepped up beside her two quarrelling friends.

All the while as the Fire Nation women gazed on with utterly unconvinced looks in their eyes.

"And even if you did. Did you really think that threatening genocide would make me want to go anywhere with you?" Elle inquired in a low voice with her wary eyes staring back at Naoki's seemingly taken aback face.

While the redhead gazed on in an unusual silence with the cold wind continuing to whip through her hair.

All the while as the proud princess tried to hide the momentary flash of concern that came over her eyes after hearing her young servant's words.

And once again she found that she was unable to suppress the sliver of fear that arose from within her cold heart of what the girl would think of her when hears of their plans for Sozin's Comet.

Only for her lips to purse into a domineering scowl as she bitterly shook her head.

Now was not the time for such weak thoughts!

Before her attention was regained when she turned to gaze back at her young admirer's pretty face once more.

"And besides, it doesn't matter what you say to me…because my loyalty to Azula-sama is unshakable. And there are no words or bomb that is going to change that fact." The handmaid concluded in a resolute voice as she shivered in her coat while the redhead slowly nodded her head.

While the princess now visibly swelled with pride as she marched up behind the girls with her controlling golden eyes now reflecting a beyond pleased gleam.

All the while as the three noblewomen listened with their eyes staring in fascination over the heartwarming depths of their young friends' loyalty to their princess.

"Is it finally dawning on you girl? This one is mine. And there is nothing that you can say or do that will change that." Azula spoke in an exceedingly arrogant voice as she sneered back at the redhead's quiet face.

While Naoki gazed back at the young blonde with a strange look in her eyes.

All the while as her gloved hand slowly slipped from the other teenager's shivering shoulder before she turned away to gaze at the wall of the ice cavern.

And for the most fleeting of moments Elle could only gaze on with disbelief in her eyes when she saw that it almost seemed as if the redhead was on the verge of showing emotion!

"It's…true. I really have…become a killing machine. I've…. been like this for so long that I've forgotten what it was like to be anything else." Naoki confessed in an unusually quiet voice as she grasped her face in her gloved palm.

While Katsu stood beside her gazing on with a look of concern in her vibrant golden gaze.

While the older girls stood in a bewildered silence as their young friend gazed on with a sympathetic expression in her sensitive eyes.

"Naoki…" Katsu murmured in an anxious voice while she worriedly stared at her friend.

"Look Naoki…while it disgusted me earlier watching you kill those soldiers. I…I now realize that I have no right to judge you for killing on the battlefield…no matter how much it bothers me. Especially not when Azula-sama and my oneesans…have done the same." Elle muttered as she gazed down at her feet with a saddened frown on her lips while her highborn friends listened in a taken aback silence.

While the wild bomber gazed over her shoulder with a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

All the while as the prodigy stood silent with her back turned to them while she gazed up at the swirling portal.

"P-perhaps it is not too late for you. Maybe you can still find your way into the light." The handmaid stated with hope lacing her sentimental voice while she swallowed under her breath as she stepped forward.

While Team Azula stared on with looks of astoundment in their eyes.

All the while as the redhead stood still with her gloved fingers dancing through her scarlet hair.

As she gazed on through her fingers with something akin to a momentary flicker of emotion in her frozen eyes.

"Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if things had turned out differently. What would it have been like…to grow up as a normal child?" The assassin pondered in a voice of something akin to longing while the others listened in a speechless quiet.

"I…I often think the same thing myself." Elle confessed in a sorrowful voice with her hands grasping at the straps of her backpack.

While the older girls gazed on with affected expressions in their eyes.

And despite the redhead's monstrous threats and cruel disposition in battle.

It was apparent that the two young supersoldiers were just as tormented from their traumas as their young friend.

"No powers…just a normal life with a mother and father." Naoki whispered with her bangs shadowing her eyes.

While a tear now dripped down Elle's emotional cheek as she stared on with a saddened gleam in her eyes.

"Yeah…that… would have been nice." The bomber agreed in a mutter while a frown graced her lips.

"I…I would have liked that. Although I still would have wanted Azula-sama and the others to be there." The handmaid lamented in a troubled voice while she swallowed once more.

While the anger had faded from Ty Lee's eyes as she now stared on with a sympathetic tear brewing in the corner of her eye.

And Mai and Zoe gazed on with their mouths ajar in a show of pity.

All the while as Azula with her cold golden eyes conveying a rare state of confusion.

It was such a foreign concept to her…to long for a life without power.

"Just three kids on a simple sunny day." The assassin stated in a wistful voice with her hair flowing lightly behind her.

While the combustionbender and the Component user stood quietly as they numbly nodded their heads.

All the while as the Fire Nation women found themselves rendered speechless by the sheer extent of the three girls torments.

"With fresh lemonade…made by my mother. She…she made a good brew. You would have liked it." Elle quipped with a sad smile on her lips while she gazed at the redhead's back.

"I've never had lemonade before." Katsu commented with innocent curiosity in her voice.

Only to turn her head when a strange sound flowed into the air.

It was the sound of Naoki chuckling under her breath.

While Elle stared on with surprise in her eyes as she listened to the older girl chuckle.

It almost sounded…different than her usual eerie laugh.

"It sounds like it would have been a beautiful life." Naoki admitted in a reflective voice while the others listened in fascination.

"Maybe…maybe we could have…all been friends." The handmaid suggested as she shivered while the redhead's hand fell from her face.

All the while as the cold arctic wind swept through the mouth of the cave.

While the highborn women stared around with widened looks in their eyes as they began to sense a foreboding change in the air.

It was…just like back on the cliff side.

Only it felt even more powerful than before!

"It's far too late for that. I don't have any choice now. That life is forever lost to us." The assassin answered as a red energy began to seep from her body while the blonde stared on with widened amber eyes.

While the four highborn women watched with their eyes wide in alarm.

All the while as Naoki turned around to face Elle's startled face with her brown eyes having already taken on her piercing machinelike stare.

"But I will not shed tears over it. Because I am a warrior and warriors don't cry. And I will fight to destroy all that stands in my way until my last breath. And that includes you Elle." Naoki declared in a steely voice with her hair gloved fist held up before her face while she gazed back at Elle's trembling face.

While the two older firebenders stared on with widened expressions in their alerted eyes.

And not a moment later they all rushed ahead to assist their timid friend.

"Elle! Get away from that girl right now!" The princess roared with her golden eyes narrowing ruthlessly as she leaped forward.

While Katsu stared on with her golden eyes growing wide in urgency.

And Elle stood with her mouth ajar in a state of overwhelmed emotion as she cowered in renewed conflict.

"Naoki! Are we really gonna fight Elle! She's one of us!" The bomber shouted with a conflicted expression on her eyes while her panicked eyes rapidly gazed about the cavern.

"P-please friends! D-don't do this!" Elle stuttered as she backed away in fright while Naoki's haunting eyes stared right through her skull.

"Yeah, get her and kill the others." The assassin ordered as she swiftly moved with her merciless eyes trained on the younger girl's terrified face.

Just before the blonde fell onto her backside on the side with a startled yelp while she gazed up at her friends in shock.

"But…but she's our comrade!" Katsu protested in a hesitant voice only to find herself shivering when Naoki glared at her through the corner of her machinelike eye.

"Would you rather your core burns out? I said do it now." Naoki demanded in a glacial voice while Katsu's golden eyes briefly flickered in fright.

