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pandemicthestory · 5 years ago

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5: distanced

The next step is to find an in, and then an out.

The morning news briefing on TV:

Kelly Sanchez, lead anchorwoman, stares gravely into the camera. It will be another day of news that no one wants to hear.

“Good morning, Chicago. We’re here with your daily update of the coronavirus. Schools across the country have been canceled due to a significant shortage of public funding. These are funds that are currently being allocated to bail out the tanking airline industry. The President says that allowing the top corporations to suffer will result in a greater hole for the economy. We hope he’s right.

Meanwhile, bars, restaurants and shopping centers that have been re-opened early to boost the economy have not seen the dramatic rise in business that was expected. Perhaps people are too afraid to go out to dinner amongst the public, or perhaps they simply can’t afford it due to a loss of work. One thing we do know is that the most detrimental effect of these early openings is causing a further spread. As people in certain states that have not seriously social-distanced begin to cross state lines…”

Emma’s mom and dad are sitting on the couch, waiting for Kelly to tell them that things are going to get at least slightly better. But she doesn’t. It’s getting impossible to convince themselves that this will all be over soon--that everything will return to normal. It’s becoming likely that the new “normal,” if it ever comes, will be something that no one has ever seen.

*buzzzz*

Emma’s alarm wakes her up at 8:30 AM. She facepalms herself upon remembering that school doesn’t exist anymore and therefore alarms are canceled. Dammit.

But then, she remembers that Universe is currently downloading to her external hard drive. The excitement of this sends a shock through her system and wakes up every cell in her body. It’s that “Christmas morning” excitement, which is marginally more enjoyable than that “about to run away with a possibly bad dude” excitement. That kind is good too, just, different. She runs over to her computer.

16 HOURS REMAINING

Shit. The size of this application is no joke. Seemingly she’ll have to wait until tonight to begin her exploration. To find Mason.

Emma remembers the talk they had last night, and reflects on his support of her relationships with her friends. She realizes that she didn’t know many people with that quality, guys especially...it seems like they always demand her full attention and become frustrated if asked to share. Especially one guy. Well anyway, Mason. Intriguing.

Emma heads downstairs to make herself a bowl of cereal. Oh wait, there’s no milk. And no cereal either? These days, groceries are scarce and pickings are slim. Ah well, might have to be plain oatmeal. Serious orphanage vibes--which is somewhat fitting since her parents wish they could leave her at one.

Ugh. Every time you eat oatmeal, you forget how horrible oatmeal is. Isabel sits across the table from her, scrolling through her phone with intent and drinking black coffee. Emma smirks.

“Aren’t you kinda young to be drinking coffee? Plus what do you have to energize for, your job at the office?”

Isabel pays no attention to her.

“Hello? Okay what is up with you.”

Isabel looks up from her phone, a faraway look in her eyes.

“Do you have a headset?” she asks.

“Um, what do you mean? Like headphones? What are you talking about?”

Isabel looks down again.

“No, like a viewing headset. Like an Oculus or a Vive. Aren’t you like, a tech nerd? You don’t do anything with VR?”

Odd request. Emma isn’t much of a gamer anymore, she used to play Dota and Warcraft, but that was before she decided to cut back to become more social. Spend time with her friends. Date an asshole. Whatever. But in all her experience with gaming, she had never gotten into VR. She never saw the point...either play games or experience the real world. What was the point in trying to achieve both at the same time?

“No I don’t. And you know those are expensive as hell, right?”

Isabel looks nervous.

“I know. Which is why...um, I was wondering, can I borrow some money?”

Emma bursts out laughing.

“No Iz, you can’t borrow 800 dollars to buy a VR headset. Hey are you aware that we’re going through a global pandemic and the world may or may not be ending? I think food and toilet paper are better investments than virtual tennis, or whatever.”

Isabel just shakes her head. What is with this girl? She’s normally the queen of smartassery--loves to spar with Emma and argue about literally everything. She’s usually so ready for a fight, but now she feels surrendered. It’s weird how you can be trapped in such close quarters with a person and still feel like they’re on a different planet.

Emma and Isabel are two years apart. Up until Emma was 6 and Isabel was 4, they were best friends. They shared everything. Isabel didn’t want to play with a toy unless Emma played with it with her. She wouldn’t wear clothing unless it was Emma’s hand-me-down. They shared a bedroom, the walls covered with monarch butterflies. Their mom went for a theme, tacky lamp shades and all, lord knows she tried her best. Often, they would stay awake late into the night, vividly describing the dream that the other sister would have. They thought if they focused hard enough, they could carry those dreams with them into sleep.

But as they got older, things changed. The tacky butterflies were no longer endearing. Emma moved into a room that was being used as her dad’s office. She got a Nintendo DS for Christmas. And she started locking her door.

Isabel was left to wonder where her role model went. But after Emma made it clear that her hobbies were no longer to be shared, Isabel hardened herself to the rejection. She promised herself to become her own person in any way that she could, to never be dependent on Emma to define her personality.

In fifth grade, Isabel met Anush. They met because they were both teacher helpers in art class, and it was their responsibility to help set up the room before class and clean it up afterwards. They were both very outgoing, emotional, and honest. Isabel always told Anush exactly what she was thinking, and vice versa. The two girls were popular among their classmates, but the good kind of popular. They were kind, and they included the other girls who wanted to be like them.

So really, it makes no sense that Isabel is being the way that she is. She’s confident, vocal, and annoyingly optimistic. On a normal day. So what’s wrong?

“Emma, someone just dropped a package off for you.”

Their mom called from the other room. Isabel leaves the table, stressed and defeated. Emma continues to chip away at the bowl of grey sludge in front of her. It’s crazy that there are still people out there delivering the mail--how long until that stops too?

*buzz*

Good morning, group chat.

OLIVIA: GG morning check-in: I want to talk about what the hell Serena sees in Dan

MADISON: or what dan sees in serena?? Come on he’s like an intellectual and she’s a superficial barbie princess

ZOE: Mad you know that is MISOGYNISTIC and that you’re letting the fact that she wears expensive dresses and has blonde hair cloud your judgement!!

MADISON: oh shut up it’s early

OLIVIA: Remember when you were begging not to watch the show??

MADISON: quarantine does weird shit to people ok

Emma enters the chat.

EMMA: Ok but without Serena, don’t you think Blair is so much more lame? Like it’s the best friend combo that makes the show imo

ZOE: There she is!!!

MADISON: goooood morning to our very own barbie princess!

OLIVIA: Why are any of us even awake? SCHOOL’S OVERRR. Should we like, do something?

EMMA: Like what? Sit on our asses and text each other from afar?

MADISON: sounds chill

Emma laughs to herself. Damn. She’s going to miss them.

Maybe there’s a way for her to tell...part of the truth? Leave the part about Julian out? Kind of a big part... Say she’s coming back? Make up a concrete opportunity? There has to be some sort of acceptable explanation...there just has to be. And even if she can’t come up with one...there are other things she wants to tell them about. Another boy.

EMMA: Hey do you guys wanna do a zoom chat in a few min? Just kinda feel like talking more than texting rn

MADISON: do u mind if i go back to bed and pass on that? I love u girl but i’m tired af

ZOE: aaand same here, but it’s only because i’m supposed to do this thing…

OLIVIA: so call Gabriel?

ZOE: Wellllll...I don’t wanna lie to y’all.

Ha. Emma knows the feeling.

EMMA: you out too Liv?

OLIVIA: I am innnnn give me a call when you’re ready

MADISON: kiss kiss kiss

ZOE: kiiiiissssss

EMMA: bye losers

Well, maybe telling one person is a good place to start. Liv is super understanding...she’ll be able to think of a good way to break the news to Mad and Zoe. Emma runs up to her room and closes the door. She flops down on her unmade bed, and facetimes Olivia.

“Hey Liv”

“Emmmm”

Lingering silence. Emma just kind of stares at the wall. Olivia breaks the silence.

“Sooo what did you wanna talk about?”

Emma doesn’t know if she can do it. Ok, form words. Try.

“I wanna tell you something, that’s kind of a long story. And it’s connected to other stories. And basically I’ve just gone too long without talking about any of it and now there’s like this big clusterfuck of details that I need you to know but can’t figure out where to start.”

Whew. Even the vaguest of outbursts feels cathartic. Olivia doesn’t seem to be freaked out yet.

“Emma, I’m pretty sure I know you better than anyone. And you can trust me.”

“I know you say that now but...I don’t know if, after I say what I, well I don’t know if you’re gonna trust me. I haven’t said everything that I need to say to you. Or Zo and Mad.”

“Ok, so, here’s your chance. I’m listening.”

Emma takes a deep breath. Where to start?

*knock knock*

The knocks are soft. Unlike her mom’s, whose are very prison guard-esque, and actually who is more likely to not knock at all. Emma calls out.

“What.”

Isabel’s voice comes from the other side of the door.

“I gotta tell you something.” Her voice is uncharacteristically soft.

“I’m on the phone with Liv right now, can it wait?”

Silence.

“Iz?”

Emma hears the creaking of Isabel’s footsteps down the wooden hallway, and then her beddoor shutting. Click, it locks.

Emma turns back to the phone.

“That was Iz, she’s been acting like a freak.”

“What’s going on with her?”

“No idea. I feel like 14 is a weird age, plus like, she’s REALLY social and into school and shit. This quarantine is probably forcing an inversion of her personality.”

Olivia nods with sympathy. “God, that’s rough.”

“Yeah...I feel kinda bad I guess. We just don’t really have anything to talk about.”

“Oh come on, you’re sisters. Talk about how controlling your mom is.”

Emma laughs. She flips onto her back and stretches her legs against the wall. Oh, physical exertion of any kind feels so unnatural.

“Well Liv...we do have one thing in common. Which is...one of the things I haven’t told you.”

Emma fights a smile.

“TELL ME”

“So I saw Isabel playing this weird computer game, I mean I don’t even know if it was a game or like what the hell it was, but now, I’m downloading it…”

“Uh, ok?? Why?”

“This is going to sound insane, but hear me out…”

“Hearing…”

“I got this...message...online. From someone who I’ve never met. A guy, I think, and his name is Mason.”

“OOOMG”

“Hahah well it’s not like that, I mean I have no fucking idea WHAT it’s like, because it’s very weird, and um, he’s the reason I’m downloading this game. The one that Iz is playing. Cuz he told me to.”

Silence.

“That...is really fucking weird.”

“I know.”

“You don’t even know how badly I wish I was coming over right now to go all detective on his ass right now with you…”

Emma laughs. “I know you would be. It’s so weird being here alone.”

“You’re not alone Em!!! I’m here. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but I’ll ALWAYS be here for you. That’s corny as hell but hey it’s true.”

“Hah, yeah...same. I’m here.”

How can Emma keep this incredibly annoying feeling of guilt suppressed? It’s kind of ruining the buzz of anything else. But it will be ok. Olivia will understand...

*ping*

Emma has come to expect that any message received to her ghostwriter account will be from Mason. She jumps up from her bed, still on the call with Olivia. Emma starts to get excited.

“So this is crazy but he just messaged me, ahhhhhh…”

“Eeee tell me what he said!!”

Sure enough, the message is from Mason.

MASON: hi! did you get it yet?

Emma reads the message aloud to Olivia, who is equally confused.

“What is he talking about?

“I have no idea…”

Emma starts typing a response.

EMMA: Good morning! Get what..?

MASON: a package!

Emma looks confused. Was it...Mason who sent the package? What the hell? How does he know where she lives?? Well at this point she’s not surprised.

“Liv, I gotta call you back!”

“Ok you BETTER tell me what the hell this package situation is because congratulations this is now the most interesting thing happening in my life!!!”

Emma ends the call and runs downstairs. Her parents haven’t moved from the couch, still watching coverage of the virus’s destruction on TV.

“Hey Mom where’s that package??”

“Iz said she’d bring it up to you.”

“What? Can you not give her my mail?”

Emma’s mom turns to face her. “Attitude. Chill.”

Emma rolls her eyes and runs upstairs. She knocks on Isabel’s door. Well, bangs, really.

“Hi ready to talk now. What’s up??”

No response. As Emma presses her ear against the door, she can’t hear anything. She jiggles the handle, it won’t open.

“This is really weird. Hello.”

“Hellooooo.”

“Fine, we don’t have to talk. But I need my package. Now.”

……

Emma grabs the little key from behind the thermostat in the hallway. Isabel will just have to forgive her for this. Emma inserts the key into the lock and…

The lock clicks, the handle turns, and the door opens.

Emma enters the room, ready for Isabel to yell at her.

“Iz??”

First Emma sees the packaging. The medium-sized cardboard box on the ground, the bubble wrap, the plastic…it had clearly been torn off in a hurry...

Isabel is sitting at her computer, her back turned toward Emma.

“Isabel?!”

Emma runs over and jerks the swivel chair to face her, and Isabel slouches over. She’s wearing a virtual reality headset.

The one that was sent to Emma in that package.

“ISABEL”

Isabel’s ears are covered with oversized headphones, but even without them, she wouldn’t be able to hear Emma anyway. Her body is limp. Non-responsive.

Emma starts panicking and checks Isabel’s pulse--steady. Her breathing, normal. What is happening here? What is going on??

Then Emma sees the computer screen.

The map. That fucking map.

She turns back to Isabel. She thinks of Mason. She realizes.

The right question is not “What”, but “Where.”

#writers #writers on tumblr #write #short fiction #shortstory #writing #pandemic #coronavirus #young adult #ya novels

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kokichi-and-co-imagine-blog · 6 years ago

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Mod Kaito, can you do a something for Gonta being invited to a kindergarten class? Maybe the kids are scared of him at first but eventually they warm up to him and play little games, make him flower crowns, and braid his hair?

I think that actually sounds pretty cute, so yeah!

Day 5 of the Danganronpa Fanfic Advent CalendarGonta Gokuhara’s Kindergarten Adventure

Gonta had been one of the many Ultimates invited to teach different schools around the country about their talent and represent Hope’s Peak Academy, and the Ultimate Entomologist had been assigned to a small suburban kindergarten class outside of Tokyo. The huge beast of a gentleman knocked on the door and stepped into the class, waving at all the little kids who were busy doing a coloring activity. “Hello! Gonta sorry for being late, got distracted by bugs outside.”The kindergarten teacher smiled brightly and stood up from helping another student, walking over to Gonta and standing next to him. “This is Gonta Gokuhara class, he’s here to teach you all about bugs!”The entomologist smiled brightly at all the little kids, excited to teach all of them about the beauty of insects, but all of them didn’t look as excited as him as all. They actually looked quite scared of him, a lot of them moving around restlessly from being uncomfortable. Being the big oblivious softy that he was, he did notice how scared all the children looked but wasn’t exactly sure why, tilting his head to the side from confusion.“What wrong? Kindergarten not used to bugs?” He asked innocently, thinking it was the two different bug cages he had that was freaking them out, though that may have been a small factor of it too. In one of the cases he had two different butterflies and a caterpillar, and in the other was… A spider. A decent sized one, too. Gonta held up the butterfly case to start with, pointing at one of them. “This butterfly here called monarch butterfly, and her friend here is called black swallowtail, both very common!”The first cage went off well with them, no particularly strong reactions but he did get a couple of kids looking interested about it, it was the next cage that would cause a couple of the little girls to shriek out in terror. “E-Ew, spider! Gross!!”As soon as that was said Gonta got a suddenly terrifying look on his face, clenching his fist out of anger. “What you say about spider?!” He raised his voice, the teacher quickly running over to him and placing a hand on his chest, having been warned about this behavior beforehand.“N-Now now Gonta, that’s why you’re here, to teach them how… I-Interesting the spider is! They just don’t understand yet!” She said softly, giving him a kind smile and hoping that would calm him down. Thanks to his soft-hearted and gullible nature that was all it took, calming down immediately.“A-Ah, sorry! That right, Gonta show everyone beauty of spider!” He said with a sigh, noticing one boy that didn’t look too scared of it and approaching him. “Here, hold case. Spider can’t get out, so no worry.” He gently placed the glass cage in the small boy’s hands, watching as the child examined the small insect. While he was doing that he caught a glimpse of what he was coloring out of the corner of his eye, it was only half completed and got him very interested. “Ooh, butterfly look nice! Gonta enjoy red color.” The entomologist was compelled to finish the coloring himself, sitting cross-legged next to the boy and getting to work on coloring it in quite suddenly.

This truly honest display of innocence had completely changed the young, impressionable kids’ look on him, Gonta excitedly going from color to color and quickly finishing off the picture within just a couple minutes while the kids looked at the bug cages. When Gonta was done he showed the boy that the original picture belonged to what he’d colored, a bright smile on his face. “What you think? Gonta think it very pretty!” What he thought was a beautiful butterfly was exactly what you would actually expect out of a kindergartener, colors all over the place and hardly staying in the lines, something that you’d want to put on the fridge. The little boy laughed a little bit at him, one of the girls piping up and walking over to him.“I think it looks really pretty! Just like the butterflies in the box!” She spoke cheerfully and genuinely, that little comment making the entomologist’s face light up like a lightbulb. “Ooo, do you know a lot about flowers mister? Bugs like flowers too, right?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.“Of course, some bugs love flowers! One you must know about is honey bee, flower very important to honey bee.” He explained, the girl nodding and quickly grabbing a basket of flowers that was on a table, showing them to him.“Ms. Amagi took us outside to teach us about nature before you came, we got to pick lots of flowers and see lots of bugs and plants!” She took out and showed him each individual flower, Gonta holding them in his large hands and being surprisingly gentle with them.

“Gonta love these, they pretty! But Gonta not know what to do with them…”The girl immediately knew what to do with them, taking them out of Gonta’s hands and sitting down next to him. “I can make you a flower crown, then you can wear it around. I think it’d look really good with your pretty hair!” She giggled and got to work putting together the crown, Gonta watching her with great interest. It took a little while but eventually she’d made him quite the nice looking flower crown, placing it gently on his head and making sure it didn’t fall apart.

Gonta was in love with it, looking up at the crown with a big dumb smile on his face, the other kindergarteners coming around to look at it. It’d quickly evolved into the kids playing around with his hair, showing him all the things that they’d do in class like make macaroni art, more coloring books, and as some of the kids played around with his messy hair they decided to start braiding it. Though braiding it would turn out to be pretty difficult since he didn’t brush his hair, eventually managing to get it all together into one giant, long braid. Gonta was having the time of his life with these kids, forgetting all about what he’d been assigned to do and instead getting himself more involved with the class itself, eventually they even taught him how to play duck duck goose! He ended up being really good at it considering the difference in size between him and the children, but he held himself back from being better than them because that was the gentlemanly thing to do.In the end, Gonta learned a lot more about interacting with kids and what they liked rather than the kids learning about bugs, but he liked it better that way. Gonta made a lot of friends and understood more about what it meant to be a normal kid and how to act around them, important for any gentleman to know! When the day was over he was actually quite upset, starting to cry in front of the class but the students comforted him and told him that it was going to be okay, promising that he’d come back another time to play with the kids.

#Gonta Gokuhara #danganronpa #danganronpa imagines #Mod Kaito

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livvywrites · 6 years ago

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the curse that failed (or, the witch’s guide to true love, part 2)

so while i get some outlining done in prep for Camp NaNo and also to keep myself from tearing my own hair out while writing, i’ve also decided to try my hand (once again) at short story writing.

this is based on a prompt I found here, which i’ll reply to or @ once I actually finish the damn thing.

However, the prompt itself was:

A princess accidentally wrongs a witch and is cursed so that no man shall ever love her. Fortunately, the princess is a lesbian, and is overjoyed. When the witch finds out that her spell backfired, she is furious, and goes to confront the princess. Except now that she’s a little calmer, the princess is super cute? Sparks fly, and not because of a magic spell.

The ‘part 2′ in the title actually refers to the idea for a prequel I got as I was writing it, so.

Anyway, I strayed from the prompt A LOT but here’s a snippet of what I have so far!!

this is also one of many fairy tale-esque stories i have in the works, oops

Annalise didn’t know the woman was a witch. Which… in some cases, wouldn’t make it better to have offended her. But in this case, she was rather sure she could be forgiven.

Witches were so touchy, you see. Offended by the smallest slight. From being offered a pink rose rather than a yellow one to being seated by a fairy at dinner.

Though that last one did have political connotations, at the very least. Bit like sitting two nobles locked in a blood feud next to each other. Poor cousin Marjorie. A hundred year old oak table, gone. In an instant. To say nothing of the—quite excellent—meal. Oh, and those lovely dishes. Quite the tragedy, insofar as material possessions went. No one was hurt physically, at the very least, as the fight was broken up by an excellent diplomat. The two were even close friends now, imagine that.

Anyway.

You never could tell what would set them off. And Annalise had been having a bad day that day, so it wasn’t as if she was paying attention.

And. Well. Alright. So maybe she did a little more than just “offend” the witch. But she really didn’t mean to knock the bucket over! Especially not on the day the servants were replacing the wards on the castle walls. Especially, especially not on a magic-born witch.

That was just… Well, that was just plain old bad luck.

But the witch didn’t see it that way. It was always a personal insult with that bunch, and when faced with such an insult, they were generally act-first, ask-questions-later.

So when the witch screwed her face up and pointed one talon-tipped finger in Annalise’s face, she was fully prepared to be turned into a frog. Or something. Instead she just felt tingly all over. And not in a good way. A, bugs-are-crawling-all-over-my-skin way. Very unpleasant.

Imperiously, the witch spoke.

“For this attempt upon my life I decree That no man shall ever wish to wed thee For your sins, you shall pay until your last breathing day.”

Suddenly, it was all Annalise could do not to grin.

Kali had been told since the day she cast her first spell that her temper would get her in trouble one day. She’d always brushed these warnings off, despite her mothers’ best intentions. Until one summer’s day, when she was visiting the palace in [kingdom] and Princess Annalise, only child of the king and queen, knocked a bucket of water in her path.

Water mixed with soap, lemon juice, and powdered golem’s teeth. Not an easy thing to come by, these days—making golems was an art falling to the wayside, since they were immune to magic once created. Or—well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. It was more like they took these spells and then added them to their own power source, like a constant source of recharging. At any rate, they could be a drain to keep up with, constantly needing to be fed, and what with most witches and wizards working with the general populace—and each other—these days… Well, it was just a pain. Not to mention the effort that went into building them in the first place.

Much easier to use a temporary animation spell—perhaps combined with an enlargement charm.

At any rate, golem teeth made an excellent tool for dispelling magic. Excellent for wiping away old wards to be replaced with new ones. Not so excellent when you were magic-born. As in. Literally made of magic. Created by her mothers, in an act of their love for each other. (And what love it was, considering they had been together for the better part of 200 years now.) A dispelling charm would just cause her to need reforming, but a dispelling liquid? Now that could kill her.

So of course, she freaked out.

Her mothers would say that was no excuse to go around cursing people, especially not before you double checked their intent.

But, what was done was done. Curses could be broken. It was done all the time! Generally by true love’s kiss, but, in this case, her mothers would probably make her do it. If they found out.

…When they found out.

Nosy old crones.

To say Annalise’s parents weren’t pleased was an understatement. Especially considering they had just finished brokering a deal for Annalise to be married off to some wealthy youngest prince of some neighboring nation. Annalise hadn’t been impressed from the get go, honestly. Prince Theodore sounded like a lovely man on all accounts, don’t get her wrong, but honestly… Annalise simply had no interest in him. Or anyone like him. By which she meant men. In general.

They made excellent friends. Annalise slipped out of the castle pretty regularly to go drinking with a few of them. (Specifically a knight-in-training; an apprentice smith; and a silver-tongued bard. Wasn’t that just the cast of a good adventure story?) Romantically, however, Annalise simply had no use for them. And she had never quite understood why there always had to be a king and a queen… or why each had their own separate duties. Why not divide them up as they were suited for them—and not by some archaic definition of suited either. Suited as to the individual.