"No! I don't want that! I'll…help!" The bomber yelled out as she sprang forward while her golden eyes guiltily stared back at her friend's hysteria ridden face.

"N-Naoki! Katsu! Please!" The handmaid cried out as she slid away on her back while the redhead marched at her with menace in her step.

"The time for talk is over. The time has come to fight Elle. You and me, right now pacifist. Let's go." The assassin spoke in a scarily mechanical voice as she rushed at the trembling girl.

While Elle lay shivering on the ice with her innocent amber eyes agape in paralyzing emotion.

Only for Naoki to spin around when a tremendous chi overflowed into the cavern behind them.

All the while as a monstrous roar battle cry echoed into the air while sparks of lightning exploded into the walls of the vast cave.

"Get away from her!" Azula boomed in a bloodthirsty voice while she slammed her larger body into the surprised redhead.

And then not an instant after that Naoki rapidly drew her sword just as she barely managed to block a lethal swing from the princess's katana.

While the redhead's machinelike brown eyes widened as she was savagely thrown aside by the rampaging princess.

All the while as Azula's enraged bellows resounded off the walls of the cavern.

And then with monstrous precision the princess flipped through the air as she viciously delivered a savage kick to the bomber's gut.

All the while as Azula released a roar that was akin to that of a vengeful dragon as she tackled Katsu to the ground.

While Katsu let out a pained shout as she hit the ground only to find herself staring up in terror into the princess's monstrous golden eyes.

All the while as the three noblewomen furiously leaped into action with an unusually ferocious demeanor.

And then seconds after that the acrobat jumped onto the bomber's back while she assisted the princess in straddling the protesting girl.

While the redhead bounded out of the way of Mai's throwing knives only for the captain's muscular body to impact with her from behind.

All the while as the two warriors rolled across the floor of the cavern while Naoki gazed fearlessly up into Zoe's fierce golden eyes.

While Elle stared on at the violent scene from where she lay on the floor of the frigid cave with shock in her wide amber eyes.

"Elle! Run through the portal now!" The princess snarled as she held her sword into the bomber's terrified neck while she snarled mercilessly down at the trembling girl.

All the while as Mai seized a hold of Elle's shirt as the teenager let out a whimper when the noblewoman pulled her up.

"Come on kid! Let's go!" Mai shouted in a protective voice as she began to pull the emotional girl under her wing.

"I won't be so merciful with you this time girl! This time you'll die!" Azula bellowed as she prepared to thrust her sword into the stunned bomber's neck.

"W-wait Azula! I'll chi block her!" Ty Lee hollered as she pinned the girl down while the bomber let out a yell of protest.

"Naoki! I don't wanna die!" Katsu screamed in an alarmed voice with her golden eyes wide in fright.

And then Zoe let out a shout of surprise when a slab of stone slammed into her side.

While the mighty captain now leaped back on her booted feet with her stony eyes glaring about the cave.

And not a moment later a scarlet blur impacted with both the acrobat and the princess.

While the two nobles let out a yell of fury as they were rapidly kicked off the other girl.

All the while as Azula and Ty Lee leaped to the ground beside Zoe.

Only for Naoki to jump away in a flash with her fist gripping Katsu's wrist.

And soon after that Mai halted in her tracks when the two girls dropped down onto the top of the staircase.

As she clenched her teeth in her anger while she glared up at the shimmering portal while the redhead stared callously back down at her.

All the while as Elle trembled with heavy emotion in her widened eyes beside her.

While the four Fire Nation women gazed up with battle hardened looks in their eyes.

All while Azula stared up with her golden eyes narrowed into an absolutely murderous glare.

While Naoki now stood on the staircase gazing mercilessly down at her gathered opponents with Katsu in a crouch beside her.

All the as the highborn women stared up in disbelief when the respective colors of red and green chi began to radiate from the girls' bodies.

While the two supersoldiers' powerful auras began to sweep through the cavern as the older girls gazed on with astonished looks in their eyes.

"Get ready Katsu. We'll take the two fire users down hard and fast with our usual technique. And then we'll collect Elle." Naoki stated in a voice devoid of emotion while the bomber shakily nodded her head.

While Katsu stared back down at Elle's hurt face with an expression of remorse in her golden eyes.

All the while as the furious Fire Nation women braced themselves for combat.

"No…no you will not!" The princess hissed with her lips pursed in a domineering glower while her own immense aura overflowed from her enraged body.

While she glared up at the two girls with her golden eyes transforming into possessive slits.

"Elle! Stay behind us!" Zoe yelled in a stony voice as she slid back on the ice with her golden eyes forming a dutiful stare.

While Ty Lee stared on with a defensive frown adorning her usually kind lips.

While Mai stood just as determined with her knives clenched in her fists as she stared on furiously.

All the while as Elle's hands shook at her hips as she stared up with tears in her amber eyes.

While the frigid arctic winds poured through the mouth of the tunnel as the two groups stared each other down.

And not a moment later the auras from the four warriors burst forth from mouth of the ice cave.

"P-please my friends! I-it doesn't have to be like this! We can all go back and eat candy over the campfire together!" Elle pleaded in a distressed voice while her highborn friends listened in a moved silence.

While the bomber gazed on with her golden eyes glistening in emotion as a tear fell from the corner of her conflicted eye.

While the prodigy stared on with her hauntingly cold brown eyes never once showing even the slightest sign of emotion.

All the while as their bodies glowed brightly as combustionbender stood up alongside the ruthless earthbender.

"I consider you my comrade Elle. But if I must shatter your happiness and kill your friends in order to survive…then I will do so without hesitation." The assassin spoke in a seemingly heartless voice while the younger girl's amber eyes grew even wider in dismay.

While the older girls stared up with great anger in their eyes.

And then before any of them could so much as speak another word.

A monumental explosion of energy erupted from the ice cavern while chunks of ice now flew high into the air down the frozen slopes.

All the while as great plumes of emerald light detonated before the blinded eyes of the four highborn women and their young friend.

While Azula stood rooted to the ice with her arms held out before her furious golden eyes.

All the while as she madly stared about in search of her targets.

Just before an expression of utter fury overtook her face as a wave of combustionbender exploded before her at point blank range!

And less than a second later an earthen fist collided into her cheek.

While she bellowed at the top of her lungs as she was thrown into the wall of the cave.

All the while as a scarlet blur darted through the green light with speed that even the captain could barely follow!

And then the two supersoldiers barreled into the captain with all of their might.

While Naoki's foot impacted with Zoe's cheek in the same moment that Katsu blasted the furious woman to the wayside.

All the while as Mai and Ty Lee stared on with widened eyes as they listened to combustionbending explode all around them.

While Elle's amber eyes trembled in unfathomable emotion as she watched in fright.

And then mere moments after that Mai cried out in pain when Naoki savagely slammed her aside.

The noblewoman was thrown onto her ass while she grunted in fury with her knives scattered about on the floor before her.

"Ty Lee! Get her out of here!" The markswoman yelled in a frantic voice while the acrobat sprinted ahead with her adopted sister in hand.

Only for the two to freeze in their step when Naoki landed on her tabi booted feet before them.

While her emotionless brown eyes stared right back through the infuriated acrobat's skull.

"You can't have her! She's our little sister and she wants to stay with us!" Ty Lee bellowed as she pushed Elle behind her while the redhead stared coldly back at her.

Just before she swung her fist at the teenager only for her brown-gray eyes to widen in disbelief when the girl seemingly vanished.