Annalise had always believed her mother was more fit to lead an army than her father. And her father—oh, he was much better at planning seating arrangements than her mother could ever hope to be. Yet, tradition dictated that her mother be the one to arrange parties while her father barked orders at tin soldiers. It was sad, really.

But Annalise’s ideas were too “wild” to be entertained. (“Centuries of tradition cannot be wrong, Annalise.” Her parent’s favorite reply. Annalise had once bitten her tongue to bleeding to keep from reminding them that, centuries of tradition had been broken by a princess before, and had resulted in a lovely peace between humans and magical creatures. Which had advanced medicine and technology to heights that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.)

“If I didn’t know better, I would swear you had done it on purpose,” her father said, face flushed with irritation. His beard twitched as he scowled. “After all that work. Do you realize how difficult it was to find you a husband, Annalise? Especially after that… that scandal!” Her father narrowed his eyes at her, bushy brows coming together.

He was, of course, referring to the time when visiting monarchs had caught her wearing men’s practice clothes in the yard and dueling with her knight-in-training friend. To be fair, it was the yard furthest from the castle, and the one hardly ever toured. The odds that they would be found were extremely low. But found they had been.

Her father had been furious. Annalise had been under guard for weeks before he finally deemed her contrite enough.

Thank goodness for her acting lessons.

Or, rather, her lessons-in-how-to-be-polite-when-you’d-really-rather-not.

Or, rather, etiquette.

(Now they held their practice sessions in the woods, and got their blades from the apprentice smith.)

Her mother cleared her throat, face placid as usual. “Your father raises a good point, darling.” Oh, no. Her mother breaking out the pet names was never a good sign. “You didn’t do this on purpose… did you?”

Annalise had to curl her fists to keep from scowling. “Of course not! Prince Theodore is a lovely fellow. It would be an honor to marry him.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Dear, I think your father and I both know you better than that. You’ve been sullen ever since the marriage was first set upon the table. And don’t think we haven’t noticed how much cheerful you’ve been since that curse.”

Annalise’s mouth twisted. “Mother, I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t even know any witches. Except for the castle apothecary, but, she’s from the order of alchemists. They don’t do curses. And she’s far too proper to ever have a hand in something like this!”

Her mother scrutinized her for a moment more, before humming to herself. “Yes, I suppose if you had truly sought to get out of the marriage, you would have simply run away.”

Annalise thought about the plans she had made with her friends—plans she had called off, not long after the curse was cast. And the bag she had yet to unpack, beneath her bed. “Ah. Yes. That… would have been more my style.”

Her mother let out a long, drawn out sigh.

Her father simply stared at her. “Annalise.”

“What?”

He pinched his nose. “Running away is not acceptable behavior for a princess. Particularly not for the sole heir of the throne.”

“I haven’t run away!”

Her mother put a hand on her father’s arm. “Know which battles you should leave alone, love.” She cut her gaze to Annalise. “This is going to make your ascension that much more complicated. You only have a few years before you’ll be expected to take over. The kingdom cannot be without a king.”

“Then why not just make it a title?” Annalise asked.

“It is a title,” her father said wearily.

“No, that’s not what I meant! I meant a title that… well. Anyone could wear. Regardless of their sex. As the true-blooded heir, I could be king, and whoever I married could be queen. If I can’t marry a man, then, well. There are plenty of suitable princesses, right?”

Her parents exchanged a glance.

“My dear, centuries of tradition are in place for a reason,” her father said.

Annalise crossed her arms. “I bet that’s what Queen Irzabel’s parents told her, when she wanted to establish a treaty with the magic folk. Peace wasn’t easy to find between us, that’s undeniable, but think about how much better things are than they were a decade ago. Plagues don’t wipe out kingdoms, or even whole villages anymore! Communication between kingdoms is near instantaneous. And if a magic-user goes rogue, we have wards to paint on the walls and shield spells that can be activated. And that’s just the start. More and more things are being implemented daily.

“Now imagine what could happen if we started something new. A woman becomes king. Suddenly, she’s eligible to marry princesses. How many times have kingdoms had to be absorbed into others, losing whole bloodlines and family names because monarchs could only conceive girls? A man becomes a queen—and suddenly middle sons have another fate then being sent off to be knights or settling down with noble girls of lower bloodline.

“Not every tradition needs to be abolished, but… Sometimes change is good.”

Her parents exchanged a look, and while her father looked incredulous, her mother looked contemplative.

Annalise bit back a squeal of glee.

Her father might have been called an immovable stone by their people, but they had never seen him bend beneath her mother’s gaze. Annalise had. Her mother could topple mountains with a look alone, and her father was helpless to it. All these months of biting her tongue had been worth it.

Pick your battles indeed.

“Kali.” Ma’s tone was honed with a finely sharpened edge, and Kali had seen her draw blood with it before anyone even realized that it was poised to strike. As such, Kali was always wary when it was turned on her. “Do you know what I was treated with this morning?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “A very, very irate couple claiming that you had cursed their daughter! What have we said about throwing around curses?”

Kali winced. “Ma, I swear I had a good reason. It was ward-cleansing day. She almost splashed me!”

Ma’s stern edges wavered for a moment. “I’m sure that was terrifying. But, you should have made sure it was an honest attempt on your life before you throw around curses. Particularly ones that affect an entire kingdom.”

Kali’s wince deepened. “I’ll dispel it, I promise. I need to finish a new batch of protection amulets for the store tonight, and then tomorrow, I promised Petra I would head over to hers first thing in the morning to perform a purification ritual. I’ll head back to the castle tomorrow afternoon. The next morning, at the latest. Surely they can wait a day.”

Ma pursed her lips. “Let me guess. Petra’s precious plant absorbed another curse, didn’t it?”

Kali sighed. “Yes. This one was meant to make all of her teeth rot, I think. Or maybe her fingers were supposed to shrivel? Whatever it is, the poor thing is losing vines left and right.”

Ma shook her head. “Mum will take care of it. She can probably set up a renewal charm, to keep the poor thing from almost dying to every minor curse someone casts. And perhaps figure out the source of them. Finish the protection amulets tonight, and then first thing tomorrow morning, you make reparations with the king and queen. Your mother and I are not moving again, do you hear me? We finally have a nice place set up, thanks to that treaty. Don’t go infuriating the monarchy. Bad enough your mother makes a habit of pissing off dragons.”

“Ah. Did she…”

“Steal another trinket from a wyrm? Yes. This one barely has any magical value.” Ma scoffed. “An enchanted coin that glows in the dark. A child’s first enchantment. There was no value in it!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, my dear!” The chimney exploded with light, and Mum ducked out of the fireplace with a beaming grin, soot staining her face. She pulled a vial of flickering flame from her belt. “Dragon’s breath! Not the plant, mind, but the literal thing!” She cackled in glee. “The coin itself was worthless, I’ll admit that—I threw it back on the hoard, by the way, the one I pulled out was just for story purposes. But this. Now this is priceless!” She tucked it back into her belt.

“Couldn’t you have just asked them to breathe flames.”

“Not if I’m translating this spell right,” Mum said airily. “Now, what’s got you all bothered? Other than my usual shenanigans.”

Ma huffed. “Kali cursed the princess. Her parents are more than a bit upset.”

“I’m going to undo it!”

Mum snorted. “The king and queen are a reasonable bunch. More’n you can say about these pesky hoarders. Long as Kali undoes what she started, we’re all in the clear.” She eyed Kali. “What did you curse her with, anyway?”

“Ah. I… might have made it so that she’ll never find a husband. Or a man to fall in love with her, romantically, at all?” Kali winced.

Mum, however, started laughing. Uproariously.

“There’s nothing funny about this!” Ma scowled harder. “That is the kingdom’s future she’s playing with.”

Mum grinned. “Haha, dear. Haven’t you heard? Little Annalise is… haha… gay as they come!”

Ma blinked. “What.”

Mum wiped at her eyes. “Oh, boy. I needed that.” She wiped soot off her cheeks. “It’s all very hush-hush, mind. But sweet little Annalise was caught kissing a baker’s daughter, ‘bout a year back. This was right before she was caught swordfighting on castle grounds. The girl was shipped off to a good culinary school, and Annalise was reminded of her duties as heir to the kingdom, but. Ah. I doubt she was too unhappy about your curse, Kali.” Mum considered a moment. “Her parents, on the other hand, did just finish brokering a marriage for her. Jokes on them, though, cause Theo’s as gay as their daughter is, and I’m pretty sure he’s involved with that knight of his. Being the youngest prince, I wouldn’t be surprised if he just ran off and eloped, to tell you the truth. Your curse will probably give him the nudge, so. Excellent matchmaking, I suppose.”

Ma groaned. “Don’t encourage her!”

“I’m only pointing out the positive happenstance of a bad decision,” Mum retorted, because she had never been one to fear Ma’s wrath. Or much of anything at all, really. Kali thought she’d had too many run ins with dragons. Now everything else seemed mundane in comparison. “Kali, you can’t go around cursing people willy-nilly. That’s how our kind ended up with such a bad reputation to begin with. Time’s done a lot to change that, but I’d rather not regress any, yes?” Mum paused. “Besides, that’s just bad magic casting.”

Kali recoiled. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, daughter-of-mine. What’s the number one rule we have for casting spells? Particularly long-lasting ones.”

Kali frowned. “Do your research.”

“Exactly. Research your spell, especially if it’s one you’re just cobbling together, as most curses tend to be. Research your target. Make sure that the spell is suited for their life—and in this case, it most definitely was not. Or was, in some ways, I suppose. Make sure there isn’t a way you could cast it better, stronger. If you’re going to use magic for it, at least make sure it’s worth it.” Mum flicked her fingers. “Otherwise it’s just a waste of time and mana. And you know how I hate wasting mana. You’re a witch of no little talent, my dear. Don’t squander it because you have a bit of a temper and some power.”

Kali sighed. “Yes, mum. I really am going to undo it, though.”

Mum was the one to hum in thought this time. “Don’t give it any rush. Word on the street is, pretty little Annalise has some lovely ideas for reformation that I would love to see come into play. Would be good for the nation, I think. By all means, go and make your best attempt, but, don’t rush it. Take your time. Make up excuses for why you’re doing so.”

Ma sighed. “This is why we never get invited to the coven meet ups,” she said flatly. “You always want to get involved.”

“What’s the point of having ears if you don’t listen?” Mum wondered. One of her favorite phrases. “I hear things. I put them to use. Longevity has little point if all you do is watch the seasons pass. Are we supposed to stop doing things once we turn fifty? Eighty? I think not! A bit of encouragement here and there is good for the world… so long as you know which things to encourage. Or, rather, which battles to pick.” Mum winked.

Ma rolled her eyes. “And the issue of the matter is, that both of you pick far too many.” She looked at Mum. “Stop picking fights with dragons. You’re going to piss one off enough to attack, and we’re going to be blamed. Ten years is not enough time to get rid of prejudice.” She looked at Kali. “And you stop casting curses every time someone looks at you funny! Turning people’s tongues blue is funny the first time. It’s not funny the second, or any time after that. Nor is it funny to mess with the fate of an entire kingdom. Restraint. Both of you.” She whirled away, presumably to go tend the herb garden, as she always did when she was miffed.

Mum cocked her head to the side.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t your ma once piss off a king by insinuating he was little more than a giant baby unfit for his throne?”

“Yeah. That was ma.”

“I thought so.”

#writeblr #writelr #writers of tumblr #creative writing #amwriting #amwritingfantasy #short stories #short fiction #fantasy fiction #fantasy #original fiction #original writing #original stories #original works #my writing #the curse that failed #original fairy tales

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badlucksav · 4 years ago

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Like I’m seriously the nicest asshole you’ll ever meet

So many places...so many. But all expenses paid? Probably the Mediterranean

An entire brood, and I’m the youngest

People have favorite constellations? O.o probably the Big Dipper cause it’s the only one I can point out

Green

Literally everything. There are like, no genres I won’t touch

Night skies, lily of the valleys, marigolds, irises

Tbh the most practical thing for me would be a spell that helps me find thing I’ve lost

Probably the time we were driving to the lake and got caught in a monarch butterfly migration. We had to pull over and just sit as literally millions of butterflies flew past us

Yuppppp. Fuck that asshole.

A comfy bed with lots of blankets and pillows, fairy lights, a comfy reading nook, an actual fuck ton of books, and a gaming corner

Otters

My son

Yes

Under because my cats will fucking S H R E D it

Honestly I aint picky

Yes, even if we don’t always know what that reason is. I’m a big believer in the butterfly effect

If you mean guilty pleasures, I actually really like Taylor Swift

Phoenixes because I love the idea of being reborn from the ashes

I am riddled with self-doubt and anxiety

I grew up in Portland, OR and I loved it. There was always something going on. Portland is a lovely, quirky city and I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance.

There are only two possibilities: we are alone in the universe, or we aren’t. I don’t know which is more terrifying (paraphrasing a quote don’t come at me) but the short answer is yeah, I do, even if it’s not “intelligent” in the sense that we are intelligent.

Last google search was “pedantic definition”

That it doesn’t matter how good you are to someone, if they don’t see your value they’ll never respect you

Fuck no. Well, probably not. Not out of state, at least

Both, depending on the person and what they did

Favorite book is “Lucas” by Kevin Brooks

I’m an ambivert. I like being social and being alone.

I kept journals consistently for about a decade but I’ve fallen out of the habit.

Let’s see.... 1. Dirty Dancing 2. The Outsiders 3. Alice In Wonderland (Disney animated) 4. Interstellar 5. Full Metal Jacket

See #17

Death

Bon & Viv seltzer’s. Also screwdrivers

God kill me now....I peed my pants at 12 cause my social anxiety wouldn’t let me ask a neighbor to use their bathroom when I was locked out of my house

Absolutely. My house is haunted

Best part is that I’m super kind and generous. Worst part is that I inherited some of my dad’s narcissism so I can also be extremely selfish and I fucking hate it

I think it depends on the circumstances. Like are you going out with friends? Is it a new relationship? If so, who asked who? Etc.

I’m a decent liar when I have to be

Thinking about the future

Oh god why would you hurt me like this. Neither.

Nope. I’m an atheist.

Writing or reading Zutara

Lots of things tbh, but mostly, socks with sandals

Tacossss

Bernie Sanders tbh

Like, never skajandlwkajas.

Write Zutara, read Zutara, or make Zutara art.

Yep, quite a few people actually

I don’t think so honestly which is a damn shame cause I’m a catch

I played volleyball

When I’m spending time with my son, or throwing myself into a Zutara project

Both

My dad’s ashes

Height usually cause I am a literal hobbit and I have to look up at everyone

Autumn because I love the colors, the theme of change, and because it’s summer in the sun and winter in the shade

My son, my pets, and funny internet memes

Clean. Like, borderline neat freak. Mess and clutter stress me the fuck out

Communication and common goals

Unconventional

Halloween and Christmas

Buy a house

Cheese, pepperoni, and black olives

Hiking

Tbh not doing so hot. I’m stressed, depressed lemon zest

Camping

Sunrises and sunsets

Dove chocolate

“Trauma, Bullshit, and Other Unfortunate Circumstances”

Anything from Dirty Dancing. “There’s no crying in (insert anything). Also, singing, “What can I say except you’re welcome?”

Emo stuff

Honestly I have no idea

I can’t remember what it’s called, but it was about what would happen if humans disappeared. It covered everything to what would happen to our pets to nuclear plants melting down, and went hundreds (I think up to 1,000) years into the future. I still think about it a lot tbh

Shaved head. I also once had a “Karen” haircut before that was a thing

Lots of things, but I’m a better baker

Mountain lion

The Ranch probably

It really depends

“Enjoy the Little Things”

Probably Kovu from Lion King 2??? Like wtf he is a ~lion~

I like the physical affection

Sometimes

Like my entire childhood lololol

Right on time thank you cause my anxiety won’t allow for anything else

Painting/digital art

So many things

made this for all the bored people! ✧

1. describe yourself.

2. if you could go anywhere for a week all expenses paid where would it be?

3. do you have siblings?

4. what is your favorite constellation, why?

5. favorite color.

6. what kind of music do you listen to?

7. favorite flower. (you can name as many as you want cause flowers are awesome)

8. if you could do magic, what is the first spell you would learn?

9. favorite childhood memory.

10. have you ever been cheated on?

11. if you could describe your perfect room, what would it be?

12. favorite animal.

13. what was the last photo you took of?

14. do you believe in soul mates?

15. do you hang toilet paper over or under?

16. your go to place to eat & your favorite thing to get there.

17. do you believe everything happens for a reason?

18. guilty pressures?

19. favorite mythical creature, why?

20. something most people don’t know about you.

21. where did you grow up, what was it like?

22. do you believe aliens exist?

23. what was your last google search?

24. what did your last relationship teach you?

25. would you relocate for love?

26. do you hold grudges or forgive easy?

27. favorite book.

28. do you consider yourself an extrovert or introvert?

29. have you ever kept a journal, do you now?

30. top 5 favorite movies.

31. do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

32. what is your greatest fear?

33. favorite alcoholic beverage.

34. most embarrassing thing you’ve done.

35. do you believe in ghosts?

36. what is the best and worst part of your personality?

37. should you split the dinner bill?

38. are you a good liar?

39. what keeps you up at night?

40. would you rather go without your phone or music?

41. do you believe in god?

42. how do you relax when frustrated?

43. what’s something that offends you?

44. favorite food

45. if you were on a 10 hour flight and could sit and talk to any person the entire time, who would it be?

46. when do you feel the most confident?

47. what do you do on your free time?

48. is there anyone who has completely lost your respect

49. have you ever broken someone’s heart?

50. did/do you play sports in school?

51. when are you happiest?

52. coffee or tea?

53. what is one possession you own you wouldn’t want to live without?

54. what is the first thing you notice about a person?

55. what is your favorite season, why?

56. what makes you laugh?

57. are you a clean or messy person?

58. what is important for a successful relationship?

59. what was your upcoming like?

60. favorite holiday?

61. what is the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?

62. what’s the best pizza topping combination?

63. favorite outdoor activity.

64. how are you? honestly.

65. would you rather go camping in the woods or stay at a beach resort?

66. what is the most beautiful thing in nature?

67. favorite type of candy?

68. if your life was a book, what would be the title?

69. what movie quotes do you use of a regular bases?

70. what was cool when you were young but not cool now?

71. what’s the craziest conversation you have ever eves dropped on?

72. what’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched?

73. what’s the worst hairstyle you’ve had?

74. what do you like to cook?

75. what’s the coolest animal you’ve seen in the wild?

76. what’s the funniest tv show you’ve ever seen?

77. do you usually follow your heart or your head?

78. what is your favorite quote?

79. what’s the weirdest crush you have ever had?

80. what’s your love language?

81. do you ever feel alone?

82. ever been bullied?

83. are you usually early or late?

84. what kind of art do you enjoy most?

85. what do you wish you knew more about?

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grither55 · 4 years ago

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The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic) - Chapter 89 - The Potential Within

The Sentinel Tree now rapidly repaired itself while cracks of light penetrated the deep underground cavern below.

Just as Silah slid down from the side of the cavern wall with her angered blue eyes staring out from underneath her mask.

While Nako rasped on her knees with her eyes agape in trauma while Ty Lee patted her back.

"It's going to be okay Nako." Ty Lee assured in a supportive voice as Nako stared down at her hands with terror-stricken eyes.

All the while as both Azula and Zoe glared at Silah through their corner of their eyes while the artist dropped to the ground below.

"So…. you are alive after all Mava." Silah stated with her masked face gazing back at her old friend's wrinkled countenance while Zoe fired her line into the rock above.

"Had you not been so single minded with your twisted perversions you would have noticed that sooner." Mava answered in a gravely voice as she leaned heavily under her staff while the group gazed at her in fascination.

"I must say old hag. I truly thought that you kicked the bucket. Though by the look of it that may not be too far off." Azula spoke in a snide voice with her cold eyes glancing down at the hunched over sage.

"Azula!" The brown-haired woman chided while her friend just rolled her golden eyes in response.

"By Agni. What a deranged beast you have become. I had known that you lost your way…but this…" The sage trailed off in an almost saddened voice as she raised her glowing staff into the air.

And just like that the tree roots began to spill out towards the cornered artist.

While the princess rose a brow beside her equally intrigued companions just as the captain's line embedded in the rock above.

And then the enraged warrior soared towards the artist with steam blowing off her body.

"You only say that because you have not been enlightened…like I have." The puppeteer remarked with her pale hand on the wall while the captain plunged down above her.

Only for the two Fire Twins to slam into the furious captain from both sides as the seething woman slid across the rock in her anger.

Just as she skidded to a stop with her sword in hand while her hazel eyes boiled over in rage.

"P-princess…she's…." Nako coughed as she rasped for air as her comrades turned to her with attentive eyes.

While Azula turned to stare down at her with even more approval in her callous golden eyes.

"Take a moment to catch your breath Nako." Mai advised in a marginally kinder voice than before she got to know the girl while the pilot coughed once more.

Although she couldn't help but stare at the demented puppeteer with hidden fear in her tawny eyes.

Even with the tide seemingly turning in their favor with the old woman's return she wasn't comfortable being anywhere near that maniac.

As far as she was concerned the sooner.

The sooner they get as far away as possible from that monster the better!

"She's…using wires to control them!" The royal pilot shouted with her eyes wide in terror while her comrades spun around to gaze down at her in surprise.

As the princess and the captain's eyes widened as they watched the puppeteer leap away onto the rock above.

And that was when they saw it.

There was a faint glimmer of silver in the sun’s rays that glistened in the air between the puppets and their master!

Azula's callous golden eyes narrowed into a hawk like gaze as she glared murderously at her enemy's concealed face.

'So, it wasn't just my imagination! That was a wire!' The princess thought with her brilliant golden eyes taking on a predatory gleam while turned to gaze back down at her devoted pilot in recognition.

"Wires? That's insane! She is doing all of that with wires?" Saro asked in a stunned voice with his golden eyes gazing on in astonishment.

'So…that's her secret.' Zoe thought with her hazel eyes taking on a fixated gleam while her harsh gaze followed the movements of the backpedaling puppeteer.

"I am going to tear those wires out one by one and then we'll see just how formidable you are without your toys." The captain stated in a ruthless voice as she propelled herself into the air while the artist's lips curved into a devious smile.

"Be careful captain! It's…not as simple as it sounds!" Nako advised as she sat up on her knees while her companions listened attentively.

All the while as Zoe gazed over her shoulder with her hazel eyes paying mind to the young pilot's words.

What the girl lacked in physical prowess she more than made up for in strategic wit.

And that was worthy of her respect.

"Explain yourself Nako." Azula ordered in a strict voice with her callous eyes studying the puppet's closely as they jumped down in front of their master.

"I…found a wire chamber! It was…like an enormous web of cables. There were hundreds…maybe even thousands of them! And she was shifting them away from your location every time that you and the captain attacked!" The royal pilot exclaimed in a hurried voice with her companions now gazing down at her in shock.

While the princess's golden eyes now shone with renewed aggravation as she put one boot forward.

Before she watched with narrowed eyes when Zoe lunged through the air at the smirking puppeteer.

Only for Silah to yank her fingers on something unseen while the captain fell down above her.

And not a second later…

The warrior's eyes widened in surprise when she felt small threads swiftly wrap around her arms and legs.

All the while as the twins now jumped down above her from both angles.

"If you think my artwork is that simplistic then you are a fool. My art is much more intricate than that." Silah spoke in a sanguine voice as she swung Zoe in the air while the captain gritted her teeth in her ire.

"Of course, nothing with this freak would be simple." The markswoman muttered as she stood up with her knives in hand.

"And somehow…she is able to render them nearly invisible…" Nako trailed off as she fell silent when Silah's terrifying blue eyes met her own.

And just like that she was once more swallowing in terror as sweat dripped down her brow.