And then before she even realized what was happening, she felt an armored fist impact with her vulnerable belly.

"O-oneesan!" The handmaid stammered in shock while she ran to assist the older girl.

"Get out of my way…aristocrat." Naoki remarked in a glacial voice in Ty Lee's ear as she savagely threw the woman to the ice below.

While Elle stood over the acrobat with her amber eyes gazing on wide in despair back at Naoki's unfeeling face.

"N-no. P-please! Naoki! I…I don't want to go back-" Elle sputtered only to find herself keeling over on top of Naoki's fist.

"It's time to go Elle." The assassin informed in a frigid voice as the girl fell into her arms.

All the while as the teenager lay motionless with her eyes agape in sorrow as she was effortlessly lifted over the redhead's shoulder.

While the feral bomber rushed through the smoke with her golden eyes gazing back at the other girl's slumped form.

"Let's go…Katsu. We have what we need. Now let's get back to the others." Naoki commanded in a pleased voice as Elle lay wide eyed on her shoulder.

While Katsu numbly nodded her head in agreement.

And then the two broke out into a rapid run out of the exploded ice tunnel.

While the supersoldier began to sprint with her feet moving so quickly that they began to blur.

And just like that she leaped high into the air from the mouth of the ice cave before they soon landed on their feet on the frozen slope below.

All the while as the redhead paid no heed to the shouts of rage coming from the recovering older girls behind her.

While the four Fire Nation women now ran as fast as they could to rescue their innocent friend.

"Elle!" Ty Lee called out in a fraught voice as she rushed out through the tunnel.

While the team now stared out with their eyes brimming with rage as they watched the two girls descend down the icy slopes.

All the while as Naoki and Katsu skidded down the crumbling ice with the blonde restrained in earth bindings over the redhead's shoulder.

While Azula's golden eyes were now wide with a rage so great that it seemed as if her veins were about to burst.

And somewhere in the deep depths of her cruel heart.

She felt her heart twist in agony at the very sight of her girlfriend being taken away from her.

"You're not taking her! Do you hear me!" Azula roared with her authoritative voice booming all throughout the frozen plateau.

All the while as she never once lost sight of the duo sliding their way down the slopes.

While the markswoman slid down beside her with her angered tawny eyes intently staring down at the girls.

All while the captain rushed down the hillside with her golden eyes watching the redhead start to speed ahead of the bomber.

While the group stared on in disbelief as the prodigy bounded through the air with frightening speed.

And for every step that they covered, the supersoldier covered double!

"I can't believe that this girl can run this fast! She's faster than an ostrich horse!" Mai shouted in a frustrated voice as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her down the descending slope.

While Azula's golden eyes burned with wrath as she sprinted ahead at the forefront of her group.

"We have to catch up to her! We aren't familiar with the geography of this land! If we don't reach her…and she gets away…. we won't even know where to begin looking for her!" The captain stated with aggravation in her otherwise stony voice.

"That isn't going to happen. They won't take her away." The princess spoke with her tyrannical eyes staring through the exploding ice while her fists clenched at her hips.

Just as her golden eyes narrowed in her anger when she heard the younger girl call out to her over the roaring winds.

"Azula-sama!" The handmaid shrieked over the frigid winds while the redhead ignored her cries.

While as the princess increased the pace of her pursuit down the ice hill in response to her cry for help.

While she closed her eyes shut as tears began to make their way down her cheeks.

'Why does it have to be this way!' Elle thought as she hung from the redhead's arm with her face laying upon the older girl's shoulder.

All the while as memories from the time that she spent with the two girls began to replay in her mind.

"Don't eat so fast Katsu! You'll choke!" Elle advised in a gentle voice while the bomber ravenously devoured the contents of her bowl.

While Naoki stared on at the scene from her seat over the fire with emotionless brown eyes.

While Kane watched from where he sat against a tree with an amused smile on his lips.

And the others sat scattered throughout their various chosen spots over the campfire.

All the while as the petite girl patted the tall combustionbender on her back while the older girl glanced down at her with something akin to a fond gleam in her usually violent golden eyes.

And then in that precise moment she gazed up in surprise when a small box fell into her lap.

While she stared down with delight in her sparkling eyes to see that it was a box of one of her favorite candies.

Just before she turned to see who threw her the candy only to find herself smiling brightly back at the cloaked redhead seated opposite from her.

"Arigatou gozaimasu Naoki!" The teenage girl cried out in a joyful voice while the redhead just silently stared back at her.

And later that night the redhead slept on a tree branch with her sword in her arms while her head rested against the tree.

While Elle lay on her back in the moonlight gazing up at the stars as she watched a star shoot across the sky.

All the while as she raised her hand into the air to seemingly reach for the shooting star with a wistful smile on her lips.

"I wish…to find a home." Elle muttered with her innocent eyes gazing up at the distant star as it soared so high above her.

All the while unaware that the redhead was actually awake listening to her from where she sat in the tree branch above her.

And the next day.

Katsu sat with a book in hand while she stared down at its paged with a frustrated expression in her impatient eyes.

While the smaller girl sat beside her as she assisted her in interpreting the words.

All the while as the taller bomber let out an aggravated growl as she glared down at the book.

Only to turn her head when a gentle hand touched her on the shoulder.

"It will be alright Katsu. You'll get the hang of it." The teenage girl assured in a sweet voice while wild girl allowed herself to smile down at her.

And then another memory began to play soon after that.

The three girls stood on the hill gazing up at the darkened sky together.

"There is only one thing that matters to me now. I am searching for something that I lost. They took it from me. And now I am going to take it back." Naoki stated as she held onto her locket while Elle gazed back at her with curious amber eyes.

"What something is that Naoki?" Elle asked in a kind voice while the older girl stared up into the skies.

"My freedom." The assassin responded with a smile on her lips as she turned to gaze back at the younger girl's emotional countenance.

While the three teenagers gazed back at one another as they each managed to form a smile.

"Together we'll find what has been lost to us…and together we'll make our way to a better world." Naoki spoke in a voice of profound longing as she smiled back at her companions while her two friends smiled beside her.

All the while as the three girls turned to gaze up at the skies together with their eyes reflecting a newfound hope for the future.

And then soon after that a flurry of memories of the many days that she spent with Team Azula started to overflow before her pained eyes.

One by one she saw memory after memory.

She thought of each and every one of them.

Ty Lee.

Mai.

Zoe.

Nako.

Even the other soldiers and servants in her princess's royal service.

And last but never least the one who held her heart.

Azula-sama.

You will always have a home by my side Elle.

And then she was pulled from her thoughts by the sensation of the frigid arctic winds lashing against her shivering cheek.

While tears continued to slide down her face as she turned back at the two girls as they slid down the frozen slope.

'Naoki…Katsu…I'm sorry…but…' The handmaid thought with anguish flashing before her saddened eyes.

And then she opened her emotional amber eyes as she attempted to gaze over her shoulder up at the towering ice hills.

While she watched in surmounting fright as the faces of Team Azula began to slip further and further away.

And that was all it took for an explosion of chi to erupt from her body!

And then just like that she soon found herself falling free from her restraints while the two supersoldiers spun around to gaze up at her in shock.

While she now fell above the two surprised girls with the tears in her eyes fading away in the frigid winds.

All the while as an aura of white chi swept over her body as she clenched her fists as she fell through the air.

"I…I can't lose this home!" Elle shouted in a voice overcome with a newfound determination as she dropped down above the stunned redhead.