Before she found herself jumping in surprise when Azula's commanding voice shouted in her ear.

"Stop that cowering Nako!" The princess barked in her usual domineering voice while she glared down at her shaken pilot.

"I apologize princess! I am trying but I am afraid." The royal pilot answered in a skittish voice while the acrobat offered her a sympathetic look.

"Azula…try to go a little easier on her. She…went through a great ordeal." Ty Lee explained in a soft voice while Azula's lips still pursed into a regal scowl.

"I would have thought that I have made it abundantly clear by now that I am not going to let you die." Azula spoke in a callous voice as she turned to direct a murderous stare at her enemy while Nako soon found herself smiling in relief.

"I…will remember that princess. Thank you." Nako stated in a quiet voice as she stood up while the ground continued to rumble all around them.

All the while as she gazed up at the ancient tree in wonder as its branches repaired at an astonishing rate.

While Azula briefly regarded her loyal subordinate through the corner of an impressed golden eye.

'To think that Nako was able to decipher all of that in a few mere minutes…which is to say nothing of that little invention of hers. There is no doubt about it…this peasant pilot of mine is an indispensable resource.' The princess thought with her icy eyes turning to gaze ahead while her burning fists clenched at her womanly hips.

She will have to keep a close watch over that one.

It would not do to lose her.

And then she watched with stoic golden eyes as they were pulled back on a platform of tree roots.

Just before the furious captain was flung away into a pile of rubble while she ground her teeth together when her back slammed into a wall of rock.

"We must be done with Silah fast so we can conclude the ritual." Mava stated in a hurried voice with her staff held high as the tree repaired itself while Azula's possessive golden eyes peered down at the dozing girl.

"If anything happens to that girl…" Azula trailed off in a menacing voice with her golden eyes now gazing down at the sage in a terrifying stare that had her companions shuddering beside her.

"If anything happens to her you're all going to die eventually so it really doesn't matter. Now do me a favor and shut up! Brat!" The sage snapped as the others listened in a floored silence while the princess's angered eyes stared back at her in loathing.

'What does that mean? If something happens to Elle…we all die?' Mai thought with her tawny eyes gazing down at the girl in concern while rocks continued to explode into the air.

'Damn her! There are far too many cables. It won't be easy finding which ones are powering her puppets.' Zoe thought as she sliced her arm free of cables while her stony hazel eyes glared back at the artist's masked visage.

And then not even seconds later.

The sound of a piercing explosion of tree roots below shattered into the air as they all spun around to gaze down below.

As Silah's pale lips curved into a smug smirk while Team Azula's eyes flashed with frustration when they saw the mechanical badgermole bursting free of its restraints.

Azula and Zoe shared a look of aggravation while they quickly glared between the puppeteer and her metal monstrosity.

While their eyes grew wider in alarm when the creature opened its mouth once more with its cannon aimed up at them.

Just before the projectile fired high into the air while the princess's forced stared on with their eyes agape in fright.

Only for Azula to take them by surprise when she swiftly generated lightning at her fingertips.

And then the monarch released her gathered energy before it impacted with the cannon fire mere moments later.

And then a booming explosion echoed into the air while they watched in awe with their elbows shielding their eyes.

While the princess now held her smoking hand before her merciless face while she glared at Silah through the corner of her icy eye.

"Nice shot Azula!" The brown-haired woman exclaimed as she gazed at her leader's tall back in amazement while the princess's lips twitched into the barest hint of a smirk.

'How is she controlling that vehicle? I don't see any cables connecting it to her…does she have an accomplice?' The princess thought with her full lips pursed into a tight scowl while she glared back at the puppeteer's smiling lips.

"Indeed princess…well done." The captain commented as she stood staring hard back at her opponent's concealed face while the artist's visible lips curved into an even larger smirk.

"Nako...if I recall correctly you hail from Tengshu…is that right?" The puppeteer questioned without warning while the pilot's golden eyes grew wide in horror.

And even the others fell silent in a state of shock that the woman had the gall to threaten a Fire Nation village.

Even the princess and the captain could only stare back at the masked woman in a margin of disbelief.

"H-how…do you know that?" The royal pilot responded in a trembling voice while the two noblewomen shook in fury behind her.

"I make it a point to know everything about my prey. Even the small ones. It is a scenic little impoverished farmers village. Your parents own a small bakeshop…and the majority of their earnings go straight into the pockets of your gracious new friends…just like every other peasant in this pathetic nation." Silah remarked in a taunting voice with a fist upon her hip while the pilot's eyes shook in a rare moment of conflict.

The effect of the artist's words was instantaneous.

Mai and Ty Lee were now gazing on with the anger in their eyes having transformed into a deep shame.

While they now stared at Azula's glowering face while the royal woman glared at them through the corner of her ruthless eye.

And Zoe's fury in her eyes began to boil over even further while she crushed a rock beneath her fist.

It was obvious that the sadistic artist was trying to sow discord in the minds of Azula's companions.

And what angered the princess more than anything was the fact that it was working.

"You are such a good dog. Standing by your master while your fellow villagers suffer to line her many palaces with gold. Maybe if you're a good girl she'll throw a few more treats your way. Or maybe…you should join the rising anti-monarchy movement." The puppeteer purred in a devious voice with her heartless blue eyes staring back at their stunned faces.

While Azula's eyes were now agape in utter rage as she balled up her fists in rapidly rising paranoia.

First her father deceives her.

And then she learns of a peasant rebellion.

And now she hears that there is an anti-monarchy movement!

The highborn women present stared on in a state of shock while the puppeteer licked her lips perversely once more.

"Anti-monarchy movement!" Azula snarled with flames spewing from her lips while her enraged eyes glared ahead.

And her childhood friend shivered in growing pity for the rebelling peasant class.

"You didn't know Azula? There is growing negative sentiment towards you and your friends…talk of purging all highborn nationwide." Silah informed in a gloating voice while Azula's eyes continued to bubble over in outrage.

Both Saro and Nako were wisely silent as they swallowed quietly.

While Ty Lee and Mai exchanged a knowing look.

Judging by the way that Azula looked as if she was salivating in fury, they could only shiver when they imagined what the princess would do when she confronted the peasant mob.

'Azula…I truly hope that Elle's presence will continue to persuade you to be a better person than your father…' Ty Lee thought with a look of great discomfort in her brown-gray eyes while Azula lips shook in a glower.

"And people call me a thief." Jiao snorted with her arms folded over her breasts while Azula spun around to glare icily her way.

"These peasants will be dealt with. I am done with being questioned. There will be no mercy for the disloyal!" The princess spoke in an unforgiving voice as she angrily clenched a fist before her seething face while her lifelong friends swallowed in fear behind her.

"And she wonders why I do not consider her worthy." Mava scoffed under her breath as she paid no mind to Azula's petrifying glare.

Only for the princess's anger to grow even further when her captain had the gall to glare up into her eyes!

"This will not stand. You will fix this. Or I will fix you." Zoe stated with her hazel eyes staring fearlessly back into Azula's now beyond wrathful gaze.

A shudder spread throughout the air while the puppeteer chuckled as she clenched her fingers along her cables.

"How dare you threaten me Zoe. I suggest you remember that you are only second in command and it is me that is in command." Azula retorted in a much colder voice than her usual while Zoe still stared defiantly back at her.

And somewhere deep down inside of her.

Even though she would never admit it aloud.

There was a tiny part of her that was strangely bothered by the woman's anger.

Dare she say it…that she actually considered her warrior her friend?

"Of course, I also recall that particular province is somewhere…that way. It shouldn't be too difficult for me to make it there in under seven days. And I would say…that it wouldn't take me any longer than ten hours to kill all one thousand villagers." The puppeteer announced in an utterly monstrous voice with her pale finger now pointing across the horizon.

And just like that the group froze up in a state of sheer speechlessness while the pilot trembled in her tracks.

"No! You leave my village alone!" Nako blurted out with great terror in her shaken voice while her companions stewed in anger beside her.

And the princess pursed her lips together with fire flaring to life upon her fingertips once more.

'How dare she…act as if she is to be feared more than me and Father!' The princess thought with fire escaping her nostrils while the artist lapped at her lips.

And the captain gripped her katana as she began to march furiously towards the smirking woman.

"But then again…they are already living in considerable misery as is. Killing them could be seen as an act of mercy. Why waste the energy to kill people that will suffer more living under Azula's rule than they would dying at my hands?" Silah sighed with an uncaring wave of her pale hand as the group listened in revulsion while Nako's short hair hung in her traumatized eyes.

And the two noblewomen continued to stare pointedly at their friend's ruthless face while the princess now stared imposingly back into their judging eyes.

Only for the pilot's voice to take them all by surprise when she shouted out in anger.

"I…won't fall for your shit! My Crown Princess gave me her word that she would help Tengshu! Maybe I am just a dog! But I believe that she will make a just ruler to the loyal! So, go play your games with someone else! If you defeat her, you're going to kill me anyway so why should I listen to you!" The royal pilot shouted at the top of her lungs with a spark of bravery flowing through her veins.

All the while her companions stared at her in a taken aback state of shock.

Azula turned to stare back at her loyal subject with her cold eyes expressing uncharacteristic approval.

And then a faint smile returned to her beautiful lips before she took her friends by surprise when she placed a hand on the angered girl's shoulder.

While Nako also gazed up with surprise into her golden eyes as she stood with her hand on the taken aback pilot's shoulder.

"Well said my royal pilot. Know that your Crown Princess recognizes your loyalty. Worry not about your little village. I will mend it." Azula spoke with a pleased smile on her lips while her palm lingered on her pilot's moved shoulder.

"Y-your Highness…I don't know what to say." Nako answered in a still shaken voice as she stood proudly with her princess's hand on her shoulder.

Just as a small smile formed upon her lips as she gazed up into the other woman's charming golden eyes.

Her princess truly is her friend! She knows it!

"Then just obey Nako…and I will take care of the rest." The princess purred as she patted the smaller woman's shoulder while her pilot hurriedly nodded her emotional head.

"I will princess! I will." The royal pilot assured as she stood more confidently under her princess's mighty hand.

Before the tall monarch turned to stare imposingly at the masked artist once more with her glacial eyes still burning in deep fury.

Only for another explosion of tree roots to launch into the air while Team Azula's forces now gazed on in renewed amazement when the old woman raised her staff once more.

And then the stunned captain turned to watch as the branches shot over her shoulder and straight at the puppeteer.

In seconds the vines slammed into a wall of rock while the group stared at the sage in returning wonderment.

While the masked puppeteer now stared coldly back into her old friend's angered glazed over golden eyes.

"You are a far cry from the woman I once knew! They used to call you Silah the Wise! Now you are nothing more than a demented killer!" The sage hollered out in anger while the others listened in bewilderment.

"To the contrary Mava. I am wiser than I have ever been. I create beautiful art that does not rot or fade. But I wouldn't expect you to understand true art." The puppeteer retorted with a sneer while she swept her hand to the side.

And just like that the Fire Twins lit up their bending while the princess's forces gazed between the two in confusion.

And all but Zoe and Azula shuddered as they gazed at the two siblings' lifeless faces in boundless disgust.

It was obvious from the moment that the masked woman appeared at the old woman's hut that the two knew each other.

But the context of that relation was still a mystery to them.

"Old woman. You still haven't explained your relation to this…freak." Azula hissed with her frigid eyes glaring in hatred back at Silah's still smug face.

She has long since decided that she despised her smile.

Even though she could only make out her eyes and lip.

She could tell that it was the look of someone who thought that she knew more than her.

And that was something…that she intended to find out!

"Are you aware of the nature of the enemy that seeks to destroy the young Component?" Mava pondered with her wrinkled hand clutching her staff while the group listened in rising intrigue.

While the princess still gazed between the two with her cold golden eyes searching for something unseen.

"I am. I am also aware that the child's chance of survival is…abysmal to say the least. Which is why I am going to use her for my purposes before her time runs out." Silah stated in a heartless voice with a dark smile pulling at her pale lips while Azula's golden eyes now burned with indescribable wrath.

As did both Mai and Ty Lee as they now stared back at the twisted woman with protectiveness in their sisterly eyes.

"No. No, you will not. The girl is mine." The princess snarled as she put one boot forward while she glared furiously at the puppeteer's chuckling face.

Only for the old woman's staff to intercept her before she could proceed any further.

She turned to stare coldly at the sage through the corner of her eye while the hunched over elderly woman hobbled forward.

"And just what would those purposes be?" The sage inquired in a leveled voice while the masked woman turned to point up over her shoulder into the distant sky.

Everyone on Team Azula gazed up out from the underground cavern into the far away distance.

Only for their eyes to widen when they saw a faint light spiraling upon the horizon.

"The portal to the Component's homeland is growing even as we speak. I want…her to take me there and show me the wonder that await in this foreign land." The puppeteer announced in a voice of great longing while the group listened in astonishment.

"A portal to Elle's homeland." Zoe commented with her hazel eyes wide in awe while Azula also gazed on in grudging fascination.

While Saro, Nako and Jiao could only stare on with utter bewilderment in their eyes.

It went without saying that there was much about the young girl that they had not been told.

'So…that's how those soldiers were able to invade into my domain…I must establish control over that vortex! But how?' Azula thought with fire escaping her nostrils while her brows furrowed in frustration.

"What is that you seek there Silah?" Mava queried in a graveled voice while Silah stared back at her with emotionless blue eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? After I harvest my final targets then I will have exhausted all the use that I have left for the four nations. And then…" Silah trailed off in a predatory voice with her tongue running along her lips while she took a step closer.

While a deep sense of silence spread throughout the air while the group stared at her in shock.

"You will not be harvesting my corpse! Because I am going to vaporize you!" The princess shouted in a venomous voice with her golden eyes wide in murderous fury.

The mere notion that this woman had the gall to not only openly declare that she coveted the bending of the Princess of the Fire Nation.

But that she also had the nerve to claim that the Fire Nation was of no further use to her was made her flames boil in fury!

"I shall hunt anew in a new land!" The puppeteer declared in a maddened voice with the veins in her blue eyes bulging out in her bloodlust while the princess's forces stood in a speechless silence.

"She…wants to terrorize Elle's homeland?" Mai asked with her tawny eyes wide in realization while Azula's lips pursed into a thin line.

"Azula…we…we can't let that happen!" Ty Lee cried out with horror in her voice while she shook in rage.

"I already know that Ty Lee!" Azula scoffed with her fires burning on her imposing fists once more while she hardened her callous eyes.

Just as Zoe put another heavy combat boot forward while her hazel gaze narrowed into focused slits.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Silah. You haven't defeated us yet. Until then I suggest you stay focused on the battle at hand." The captain remarked in a merciless voice with her katana gripped in her fist while steam once more rose off her tense muscles.

Just before the grinning artist flicked her fingers backward while the hooded puppet extended his arms out to his sides.

And then not a second later.

The earth itself began to rumble with such force that the group could only stare on in astonishment.

While the mysterious puppet stood with his arms held out while rocks began to rain down from above once again.

All along while Zoe's hazel eyes once more widened with reminiscence as she stared all around her in wonderment.

'This power…it's like…' Zoe thought as she now stood frozen in her tracks with that same familiar sensation of glory rushing down her spine.

Could it possibly be…

"What incredible earthbending…" Saro spoke in amazement as he gazed around him with awestruck golden eyes.

Just as an explosion of azure fire flooded forth from the princess while her companions turned to gaze at their leader in unhidden marvelment.

"Please. This doesn't even begin to compare to my evolved flames." The princess boasted with blue fire accentuating her beautiful features while her defensive veil of flames blazed to life.

While the heat from her intense flames licked at her skin.

All the while as she stared imperiously back into Silah's equally monstrous blue gaze.

And with that a malicious stare down began with the two mighty female firebenders glaring coldly back into the artist's voraciously greedy eyes.

Only for it to be broken by the old woman as she shuffled forward with her staff clanging the stone ground of the stone ground.

"Stay back you two. I will handle her." The sage announced as she stepped past the princess while she let out a derisive snort.

"And how exactly are you going to do that old woman?" Azula snorted as she stared down at the crone's robed back.

Yet she found herself unable to suppress a spark of intrigue from gleaming through her icy golden eyes.

While the rest of the group also gazed at the bizarre old woman in puzzlement as she slowly advanced closer.

The captain gazed over her shoulder at the sage with her focused hazel eyes conveying a deep curiosity.

All the while as the earth continued to buckle underneath the ominous force of the hooded puppet's powerful earthbending.

Rocks large and small continued to drop down from above while the sage now stared back into her old friend's strikingly cruel eyes.

"Yes, how do you plan to accomplish that Mava?" Silah pondered in a smooth voice with her unfeeling eyes gazing out from underneath her mask.

"As I am now, I cannot defeat you. And if this battle continues. The chances are greater than not that you will make off with the Component before I awaken her chi." Mava remarked as she made her way forward with her robes flowing behind her.

Azula's possessive golden eyes stared out from her wall of raging flames as she defensively stood over her young girlfriend's motionless body.

While her childhood friends remained crouched over the girl with their glaring eyes keeping a close watch on their enemy.

"Once again you take your Crown Princess too lightly. She will not get past my flames." The princess hissed with fire exuding from her nostrils while her callous eyes glared ahead.

Although she could see the merit in the old woman's tactic.

And as much as she was loathed to admit she couldn't deny that the sage was shrewd.

In some respects, she even reminded her of her wretched fuddy duddy Uncle Iroh.

"Then you admit that you cannot defeat me." The puppeteer purred as she advanced forward with her bloodthirsty eyes staring at the faces of her enemies.

Before her gaze turned back to her old friend's glazed golden eyes while the sage held herself up by her staff.

"No, I cannot." The sage agreed with a nod of her head while the princess's group gazed on in bewilderment.

And Azula now stared at the old woman with deadpan golden eyes.

'Just what is her ploy?' Azula thought with her calculating gaze lingering on the crone's aged back.

"What is the point in standing against me if cannot fight as my equal?" Silah taunted with annoyance lacing her cold voice while she gazed at her old friend's worn face.

It was a question on the minds of all present.

But before anyone could even so much as open their mouth to voice it.

They found themselves gazing up in shock when the ancient tree rose finally finished rearing up above them.

Just as a great light shone into the air while the sage thrust her staff into the air as she began to glow in unison with the tree itself!

"But I can repel you from the Forgetful Valley!" Mava called out with her staff tightly grasped in hand while a great power erupted into the air behind her.

All the while as Silah's blue eyes grew wider as she turned to gaze all around her.

"Repel? The Sentinel Tree is only as strong as its user! You are dilapidated and feeble Mava! You cannot possibly harness its full power as you stand now!" The puppeteer scoffed in a dismissive voice as she gazed up at the ancient tree.

Only for her blue eyes to grow even larger as she shielded her face beneath her sleeve.

While her pale lips fell open in an expression of disbelief when the tree began to radiate with a long-buried power.

All the while as Team Azula stared on in unbridled fascination as they all watched the mysterious tree emit a blinding light in the skies above them.

"So that's it…her power comes from the tree…" The princess muttered in a stunned voice with her golden eyes staring up in uncharacteristic fascination.

"Under normal circumstances no but not if I use my trump card!" The sage shouted with her staff now humming with magical power while the artist gazed back in disbelief.

And then with every fiber of her being she raised her staff above her head as its power began to shoot out all around her.

While the princess's group stared on in a speechless silence.

All the while as Zoe and Azula watched with their eyes agape in wonderment as turned to stare up at the pulsating tree.

Just as a crimson barrier swept out into the air while they watched with surprised eyes as it encircled the ancient tree once more.

And then not a second later the artist gazed down at her ghostly white hand with her blue eyes widening in realization.

And then she felt a jolt of pain travel throughout her body.

"What…did you do?" Silah asked in a baffled voice while she turned to stare into her old friend's eyes as Mava lowered her staff.

"I enacted a stronger barrier than the one you destroyed. I don't have the power to chase you. But if you do not leave this barrier you will die." Mava replied in a firm voice with her words causing the others to stare on in shock.

Before the artist found herself being pushed back by the ethereal barrier while she stared on with her blue eyes wide in incredulity.

"U-unbelievable! She truly is everything that the stories say!" Nako exclaimed in awe with her golden eyes staring on in bewilderment.

"Amazing…" Zoe breathed with an arm over her face while she watched Silah start to slide backwards in the erupting barrier.

'The pressure of her barrier can kill…her enemies?' Azula thought as she stared up in awe while her masked enemy seethed as she pushed back against the barrier.

"You…cannot push me out Mava!" The puppeteer yelled as she slammed her fists into the barrier while its energy crackled over her squinting blue eyes.

"Oh, but I can! Now tell me what you know of the enemy forces! Has Vega begun her march!" The sage hollered with her hand trembling upon her staff while her once friend stared back with cruel blue eyes.

While the four highborn women listened with their eyes wide in alarm having recalled the name from the mystic flames!

"I will tell you what I know! If you surrender my harvest! I will tell you where you shall meet your doom! I will even let the nonbenders live! But first you must take down your barrier!" Silah yelled out with her mask starting to crack under the power of the barrier while the benders in question bristled in paranoia.

"I am not your harvest! I am the Princess of the Fire Nation and I am going to butcher you!" The princess roared in a terrifying voice with her childhood friends shuddering behind her.

They weren't sure who was more frightening…Azula or Silah.

"My thoughts exactly princess." The captain stated in a low voice that promised great pain while she glared at the puppeteer's eroding mask.

"Poisonous words! You would kill us all anyway!" Mava retorted with anger in her frustrated voice while she watched her former friend release a howl of pain.

"Give me the Component!" The puppeteer snapped with the hooded puppet bracing her body from behind while the highborn women glared venomously back at her.

"Never!" The sage howled in a panting voice as the others gazed at her back in concern.

Just as a spark of energy flared into the tense air while the artist was sent sliding back on her slipping feet.

"Give her to me!" Silah repeated in a malicious voice as she clutched desperately to the barrier.

"I am sorry that it has to be this way! But the Silah that I knew is dead! And you leave me no choice!" Mava called out as she clutched her staff while her old friend's furious blue eyes met her gaze.

And then just like that Silah and her puppets were sent hurtling through the barrier while the artist's shouts echoed throughout the air.

"Mava!" The puppeteer protested in defiance as her mask split down the middle while her eyes trembled in bloodlust.

Only for a thick stream of azure fire to smash into her chest while she rapidly glanced up into the princess's merciless eyes.

Azula pursed her lips into a cruel sneer while she gazed down into her attacker's delightfully aggravated eyes.

And then mere seconds after that an explosion of blue fire and red energy sent the artist soaring through the combusting rocks.

While the group gazed out in a disbelieving fascination as they watched their demented new enemy plunge through the air below.

And then there was a speechless silence followed as they all gazed in wonderment at the exhausted sage's panting back.

While a new barrier now glowed majestically around the ancient tree in the sky above them!

"Is…she actually gone?" Mai asked at long last while she stared on in still present shock.

"How…did you do that?" The captain questioned in a speechless voice as she turned to stare at the old woman with great respect in her eyes.

Just as Azula lowered her hand while she also turned to survey the sage with her callous eyes conveying a little more respect than before.

"Yes. I was wondering that myself hag." The princess spoke up in her usual strict voice just as the acrobat slapped her shoulder.

"Azula would it kill you to be respectful to your elders?" Ty Lee chided as she stood up on her good heel while Azula rolled her haughty eyes at her.

"I am the sovereign of this nation and I will do as I please Ty Lee." Azula huffed as she sheathed her katana at her hip.

"There…is no time to answer that. I must finish the ritual. It…is not meant to be interrupted." The sage responded as she turned to hobble back towards the sleeping teenager's side while all but Jiao turned to gaze down at the girl in concern.

"And what exactly may I ask happens when its interrupted?" The princess demanded in a possessive voice as she stomped up behind the old crone.