While the prodigy gazed up with emotionless brown eyes as her scarlet hair blew over her eyes.

Only for her ruthless expression to become even colder her red aura swept over her body once more.

All the while as the Component holder dropped down over the two warriors with an unusually intensity about her.

While the four highborn women watched from high up on the slope with looks of astonishment in their eyes.

And right after that an explosion of energy rocketed throughout the frozen hillside.

While the combined light of the three girls' auras now shined all across the sparkling white landscape.

All the while as a bright emanated from the ancient gateway and over the slopes below.

#azula avatar #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #ty lee avatar #mai avatar #femslash

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consump9qiz · 4 years

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GREETINGS, HELPING THE MASSES OF PEOPLE TO STEP OUT OF YOUR DIE LOVE MAS ( DELEMAS ) OF MENTAL OPPRESSIONS DUE TO YOUR OVEN ORGAN GAS SIM SPELLS BONDINGS AND BONDAGES. TO KNOW TRUTH FROM REALITY BECAUSE, REALITY IS FALSEHOOD = REALITY = REALTY = LAND = GROUND = UNDERGROUND = GRASSROOTS = SATIN = SATAN = REAL ESTATE = REALITY FROM THE UNDERGROUND = REALITY OF ILLUSION = FALSEHOOD. PEOPLE AREN'T INTERESTED TO SAY, IN TRUTH BUT FALSEHOOD. ROLE PLAYINGS ARE A PROGRAM AND OF AN UROBA = EUROBA ULTRA ILLUMINATION RELEASEING ULTRA FLOOR ( S$ ÇENTS ) BASE POISON IVING ARDU, GIVING ARDURS TO MILITARY, POLICE, PEOPLE FIRE GASES UP CHEOPS = CHI OCTIVES C,D,E,F,G,A,B JAH GRAM BURRY SYSTEM OF = OVE = OVEN = LOVEN PINK, MAROON, CRANBERRY, PURPLE AND ULTRA VIOLET BLUE ULTRA FIRE SPIRIT GASES SAMUAWNING EL FROM THE UNDERGROUND DRECO REPTILIAN RELIGION WHICH CATERS TO OCCULT RITUALS ( THE RICH YOU ALLS ) THE = ( $$$$$ MONOPOLY = MONARCH = MEMBERS ONLY ÇOVEN SOCIETY NETWORK MONEY PLAY RITUALS = RICH CHEW ALLS INCLUDE, HUMAN BLOOD DRINKIN OF CHILDREN SACRAFICES & FLESH EATING'S SPIRIT COOKIN SACRAFICES & ADULTS HAVING SEX WITH ITY BITTY CHILDREN, IN WHICH, SUBJECTS ARE DRUGGED BEFORE CARRYING OUT THE RITUALS. TO POINTS WE'RE GETTING AT ( HERE = HAIR = HEIR = HIGHER ) THAT ABOVE IS WERE THE ( AUTHOR = AUTHORITY ) ( RESIDES = RAY SIDES ) ( SPIRIT RELIGION = SPIRIT REGION ), SO THEN, ( PERSON = PERSONS = IMPERSONATIONS IMPERSONATORS ARE HIRED TO FILL A JOB ( POSITION = POOR C SHUN ). C = ( C = BASE AND BOTTOM OF THE REALITY CHART = CHAGRAM = CHI OCH CRAM BERRIES = BURY = BOROUGH = BORROW = ON BORROWED TIME ) = ASCENSION OVEN LOVENDER, CRANBERRY, PURPLE, PINK AND VIOLET BLUE SAMAUWNAR FIRE EL SPIRIT EATHER GASES FROM BELOW IS CRANBERRY, MAROON IN MEN AND PINK LOVENDAR IN WO MEN ) ALSO, THE VIOLENT = VIOLET BLUE. POWER STRUCTURE AND JOB POSITIONS ARE ON ( BORROWED = BOROUGH = BUROW IS UNDERGROUND MEANING THE SPIRIT COMPOSITION OF MAROON, CRANBERRY & PINK FIRE SPIRIT GASES TERMED LOVENDER = OVENDER = OVEN = COVEN = GOVEN = IS WHERE GOVERNMENT = COVEN ROLE PLAYERS THAT CONTROL THE MINT DWELL AT C LEVEL AND RELIGION = REGIONAL = REGION ANAL = COCCOAX SPINE BASE = C LEVEL = CHACKRAM = CHI OC GRAM = BURY = BAR RAY = PRAY = PREY ) AND THAT'S WHAT THE SPIRITUAL C = ( C = SOUL = SCHOOL = GHOUL ) LEVEL ( IMITATE = IMITATION ) CHARACTERS, ACTING = CINEMA = ( C INNER MAR = MAR MEANS TO DESYROY, RUIN, DISECT ) & CINAMAX = ( C INNER MAX = MAX = MOCKERY ) OF THE REAL ( KINKS = KINGS = KINKY HAIRS = KING KEY HEIRS FOR HIGHER AUTHORITY LEVELS OF COMMON WEALTH FOR THE KINKS KNOWLEDGEABLE IN TRUE ORDER OF THE COSMIC SON SCRIPTURES FROM HIGHER = HEIRS = HEIRSHIPS ORDER, AIR SHIPS ABOVE THAN AN UNDERGROUND ULTRA ( FLOOR ESSENE = FLOOR S SENT UP SPINE CHAGRAMS, FLOURESNCE C LOW ULTRA GASES ILLUMINATED = ILLUMINATI COVEN = OVENNAR, OVENMINT EATH SPIRIT FIRE GASES ) THUS, TAKING ON IMPERSONATING, LIEING, ACTING, FRAUDULENT OCCUPATIONS OF AUTHORITY ENFORCED BY BABYLONIAN VIGALANTI CONCEPTS WITH AN INGRIMINATING = INCRIMINATING GAME OF MONO POLY = MOON A POLICIES = MOON = LUNA = LUNADIC HEADS THE AUTHOR STORY BY FORCED AUTHORITY WITHOUT OUR ALL QIZEZ COLOR = CALLER = ALL = ALLAH IS IN ERROR. FOR TO CLAIMING THE LIFE STORY CONCEPTS FROM THE HIGHER = HIRE = HEIR BEING AFRO'S HEIRS KINKS SHIP AIR OF THE ABOVE THE UNDERGROUND, C OVEN = COVEN = GOVEN = GOVERNMENT CREATING MANY PROPAGANDAS, THEIR OWN LIFE STORY VERSION = DIE VERSION = DIE VERSING = DIE VERSES FROM THE SPIRITUAL UNDERGROUND USING FABRICATIONS, LIES, MURDER, THUS, TO DO THAT BY FORCE TO IMITATE ( IMPER SON NATIONS OF YOUR = IMPERIAL KINKY SON HEIR NATION ) ARE THE KINKY HAIRS, KING KEY HEIRS, HAIRS AFRO PEOPLE SPIRIT PRINCIPLE UNIVERSALLY ABOVE AND NOT FROM THE UNDER CROWN ( CROWN = GROUND )

TO BE CONTINUED:

CHACKRAM LEVELS ARE ACCORDINGLY = C,D,E,F,G,A,B = C = SPIRIT SUPER BASEMINT $ LEVEL COACCOX ANUBIS IS ONE OF THE ABIS GOD = DOG = DOGON = DRAGON = DRACAR = DRECO REPTILIANS PLUS, MORE OF UNDERGROUND SPIRIT ENTITY CLASSES NEAR ANUL AT SPINE BASE AT GHOUL SPIRIT LEVEL SUPERCEDED BY THE GONADS. D = CHACKRAM SPIRIT LEVEL SUPERCEDED BY THE SPLEEN. E = SPIRIT CHACKRAM LEVEL SUPERCEDED BY THE SOLAR PLEXUS. F = SPIRIT CHACKRAM LEVEL SUPERCEDED BY THE THYMUS HEART AREA. G = SPIRIT CHACKRAM LEVEL SUPERCEDED BY THE THYROID GLANDS. A = SPIRIT LEVEL SUPERCEDED BY PINEAL & QIZA MASTER GLAND AT THE THIRD EYE. B = SPIRIT LEVEL IS AT THE CROWN MOLAR. THE POINT I AM GETTING AT. HERE IS THAT A FINANCIAL MONEY RELIGIOUS MONARCHY SYNDICATE CRIME SOCIETY ORGANIZATION RUNNING THE GOVERNMENT = ( OVEN NAR MEN = ELLOWIND FIRE EATH GAS FIRE ENTITIES = MEN = HUMANS = ZOMBIES = SOME PEOPLE = THE ZOMBIE BULL ) ARE AN ORGANIZATION OF COVEN SATANIST OF THE OCCULT, IN WHICH, HAVING THEIR SPIRIT REGION = REGION = RELIGION IS AT THE C COACCOX LEVEL AT BASE OF SPINE AND ITS SPIRIT COLOR IS LOVENDER = FOR MEN MAROON, CRANBERRY, PURPLE & PINK FOR FEMALES. MEN & WOMEN OF LUNAR MOON SPIRIT GASES IS ULTRA VIOLET BLUE AND SILVER. LUNAR SPELLED REVERSE = LUNA = ANUL = ANUBIS IS DOG DIETY = DOGON DIETY = DRAGON DIETY = DRACULA DIETY = DRECO REPTILIAN DIETY = FROM DOG IN REVERSE TO GOD = ALSO, DRECO = REPTILIAN = FROM WAY UNDERGROUND C BASE CHIACRAM CAUDECIUS RISES FROM C BASE CHIAHRAMS UP SPINE SYMBOL = ST AND $ SIGN = SINE WAVE. LOVENDER = ( LOVE = LOVEN = OVEN = COVEN = GOVEN = GOVENOR = GOVEN MENT = GOVERNMENTS = OCCULT COVENS CONTROLLING DOLLAR MINT ). SPIRITUALLY WHAT'S LOVE CUT & GUT TO DO, WITH IT? SPIRITUALLY LOVE = VOLCANO LAVA = UNDER THE VOLCANO LOVA INSIDE THE DEEP CRATERS OF ALL THE MOUNT = MOUNTAIN SIONIDE POISON EATHER SPIRIT GASES = OTHER = AUTHOR = AUTHORITY SPIRIT FIRE GASES REGIONAL = REGION ANUL = BY RELIGION = RAY FIRE LEGION TO BE FIRED FROM THE FACE OF THE QIZIRES = SON LIGHTS BY NOT HAVING SPIRITUAL RAYS BUT HAVING SAM UNDER ELL O EATHER FIRE GASES SPIRIT BADY HISSSSSSSS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH QIZIR'S SON SEED"S QIZIRE SONAR QIZM RAYS BY PRINCIPLE .C,D,E,F,G,A,B = C COVEN REGIONAL, REGION ANUL SPIRIT DESTINATION. IS WHERE THE COVEN RITUALS = COVEN NAR = ( NAR EATHE SAMUAWN SPIRIT FIRE GASES = CUT, GUT MOURN INK SAMEU HELLA = SAME YOU HELLA " SAYS THE ANGELS IS THE REALITY GOES HELLOW COVEN = OVEN $ MINTS. THIS LEVELS FIR ALL BRUNETTE SATIN FHAIR, PEOPLES ( OF = OVEN IN IN GOD WE TRUST ) THE ULTRA ILLUMINATED = ULTRA ILLUMINATI SATANIC RITUALS BLOOD SACRAFICE COVEN CULTS. THE IN GOD YOU TRUST IS $ = THE DOLLAR SYMBOL $ IS THE UP THE SPINAL COLUMN $ the same as the Medical Symbol $ = Staff Of Hermetic Sciences & Caudecius only Sine Wave 2 times like that S on Superman's Chest. A Super Works and Live in the Base Mint $$ and exactly the Covenent = COVEN End being Elaborated Fhair. GOD SPELLED IN REVERSE = GOD = DOG = DOGON = DRAGON = DRACAR = DRACULAR = DRECO = REPTILE = SNAKE = LIZARD = $ = ULTRA ILLUMINATED COVEN CONTROLLING MINT $ WORKING FOR REPTILIANS LOCATED SPIRITUALLY FROM BASE OF SPINE GHOUL $ AND IN THE PHYSICAL STATIONED IN THIS PLANET IS HOLLOW EARTH. REPTILIANS STAR FLEETS LIVE IN CENTER OF PLANET, HOLLOW EARTH AND TRAVEL BY ADVANCED FLYING SAUCERS DATING WAY BACK TO ANCIENT EGYPT. THE UNDERGROUND C GHOUL = HOUL = H.A.L. IBM = HOUL = ANUBIS = DOG = DRAGON ABIS = HOUL = OWL IS THE ( RITUAL = RICH YOU ALL ) COVEN OF THE DARK ) THAT'S HOW THE MINT GAME WORK, MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE ULTRA ILLUMINATED = ILLUMINATI = ILLUMINAZI RICH YOU ALLS AND POPULATION REDUCTION. GHOUL = HOUL = H.A.L = IBM 666 COVID 19 = IBM 666 COVEN ID 19 = I.B.M 666 GOVERNMENT MICROCHIP ID 19. THE MASSES OF POPULATION WORLDWIDE ACT LIKE THEY ARE UNAWARE OF THESE THINGS SAYS YOUR ANGELS! TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW PROFOUND SCROLL READINGS LIKE THESE YOUR SUPPORT & SPONSORSHIP WILL BE APPRECIATED. TO COVER COSTS FOR: PAPER, BOOK COVERS, HIGH SPEED PRINTERS, INK, MARKETING, PUBLISHING & DISTRIBUTION COSTS. ALL INQUIRIES SHOULD EMAIL: [email protected]

[email protected]

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swimyghost · 6 years

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The Haiamo Chapter

WARNING: THIS IS NOT MY UNIVERSE. Kiyrus Terino and this Homestuck Universe was based on @cay-reborn Homestuck fan-comic ‘288′ which can be found here:https://mspfa.com/?s=23527&p=1

Haiamo, her lusus, castle, and stuff was created by me. Please read “288″ for more details. Again, I THIS IS NOT MY UNIVERSE. Please enjoy!

(Background: Bored in class so I wrote this. Details a bit of Haiamo’s character and what she did before she is introduced in “288″. Please don’t kill me Cay ;( )

Haiamo’s typing style: E is 3, 4 is A, H is )(, and uses lots of slang and swears

*-*-*-*

Deep breath, release, smoke floats to the top. Deep breath, release, smoke floats to the top. A young troll girl, around six Alternian solar sweeps old, sat in her dark castle dungeon/respiteblock, smoking a basic troll blunt. As she smoked, the black haired girl looked at her fuschia and black computer screen. The light bounced off the troll girl’s goggles and hit the black curtains behind her computer.