"If Elle stays in a hyper induced meditative state for too long… there is risk of her presence being detected by a malevolent spirit. That is why I sent you four along to accompany her." Mava answered as she came to a stop over the unconscious blonde while the group spun around in alarm.

"What! And you didn't tell think to tell us this beforehand!" Azula snarled with her mighty fists blazing in blue fire while she smacked her lips together in a seething thin line.

Just as the crone reeled around to glare up at the younger woman's overprotective face with glazed golden eyes.

"You should consider yourself fortunate brat! I withdrew your minds sooner than anticipated when I sensed Silah encroaching upon the Sentinel Tree! Had I not done so you would have been as defenseless as a newborn infant!" The sage barked as she prodded the princess's stomach with her stick while golden eyes seethed down at her.

"Finish your ritual old woman. And know that any harm that comes to my servant will be repaid to you tenfold." The princess commanded in a callous voice as she folded her arms over her breasts while she fixed the sage with a nasty glare.

"She's…she's going to be okay, though right?" The brown-haired woman asked while gazing down in worry at the younger girl's unmoving face.

"Calm yourself. The girl will be fine." Mava assured as knelt down with visible discomfort while the group stared on in a bated silence.

"Are we actually safe from that lunatic?" Jiao queried in a rightfully shaken voice while she glanced around with paranoid blue eyes.

It was a question that everyone on the princess's team had been pondering.

"For the time being yes. Until you leave the Forgetful Valley that is. Then Silah will resume her hunt." The sage replied with her words causing everyone to stare on with varying levels of trepidation in their eyes.

It was absolutely insane to think of the sheer terror that they just went through in the caves below.

And know that they may well find themselves repeating it again someday soon!

"Joy. Something to look forward to." The markswoman muttered in a monotone voice with fear still present in her tawny eyes.

"N-no kidding. I was hoping that I would never see her again." The royal pilot stated in a still distraught voice while several of her fellows offered her a pitying look.

"Let her stalk me. The next time will be her last." Azula sneered in a pompous voice as she stared down at her handmaiden with callous golden eyes.

Now that she knows that she has information on the functionality of Silah's puppets…

The disgusting commoner won't have the element of surprise on her side in their next encounter.

"I can't say I disagree. I am not one to shy away from an opponent…I've seen a great deal in my days of military service. But never anything near as revolting as that." Saro remarked with a slight shudder as he stood beside his contemplating captain.

Just as Zoe turned to her comrades with her hazel eyes once more taking on her trademark focused gleam.

"No. No, she will not. This battle is not over. As soon as young Elle is concluded here, I am going to hunt her down and finish what we started in the cavern." Zoe announced in a razor-sharp voice with her words causing the others to gaze at her in surprise.

While Azula now glanced over her armored shoulder with her stony golden eyes conveying approval of her subordinate's words.

Her warrior truly was indispensable.

There were many benefits to having a soldier that stood as her equal who could be trusted to hunt down her enemies when she was unable to do so herself.

"Whether you do or do not is none of my concern. Regardless of whether if you win or lose against Silah. The only reason I intervened was to ensure that the Component was at least able to defend herself in the event that you lot fell in battle." Mava commented bluntly as she set her staff down while the others gazed at her in a shaken silence.

While the princess now spun around with her golden gaze brimming in anger once more over the old woman's stunning words.

"You…don't care if your Crown Princess falls in battle?" The princess hissed out with ire seeping through her regal voice while her friends gazed on uncertainly behind her.

Before the crone turned back to gaze in the proximity of her direction with her wrinkled face meeting her furious stare.

"I may not care much for the Avatar but that does not make us allies. You are only here because you are with the Component. It is pure circumstance that I am aiding you at the moment. My one goal…my only goal is to see the Component's mission to completion. My loyalty is not to the Royal Family. It is to the Earth itself." The sage answered in a matter of fact voice while the princess's golden eyes shook in offense.

All the while the others stood in a state of quiet gazing at the mysterious old woman in a mixture of bewilderment and unease.

"If the situation was reversed…and the Avatar was fighting beside you. And the Component beside your brother. I would aid your brother in place of you and do all that I could to remove you from the throne." Mava explained in a curt voice while Azula's eyes now boiled over in bubbling fury.

"You admit that you would plot treason against your Crown Princess? Consider yourself fortuitous that I need you. If not, I would tear your tongue out for your continued disrespect." Azula spoke in a positively ruthless voice with her hardened eyes staring down at the old woman in judgement.

While her childhood friends sighed behind her.

"Do we really have to do this right now Azula?" Ty Lee asked in a soft voice while Azula's lips pursed into a tight thin line.

"You want my respect?" The sage pondered in turn while the princess glared down at her.

"I don't want it. I demand it." The princess quipped in a hubristic voice while even her captain sighed under her breath.

And the seductress even rolled her eyes outside of the royal woman's line of vision.

"You are a slaver. Your father is a slaver. And I do not respect slavers. You have a long way to go if you want my respect." Mava stated in an unyielding voice with her words causing the group to stare at her in an unsettled silence.

While Azula's proud golden eyes once more shook in her royal fury as she exhaled a carefully controlled flame through her nostrils.

All the while as the two noblewomen stared at the princess's tense back with pointed expressions in their ashamed eyes.

"She…has a point Azula. You can't lie to Elle forever. Maybe you should consider liberation after you become Fire Lord. It's…it's what Elle…would want." The brown-haired woman advised in a quiet voice only to find herself flinching when the princess turned to glare at her from over her shoulder.

But before the prideful princess could snap out a response.

Her attention was regained when she saw the old woman lower her aged hand over her young love's innocent face.

"It is time to complete the process Elle. But I need you to listen to me closely." The sage spoke with her aged hand hovering over the teenager's forehead while the others stared on in growing fascination.

While the princess's cold gaze never once left the blonde's dozing face as she observed with a look of profound protectiveness in her eyes.

All while finding herself unable to suppress her grudging intrigue over the nature of her servant's unknown enemy.

'If the old woman believes our nation to be evil and the Avatar just…what manner of enemy could possibly prompt her to aid me against the Avatar?' The princess thought with her intelligent eyes flickering in ever rising curiosity while she held a flawless fingernail under her chin.

"The Avatar Cycle must fall at all costs. It is an unnatural blight upon this world. The time has come for it to come to an end." Mava stated in an enigmatic voice with her hand taking on an ethereal glow while the group listened in bewilderment.

And the captain exchanged a momentary look with her princess before she glanced back down.

Unnatural.

Blight.

Those were strong words to describe the Avatar.

"Why is it unnatural?" The brown-haired woman pondered in a taken aback voice while she gazed on with spellbound brown-gray eyes.

"It is a state of forced peace. It is better to endure a century of tyranny from a human tyrant such as Azula or her father that will fade to the winds of time just like the rest of us. Then tens of thousands of years of false peace by false balance." The sage declared in a conclusive voice while her audience gazed on in astonishment.

It was impossible not to be puzzled by the old woman's words.

She almost made it sound as if the Avatar was a greater tyrant than Azula or her father!

While the princess's crimson lips now curved into the barest hint of a smug smirk.

"So, my conquest is for the good of the world. Well then. I will not rest until I dominate this entire planet." Azula purred in a gratified voice with an elegant hand under her chin while her childhood friends shivered behind her.

Indeed.

This was working out wonderfully in her favor.

'Elle is my pet and she obeys me and me alone. We will destroy the Avatar together and then we will crush all who stand in our way. And then…I shall take my rightful seat as the ruler of this world with Elle right where she belongs…at the foot of my throne.' The princess thought as she smiled with a lovely fingernail now twirling subconsciously in her hair.

While she found herself unable to resist the tiny sliver of a blush from developing upon her regal cheeks.

Only to shake her head quickly not a moment later with her full lips pursing into a proud scowl once more.

Now was not the time for such distracting thoughts.

Right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.

And that was watching over her little peasant.

"Now Elle…it is time that we brought out the potential from deep within." Mava commented with her glowing hand now resting upon the young girl's forehead while the others gazed on in a transfixed silence.

Just as a faint light shone into the air while the princess's forces found themselves unable to look away.

And then Elle's youthful face lit up with a magical glow while her silent friends stood crowding around her in wonderment.

While inside the teenager's mind scape…

Elle's amber eyes were still brewing with tears after witnessing the deaths of both of her parents as well as the secret behind her mother's power.

Only for her awestruck eyes to widen when a bright light flashed before her stunned eyes.

As she covered her face with her elbows only to gaze out from underneath them in amazement to find that she was now floating through some kind of astral plane.

Her mouth dropped ajar in the shape of an o while she now gazed all around her in rapidly rising marvelment.

"Where…where am I?" The blonde-haired girl pondered in a bewildered voice as she bit her lip while she turned to glance over her shoulder in astonishment.

While her wide eyes stared on ahead as she heard the old sage's voice suddenly flow all around her.

"Now Elle…it is time that we brought out the potential from deep within." The sage spoke into the teenager's awed ears.

"B-but how do I bring out my potential?" Elle asked in a voice that was brimming with wonder only to find herself crying out in surprise as she was suddenly plunged through the depths of the vast void.

All the while as her innocent amber eyes grew even wider as luminous light blinded her eyes once more.

"You have a great purpose Elle Turner." Mava called out as Elle gazed out with confuddled eyes from underneath her sleeves.

"I-I still don't understand wise sage? What exactly is my purpose?" The blonde-haired girl inquired in a lost voice as she gulped while she fell through the seemingly endless void.

Only to find herself gazing on in amazement when visions began to rapidly flash before her disbelieving amber eyes.

Just as her mouth opened up in awe when a long line of apparitions appeared for as far as her eyes could see.

Their eyes were glowing a ghostly white that was once more sending a chill down her spine.

'What is it about those eyes that makes me feel so unsettled?' Elle thought as she swallowed nervously with her amber eyes agape in contemplation.

"The Avatar Cycle is an unnatural force that should not be." The sage stated in the young girl's ears while Elle's spellbound eyes gazed at the faces of all of the past Avatars.

"W-why shouldn't it be wise sage?" The blonde-haired girl stammered with great confusion lacing her voice while she floated through the astral plane.

While her wide eyes watched with growing unease when the phantom faces began to encircle her on all sides.

She floated backwards with her feet seemingly free falling through the endless void while a shiver began to travel down her spine.

"The Avatar is a perpetually reincarnating being that has been misdirecting the fate of humanity for ten thousand years. In order for humanity to grow the Avatar Cycle must cease to be." Mava lectured all around the teenager while Elle gazed on with stunned amber eyes.

"A perpetual force…than hinders human development…" Elle mumbled in an attentive voice with her hair blowing in her eyes while she stared on in astonishment.

"But the true threat young Component…is what dwells beyond the Avatar." The sage informed with her aged voice flowing through the air while the handmaid shook as the past Avatars surrounded her from every angle.

"W-what dwells beyond the Avatar?" The blonde-haired girl questioned in an increasingly frightened voice as she stared back at the ghostly faces of the phantoms that were enclosing around her.

She truly wished that her princess and her big sisters were hear to stand beside her.

But she knew that Azula-sama would want her to be strong.

And therefore, she resolved herself to do her best so that she can return to her princess once more.

And just like that she gazed on in rising wonderment when the astral plane flashed before her widened eyes.

Just as more specters flickered before her while she stared on with speechless awe.

And then a face from the mystic flames before her eyes once more.

It was the shadowed image of the third person from the flames that the sage told her would cause her great pain.

It was…the woman called Vega.

Haunting golden eyes now seemed to be staring right back into her own while she gulped as she floated backwards in fright.

And if she didn't know any better the woman's lips almost seemed to be curving into a horrible smile!

And then just as quickly as Vega had come, she vanished within seconds while another specter took shape before the handmaiden's frightened amber eyes.

Just as Elle staggered back with her paling hands falling to her hips while her widened eyes stared back on when she watched a pair of large wings form in the distance.

While the face of a terrifying creature with a half dragons helm covering its ghostly head now manifested before her.

All the while as two great horns now protruded from the back of the monster's helm while crimson eyes stared back into her quivering soul.

And then not a moment later she let out a scream of fright with her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates as she gazed back at the winged beast.