Smoke and release. Smoke and release. It is a basic blunt, nothing special. The troll isn’t looking for something special, just something to make her relax. Now, the girl is normally a pretty chill bro. Relaxing and laughing and looking up some dank ass memes. But today is different! Today… Is when her guardian, her lusus, returns from their trip.

The girl’s neck fins lowered out both fear and annoyance. She loved her lusus, there was no doubt. However, Sharkmama could be very annoying. Trying to get to get her outside, trying to make her more “presentable”, trying to even get her away… away from her computer.

“ <3 )(ELL to d4 n4w </3!” The troll screamed, slamming her blunt on her expensive mahogany table. The blunt sizzled and burned out.

“<3 4w d4mn <3.” The girl mumbled to yourself.

She crossed the blunt and its dusty carcass on the ground. The troll… Wait… Does this troll even have a name? If we just keep calling her ‘the troll’ it would be boring and mysterious. And Haiamo is not mysterious!

The troll’s name is Haiamo Sorcere and she is the heiress to the Alternia throne and a fuschia blood. But Haiamo could care less. She is a very… Weird… Troll. She enjoys watching terrible harem anime and loves to smoke and do Alternian drugs. But her biggest passion is the mystic arts and memes, which totally go hand-and-hand. Memes, in Haiamo’s eyes, is the funniest shit ever and can make even the most humorless trolls laugh. And the magic and mystical arts? Well, after finding her weapon, she can hear the call of magic. Secretly, Haiamo looks up spells and enchantments so she can use them. However, they barely work… Like ever.

What shall this young troll do?

Well, she was trying to push all her garbage under her bed. Faygo bottles, used blunts, smelly clothes, and her baggies of drugs. Haiamo could let her lusus see this or else Sharkmama will go into rage mood.

“<3 4lright, )(ow much tim3 do I h4v3 l3ft b3for3 Sh4rkm4m4 g3ts h3r3?”

Haiamo speed-weeded over to her giant computer. The computer was a gift from the Empress of Alternia herself. Haiamo doesn’t know how to feel about the Empress. Don’t get her wrong, Haiamo loves everyone. But the Empress sends her presents a random. Sometimes it’s fancy dresses and other times its expensive tech equipment. Haiamo usually gives it to Troll!Goodwill because dresses are itchy and make her look fat and she didn’t care for technology. It's all about magic, baby.

She looked at the time. Three minutes until her lusus arrived.

“<3 4w )(3ll <3.” Haiamo groaned, baring her fanged teeth.

The young troll decided to, for once, clean up her lovely (disgusting) room. The room is very large and very important because she is a very large and important person herself. Her dirty, sweaty, and Alternian weed smelling clothes litter the ground and has seemingly created a second carpet, this time fuschia instead of black. The walls are fuschia with thick lines running from the top and bottom. Faygo stains are splashed against those walls and smell just as lovely (disgusting) as you’d imagine. Haiamo’s computer and the desk were pushed into the far left side of the room, far away from the exit, which is on the far right. Her bed is also covered in Alternian drugs, sweaters, pants, and Faygo bottles. The bed itself is in a fuschia heart shape and has a black frame with a silk-like canopy above it.

Haiamo looked back at the wall her desk is pushed up against. A giant black curtain covers the entire top part of the wall and can only be opened back either one of the golden ropes that dangle on each side of the curtain. Haiamo nervously watched the curtains, watching for any sign of movement.

“<3 Nothing y3t. )(3… Th4ts 4… R3r33f… )(4)(4)(4! G3T IT? R3r33F? R3LI3F? <3”

Clutching her knees, the young heiress gasped for breath for more then usual.

Suddenly, something massive against her wall, making the thick curtains shake. Haiamo leaped back and went to grab her toke bag that, conveniently, laid on the ebony bedside table sat stood near her bed (obviously).

The slammings continued until Haiamo raced over to her desk and pulled the golden rope nearby. The curtains pulled back to reveal a ginormous shark. The shark had to be the biggest in the ocean. It was white with a light gray underbelly. It bared it’s sharp fangs and opened it’s mouth, revealing twelve rows of them. Half of its right fin was missing completely and scars lined the remaining parts of it. The eyes of the shark were white with a faded pink color around the edges. Dark fuschia veins surrounded the area around the eyes.

Fun fact, this shark was Haiamo’s great and powerful lusus.

“<3 4y333333! S)(4rkm4m4! W4s poppin’ <3!” Haiamo waved at her lusus and smiled.

“SCREEEE!”

“<3 W4? W)(4chu t4lkin ‘bout?”

“RAAAAAAAAAA!”

“<3 Go outsi3? )(3LL N4W </3!”

“RRRRRAAAA!”

“<3 M4m444444 </3.” Haiamo whined.

“RAWR!”

“<3 Ugh… Fin3! </3”

Haiamo picked up her FETCH MODUS, her toke bag. The bag was a terrible modus, but it kept all her drugs and memes so she was happy. At the top of her modus was her favorite necklace ever. A necklace of Troll!Pepe The Frog. His gray frog skin and his horns.. So beautiful. And his smug grin made Haiamo smile with glee. She slipped the necklace around her neck and watched its gold chain sparkle in the meme-light.

The troll girl opened the silver shark-lusus sized door and walked down the fuschia and black hallway. Lights shared space with the poster of her favorite anime, Rosario + Vampire and School Days. Haiamo glanced lovingly at the School Days poster. Haiamo has been loved School Days since her moirail gave her a copy of it for her Wriggling Day. She never understood why so many people hated Makoto Itou. He just wanted to get the bitches.

As she continued down the hallway, Haiamo tried to ignore the piles of gold, silver, bronze, and jewels. It was a thing of her past she tried to forget. Haiamo entered the entrance to her castle to see Sharkmama swimming in circles.

The entrance was huge. The floors were made from pink quartz and a large quartz and pink diamond staircase. Piles of gold and jewels touched the heavily detailed ceiling depicting lowblood rebellions and highblood rule. A massive diamond chandelier dangling from the ceiling, glimmering and shining like a beacon. The door to the castle was ebony and curved with ancient quotes from elder highbloods. The floor was white quartz and had black and fuchsia swirl-patterns. Sharkmama glanced up at Haiamo and let out a low growl. At full speed, Sharkmama swam up to Haiamo and roared in her face. The power of the roar made Haiamo slide back. Her hair tie that kept her long and knotted hair in a ponytail snapped and unleashed its wildness. Haiamo’s baggy fuschia sweater with her black ‘Pilo’ sign waved wildly back and forth. Her sweatpants nearly ripped from the force.

Sharkmama stopped and grumbled in pain, looking at her fin stub gingerly. Haiamo casually fixed her rainbow lensed goggles.

“<3 U don3? ‘C4us3 I w4nn4 go b4ck to my crib, ight? <3.” Haiamo said, running her fingers through her hair. After she was done, Haiamo pulled out a waterproof lighter and waterproof blunt and started smoking.

“GRAAAAAA!”

“<3 Iz just 4 blunt, no n33d to scr33 4t m3)(, ight <3.” Haiamo hissed.

“Grrrrr…”

“<3 M4444, it 4in’t gonn4 kill m3h.”

Sharkmama swam over and hit the blunt out of Haiamo’s hands and growled in her face. Haiamo growled back, baring her sharp teeth. The blunt slowly fizzled out and died on the ground. Haiamo slammed her foot on it and twisted her foot a few times. “<3 4lright, I’ll stop, f4 now. Just t3ll m3 w4 I gott4 do ‘for3 I st4rt r3kting yo <3.”

Sharkmama let out a tiny rawr, which Haiamo translated as Feed me now or I’ll eat you.

“<3 M4, get yo juss f33d yo-self <3?” Haiamo whined, dug her hands into her hair.

Sharkmama ran her good fin through Haiamo’s hair, letting out a small grunt. Haiamo sighed and let out a small smile.

“<3 Ight, I’ll go out 4n’ g3t you som3fin’... Juss, w4it h3r3, ight <3?” Haiamo mumbled.

Sharkmama let out a soft roar and pulled Haiamo back as she tried to go outside. With her good fin, Sharkmama started to brush Haiamo’s hair. While this pleased the lusus, the troll, however, was not.

“<3 M4...<3”

…

“<3 M4…<3”

…

“<3 M4 <3!”

“RAAAA!”

Haiamo, with hair now all straight and neat, raced away from her lusus and opened the ebony door and closed it just as a wave of water slammed into her.

Not like it bothered the seadweller. Instead, she pushed off the door and swam away from the dark fuschia and black castle. Her hair waved wildly in the dark ocean, moving like a flag caught in a wild breeze. Haiamo clutched her toke bag tightly, making sure the contents of the bag don’t fall out as she swam through the water at breakneck speeds. Her fins flattened against the sides of her neck as she slowly raised the speed. She screeched to a halt as Haiamo sniffed the salty water.

“<3 Nop3 Nop3 Nop3, t)(3r3 is no lusii 4nywh3r3 </3!” Haiamo growled at nothing.

Haiamo sped up to the surface and gasped when the salty air slapped her. She, using her arms, swam closer to the shore so she wouldn’t be knocked around by waves. The Alternian sun was barely visible now. Only a sliver of the powerful sun was left as the night slowly consumed the sky. The little light touched the sandy shore that sat near the rolling hills and endless fields. In Haiamo’s peripheral vision, she watched a young troll walked casually on the shore with bronze colored headphones. He had a half shaved head with curly black hair covering his right eye. He wore a brown long coat over his gray pants and a black shirt with the Taurun sign in the center.

“<3 W)(o4! 4 BROWNBLOOD?! N3v3r s33n on3 of t)(os3 ‘roun ‘3r3 ‘for3… H3y! Yo! Y34)(, yo!”

The brown-blooded troll at first didn’t hear the fuschia-blooded troll, but he looked over when she slowly raised her voice. At first, he didn’t see Haiamo swimming towards him, but once he did, a look of complete fear spread across his face. He ripped the headphones off his ears and dropped them around his skinny neck.

“Y-Yes, Ma-Ma'am?” The young troll stuttered.

Haiamo ignored the fear-stricken trolls… Well, fear… And asked, “<3 Yo, bro! ‘4v3 you s33n 4ny lusii ‘round ‘3r3? I’m tryin’ to find m3 lusus 4 m34l so th3y’ll stop both3rin’ m3)(.”

The young troll wildly shook his head, “N-N-No Ma’am, sorry M-Ma’am.”

Haiamo made a pouty face, which caused the brown-blood to leap back in fear. Haiamo sighed and fixed her rainbow lensed goggles.

“<3 O)(! 4y3, w4it! I ‘4v3 som3t)(ing for y4!”

The heiress lifted her toke bag and unclipped the gray Alternia weed sign that held the bag closed. She pulled out a baggie of Alternia marijuana and looked at it fondly, “<3 3v3n t)(o you didn’t ‘3lp m3)( find 4 lusus, I still t)(ink you’d lik3 t)(is. It’s on3 of my f4v-”

Haiamo looked up to see the troll racing away, moving his long legs as fast as he could to get away from the heiress. Haiamo, once again, made a pouty face and dropped the bag back into the toke bag. She clipped it and dived back into the water. The warmth of the sun was quickly lost as Haiamo dived deeper and deeper under the waves. As the dark water started to swirl around the seadweller, her night(water)vision turned on and she ignored the ice cold water that clung to her skin. Haiamo continued going deeper, hoping to catch something.

She soon would get her wish when she heard the slight sound of growling and the sound of something fast moving around her. Haiamo stopped moving and stood still. The slight growling was getting closer and closer. Haiamo slowly unclipped her bag and retrieved her weapon. A wand called Wand O’ Wonder.

Wand O’ Wonder was one of the items Haiamo found during her younger sweeps that she was proud of. Haiamo used to love to search the ruined ships and buildings that stood under the sea with Sharkmama. That is where 90 percent of her gold coins and jewels came from. But Wand O’ Wonder was found when Haiamo stumbled into some purple highblood’s private chambers when she was exploring a giant ship. There was a nine-foot tall skeleton wearing ruined black and dark purple robes and holding a white wand with dark brown ancient runes curved on the bottom. She took it and that is what started her secret interest in magic.

Clutching Wand O’ Wonder, Haiamo craned her neck forward and narrowed her eyes. Suddenly, a gray massive started to charge towards her. Haiamo dodged the mass’ attack and quickly turned to face it, bring her fangs.

It was the biggest type of whale lusus in Alternia. It had an entirely gray body with white under its huge fins. Ever spikes grew out of its back and around its fins. It had two rows of sharp teeth and its eyes were a deep violet. It let out a low growl and swam threateningly around Haiamo. Haiamo looked the whale deep into its eyes and adjusted her goggles. The heiress was slightly nervous about this fight. Wand O’ Wonder used the literal power of imagination, which took a lot of energy out of her. If she ran out of energy, she would be certainly be killed.

Haiamo ignored this fought and swiftly started the battle. She raised Wand O’ Wonder and imaged a fuschia laser-like light to burst out of the wand. She felt a sudden surge of warmth has a white blast with a fuschia outline and pointed tip shot out of the wand and shot towards the whale. It hit the whale in the center between its eyes. It roared it pain, but it didn’t cut him open and just made a large bruise. The whale snarled and charged.

Haiamo shot off three more laser-shots. Two of them missing, but one hit the whale’s side. It stunned it long enough for Haiamo to swim away and try to come up with a plan to kill it. Suddenly, a blast of searing pain consumed Haiamo’s right shoulder. The whale got swam up behind her and slashed deep into her shoulder with its left fin. The whale continued swimming before stopping and turning to face its prey.

Fuschia blood surrounded Haiamo like a thick swarm of mist. Haiamo gasped in pain and clutched her shoulder. Breathing heavily, Haiamo weakly raised her right hand and summoned a fuschia shield to protect herself from the whale’s charge. The whale bounced off the shield and shook its head wildly. Haiamo made the shield disappear and swam under the whale, who was still confused and even angrier. Haiamo imaged three dozen fuschia arrows as she stood under the whale. The whale didn’t notice three dozen fuschia outlined appeared and shot through the water and directly into his stomach. The whale snarled in pain and dove down.

Haiamo raised another shield and shot out two more lasers at the whale, both hitting its fins. The whale swam back, closing its violet eyes tightly.

In a sudden boost of adrenaline, Haiamo swam forward, shattering the shield, and shoving the Wand O’ Wonder into the whale’s eye. The creature howled in pain as the troll swam out of its reach. Violet blood poured from its eye. The whale blindly swam around, trying to see. Haiamo laughed as the whale struggled, accidentally catching some of its heavily salty blood in her mouth.

“<3 MOT)(ERFA- <3!” Haiamo cursed, spitting repeatedly.

The whale stopped and faced Haiamo, letting out a long, slow growl.

“<3 Shiiiiiit <3…” Haiamo muttered.

The whale roared and charged again. Haiamo moved slightly to the side and grabbed hold of the wand, trying to pull it out. Instead of doing just that, the troll started to be dragged around. The whale wailed as Haiamo wiggled the wand around, crushing up parts of its eye. Finally getting the wand free, Haiamo pushed off the whale. She started to clean off the violet muck with her already fuschia blood covered sleeve, not noticing the tail of the whale coming straight at her. The tail slapped her and forced her to crash into the rocky ground below.

Haiamo screamed in pain as her spine cracked against the ground. She dragged herself off the ground and watched as the whale circled above, exposing its giant underside. Haiamo took a deep breath and looked down. She noticed they the right side of her rainbow lensed goggles were shattered and the left side was cracked. Her Troll!Pepe the Frog necklace would cover in violet and fuschia blood.

<3 W4it… P3p3? <3

Haiamo stumbled to her feet, groaning as the pain in her back grew. The whale continued circling, letting out low hisses and clicks as it grew closer. Haiamo raised her wand and narrowed her eyes.

“<3 4Y3! )(OOFB34ST-S)(IT <3!”

The whale stopped and it's one eye looked down.

Haiamo stood with her legs apart and took an anime protagonist stance. She yelled and pointed her wand straight under the whale. A blast of bright light blinded the two and when they were able to see, they were met by the most beautiful thing that they ever saw.

Troll!Pepe the Frog was white with the standard fuschia outline. His pupils were rolling around in his round eyes and his tongue hanging out. He had tiny, but sharp-pointed horns. Pepe looked up and saw that his creator wanted him to attack the whale.

“REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Pepe screamed.

Pepe launched himself and, in a flash of light, ran straight toward the center of the whale, ripping a hole in his body. The whale coughed up blood before dying right then and there. Haiamo swam up and pushed straight through the giant hole, getting covered in violet blood and being hit by intestines. Haiamo ignored that fact, continuing to go to the surface. Once she broke the water's surface, the heiress watched as the Pepe, still screaming, stopped in mid-air and shook violently. Pepe exploded in a flash of fuschia. Mini frogs and rainbows fluttered across the Alternian night sky and faded into nothingness.

“<3 4W Y34)(! T)(4T’S MY FROG <3!” Haiamo cheered, laughing extra hard.

A bit of salty violet blood dripped down from her forehead and landed on her tongue. The troll coughed and started spitting into the sea.

“<3 O)( MY G4WD! T)(IS FUCKIN’ BLOOD… is…. So dis… disgusting…. <3”

Haiamo’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and slowly sank deeper into the ocean. She fell onto the back of the whale lusus, who was still bleeding out even though it had died. Haiamo noticed a white shark swimming towards her before passing out.

-*-*-*-

“<3 OW! T)(4T HURT <3!”

“RAAAAAAAA!”

Sharkmama was using her strong jaw to tighten the white bandages that her wrapped around her shoulder. The injured Haiamo sat on the staircase they lead to the second story of her castle while her lusus swam in mid-air. According to Sharkmama (or what Haiamo had interpreted), Sharkmama was waiting outside the castle when she was hit with the faint scent of fuschia blood. Knowing that it must have been Haiamo’s blood, Sharkmama quickly swam over to try to find her and heard from the surface an explosion. She watched as her troll floated onto the whale lusus and quickly, but cautiously, dragged both Haiamo and the dead whale lusus home. Currently, the lusus laid dead on the floor, blocking to exit.

Once Sharkmama finished tightening the bandages, Haiamo had to tight the shoulder bandages and fix her back support (while she was a good caregiver, Sharkmama was terrible at doing anything the revolved medical treatment.) Haiamo pulled out a blunt and her lighter and started to smoke, hoping the drugs would kick in so she wouldn’t feel the pain anymore. At first, the royal blooded troll believed her lusus would rip the blunt out of her mouth. Instead, Sharkmama pressed herself against her troll’s side and started to brush her knotted hair with her good fin.

Haiamo did not complain.

Once a few minutes of complete silence, Haiamo looked down at her feet. Her goggles laid on the floor, the lenses completely shattered. Haiamo sighed, letting out a large cloud of smoke.

“Raaa…?” Sharkmama noticed Haiamo’s woeful face.

“... Look, I’ll talk to you normally, okay?” Haiamo looked Sharkmama dead in the eye, who just simply blinked.

“I know you what me to become a better heiress. I know you want me to go out treasure collecting again like we used to. I know you want me to stop smoking and get off drugs. I know you want me to get away from the computer. And I know that you want me to just go outside and get real friends, as you say. But… But I like how I live. I could care less about my blood because it makes my life a living hell. I like looking and memes and sending them to my moirail and online friends because I find them funny, unlike some trolls who find murdering lowbloods funny. I like doing drugs because it makes me feel better and makes me forget my duties as heiress… And these goggles…”

Haiamo picked up the goggles. The fuschia rims looked awful and had many scratches and tears along the edges. The flecks of the rainbow glass hung pitifully on the side while the rest remained either on the floor of the castle or on the ocean floor. Haiamo blinked away fuschia tears.

“These goggles blinded me from a world of distrust, hatred, and fear. But… Now that they’re broken…”

“Graaaaa!”

“What?”

“Greaaaaaa!”

Haiamo watched as Sharkmama swam away into the left hallway and into one of the many treasure rooms. She appeared with a new pair of rainbow lens goggles, this time with black rubber that held them together instead of the dull gray. Sharkmama proudly dropped them into Haiamo’s gray hands.

“GRA! RAAAAAA! SCREEEEEEE! RAAAAAA!”

Haiamo translated it as This was supposed to be your Wriggling Day gift, but I was mad at you on that day and decided not to give it to you.

“Was it because you caught me higher than the clouds?!” Haiamo yelled with playful anger.

Sharkmama let out a toothy grin (or was she baring her teeth?)

Haiamo pulled out a hair tie from her bag and pulled her butt-length hair in a ponytail before putting on the goggles. Haiamo let out a big smile and cheered,

“<3 4W Y34)(! H4I4MO SOC3R3 IS B4CK 4ND R34DY TO KICK 4NYON3 W)(4L3’S 4SS <3!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The troll leaped up and tackled hugged her lusus. Sharkmama shook a little, not ready for the hug. But let out a soft sigh and nuzzled her troll. Haiamo smiled and whispered gently,

“Thank you, Sharkmama…”

The two hugged it out and continued into the early morning.

-*-*-*-

A young limeblood sat on a swing what appears to be his treehouse. He seems to be a collector of rocks and space with the many rocks and space posters around his room. He kicks his legs as his gray and black shorts move in the wind, revealing a single green line running down one side. His sleeveless shirt was smoothed out and showed off the gray sign of Cancer, more commonly known as The Sign of the Signless. He had a half shaved head with the shaved side being green. His green eyes sparkled with curiosity and wonder.

His name is Kiryus Terino and his adventure starts here…

(Please support @cay-reborn! They are a really cool person and allowed Haiamo into their comic! Byee!)

P.S KarkatandNepeta’s GayChild will live forever!

#writing #oneshot #homestuck #fantroll #notmyuniverse

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