Only for her amber eyes to stare on in terror when the monster vanished into thin air.

Just before she suddenly felt as if she was falling once more while her hair blew wildly in her terrified eyes.

And then she saw it!

Something just as hideous lurking in the depths of the dark void!

Much of it she was unable to make out.

But the one detail that she could see clearly was a large inhuman eye!

"The Primordial One…that is what awaits beyond the Avatar." Mava responded in a mysterious voice while Elle cried out into the depths of the abyss.

"P-please take me out of here sage! I don't want to be here anymore!" Elle pleaded in a terrified voice as she plunged through the astral plane while she cowered under the gaze of the horrifying eye.

"Look deep within yourself young Component and bring out the power within." The sage advised in a mystical voice while the teenager fell through the air with her eyes wide in panic.

"B-bring out the power within?" The blonde-haired girl repeated in a dumbfounded voice as she trembled under the stare of the penetrating eye.

"Indeed, my child. And once you do…you must cut the veil that lies beyond the Avatar." Mava answered in a gruff voice while Elle fell with her amber eyes agape in wonderment.

"C-cut…the veil?" Elle stuttered with her golden hair blowing about in her awestruck amber eyes.

"The lives of your friends…your princess and everyone that you care about depend on it." The sage spoke in a wise voice while the young girl dropped through the void with her mouth hanging open in tremendous emotion.

"Nako…Zoe…Mai…Ty Lee…and Azula-sama's lives…depend on it." The blonde-haired girl murmured in a devoted voice with great emotion flashing in her amber eyes.

"Do it for them Elle…do it for your friends." Mava concluded in a grave voice while Elle's blonde hair blew before her emoting amber eyes.

"For…my friends…for my family…" Elle trailed off in a sentimental voice as she spiraled through the void with her amber eyes reflecting her loyalty to her adopted family.

And more than anything else…

Her undying allegiance to the Princess of the Fire Nation!

'I…won't let you down Azula-sama…' The blonde-haired girl thought with her hands falling at her sides while she gazed up into the seemingly endless depths of the astral plane.

And then her wide amber eyes gazed up at the ominous eye once more while a shudder ran down her spine.

Before she resolved herself with her fists clenched at her hips while her hair blew in her motivated eyes.

"I…will do it for them…for Azula-sama." Elle whispered with indescribable loyalty shimmering in her amber eyes while she fell through the air.

And not a second later a beam of white light erupted forth from her falling spirit while she gazed up with transfixed amber eyes.

And then just like that a powerful chi exploded into the depths of the astral plane!

Aang abruptly sat up from his spot on the deck of the ship with his gray eyes gazing on in alarm while a chill now ran down his spine.

While Zuko and Sokka turned to gaze at him from where they leaned on the rails in concern to see the startled expression in the Avatar's eyes.

"Something wrong Aang?" Sokka asked in a wary voice with his blue eyes on in poorly hidden worry while Aang turned to gaze at them in a panic.

"That girl Elle! I can sense her presence in the Spirit World!" Aang exclaimed with Momo perched on his shoulder while the two gazed at him in alarm.

"She's…in the Spirit World?" Zuko questioned in returning dread with a pale expression in his golden eyes.

"Yes!" The Avatar answered in an equally unnerved voice while his friends stood in an unsettled silence behind him.

"Can things possibly get any worse than this!" The tactician shouted in a dreadfully dismayed voice while the firebender shuddered beside him.

Only to receive no answer from Aang when they watched the monk slip back into meditation once more.

All the while as Zuko gazed on with horror in his wide golden eyes.

'This girl has the power to travel into the Spirit World and distort it according to her will! And she serves Azula!' The former prince thought with terror like never before brewing in his eyes while his hands fell to his sides.

By no means could he abide by the deaths of his loyal countrymen.

There was also no way that he could accept ever allowing Azula to stay in possession of such a terrible power!

Unspeakable conflict now flashed in Zuko's golden eyes while he stared out into the crashing waves with his fists balled up at his hips.

There must be some way that they can stop his sister without spilling further Fire Nation blood.

But how? That he did not know.

And then mere moments later…

The Avatar dropped through the dense void of the astral plane with his widened gray eyes making out a falling shape in the distance ahead of him.

He gazed in alarm at the girl's plummeting body just as a bright aura exploded from her spirit!

And without even giving it any further thought he propelled himself through the air while his shouts now echoed into the air.

Just as Elle turned to gaze at him through the corner of her surprised eye while her eyes widened in realization.

"Elle, I need to talk to you! Please! I beg of you! Hear me out! Azula is not who you think she is!" Aang yelled as he fell through the void with his clothes blowing in the wind while the young girl fell across from him.

The Avatar and the Component dropped through the Spirit World several feet apart from one another while they gazed back into each other's eyes.

"You can't turn me against Azula-sama Avatar! I will not betray her! She's my home!" Elle cried out with profound emotion in her loyal amber eyes while Aang stared back in utter bewilderment.

And then they fell through a mystical cloud.

While the alarmed Avatar floated opposite from her with his startled gray eyes never once leaving her face.

Just before they felt their spirits start to pull back into their physical bodies.

And in seconds their spirits began to fade from the astral plane while the distressed monk yelled out to her once again.

"Elle!" The Avatar shouted with his evaporating hand making a futile effort to grasp ahold of the vanishing girl.

Only for his fingers to slip right through the teenager's arm while her emotional amber eyes gazed up at him for one final time.

Before the two of them disappeared from the Spirit World and reemerged back into their bodies once more!

Team Azula gazed on in a speechless silence when an explosion of chi erupted from their young friend's body.

While Naoki watched from high above with her brown eyes widening in comprehension as the girl's chi exploded into the air.

'I knew it Elle! I was right all along! You have…it!' The scarlet-haired girl thought with her machinelike eyes observing the release of the younger girl's chi.

As the bright light flooded before their awestruck eyes while the old sage still held her wrinkled hand over the teenager's forehead.

While the mouths of the highborn women dropped open in disbelief.

Azula and Zoe gaped at the scene with uncharacteristic amazement in their eyes as they studied the chi bursting forth before them.

While Mai and Ty Lee stood rooted to their spots with their eyes wide in amazement.

And the others too found themselves unable to look away from the astonishing sight.

Just before Elle's amber eyes abruptly snapped wide open.

And then she sprang up from the floor while her friends stood over her in a stunned silence.

#Azula #Avatar The Last Airbender #yuri #ty lee avatar #mai avatar

0 notes

dorkforty · 7 years ago

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Art by Tom Kelly: https://tomkellyart.deviantart.com/gallery/

So it’s been a while since we did any Fantastic Four Re-Mix. A full year, in fact. What can I say? I hit a snag in the plot and let myself get tripped up on it. And I’ve always felt just slightly silly doing these things, anyway, so it seemed better to just wander off. But I re-read the earlier chapters recently, and realized that I liked them quite a bit. That lead me back in, and I had enough story left to tell that I decided to unsnarl my plot and keep going.

(And then, of course, they announced this week that they’re finally launching a new Fantastic Four book this summer. So I figured that, if I was going to finish this thing, I needed to go ahead and do it.)

But like I said… It’s been a while. So I suppose some explanations are in order. If this is your first time encountering the Fantastic Four Remix, for instance, I’m sure you have some questions…

WHAT IS IT? A far-more-complicated-than-I-imagined working-through of some ideas I had to relaunch the Fantastic Four from scratch, in the present-day.

WHY WOULD ANYONE DO SUCH A THING? Because I love the Fantastic Four. And since there hasn’t been an FF book in a while, I figured I might as well fill the gap.

WHY NOT JUST WRITE STORIES THEN, YOU FREAK? Because I had a lot of ground I wanted to cover, and wasn’t willing to devote that much time to writing characters I don’t own without getting paid for it. I love my readers, but I don’t love them THAT much.

IF YOU REALLY LOVED US, YOU’D WRITE MORE FUNNYBOOK REVIEWS! Piss off! I’m just having fun here, okay?! Gahd! Get off my back!

ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. SO WHERE COULD I READ THE REST OF THIS NONSENSE? IF I WAS INTERESTED? WHICH I’M NOT. Nope. Sorry. Not gonna tell ya. You were rude.

OH FOR GOD’S SAKE! I’M SORRY, OKAY? I’D REALLY LIKE TO READ THEM. IF ONLY TO SEE HOW STUPID YOU ARE. Well… Okay. Previous chapters of the FF Remix can be found here:

https://dorkforty.wordpress.com/tag/fantastic-four-remix/

ALRIGHT, THEN! Alright!

Ahem. Sorry about that. These new readers can be SO touchy. For the rest of you, though…

WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: Oh, lots of stuff. I am nothing if not a complicated plotter. To really steep yourself in all the various details, you’d have to go back and read the whole thing. I’ll try to fill in background where I can, but here’s a rough overall picture to get you started:

Reed Richards put together a team for a mission to explore the Negative Zone: Ben Grimm (pilot)! Johnny Storm (mechanic)! Susan Storm (the journalist who tells their story to the world)! But upon arrival, they collided with an alien artifact and were bombarded with THE POWER COSMIC! This gave them their familiar powers as the Fantastic Four. They uncover a SECRET INVASION plot by the shape-shifting alien SKRULL, which is an on-going subplot. Reed’s friendly rival VICTOR VON DOOM hires the team to test his experimental TIME PLATFORM, and in the process, Ben becomes Blackbeard (dubbed THINGBEARD by Johnny)…

…an incident that’s still echoing through the story now. Doom is a continuing character in the Re-Mix, a villainous foil to the team, ala John Bryne’s Lex Luthor. He has an on-going scheme to wrest control of Latveria from the tyrannical regime that killed his gypsy family, and a growing suspicion that the FF represent a dangerous threat to mankind that must be eliminated. Likewise, PRINCE NAMOR the SUBMARINER is a continuing character, a noble-but-arrogant anti-hero type who has until recently been romancing Sue. As in the original story, he was discovered as a wandering amnesiac, who’d been missing since the end of World War II. But he’s since found lost Atlantis, saved it from the barbarian Attuma, and been rejected as their monarch (they adopted democracy in his absence). He’s currently serving as Atlantis’ ambassador to the UN, and is romantically entangled with the Lady Dorma.

Re-Mix Dorma is the former consort of Attuma, a fierce barbarian woman tossed aside in favor of “soft Atlantean women” when Attuma conquered Atlantis. She helped Namor defeat him, and has since been wrapped up in a quadrangle of sorts with Reed, Sue, and Namor (weird romance having become an unexpected theme of the Re-Mix). That’s all ended recently, and Reed and Sue are finally starting to look like they might get together after all (though throwing roadblocks in front of that inevitable relationship has been perversely pleasing, and I’m not quite done doing it yet).

But, Dorma. I’ve been struggling to find a decent image that matched the slightly unearthly look I wanted for her (and the Atlanteans in general), but here’s a Photoshop job I stumbled across recently that does a fair job of it. I couldn’t find reference to the artist, unfortunately. But the eyes are really striking, I think:

At any rate.

In recent issues, the Thing was captured by THE INHUMANS, who want to put him on trial for the murder of a crew of Inhuman scouts back during the THINGBEARD INCIDENT. That murder didn’t happen, however, so the rest of the team freed him, causing incredible strife within the Inhuman ruling class in the process, and then escaped from the SECRET CITY OF ATILLAN with the queen’s little sister CRYSTAL in tow. They were pursued by KARNAK and GORGON, but then there was a whole huge incident with the newly-awakened FIN FANG FOOM, and everybody teamed up to deal with it. In the aftermath, Karnak shook Ben’s hand… AND SPLIT HIM IN HALF WITH THE DEADLY ONE-INCH PUNCH! Quickly teleporting out with the aid of Lockjaw, Karnak informed the team that they were welcome to offer up a defense of Ben at his trial, in one week’s time. And that’s where we pick the story up now…

ARC FOURTEEN: THE TRIAL OF THE THING!

This will be a two-pronged arc, with one side giving a more realistic picture of Inhuman society as Crystal and Johnny return to Attilan to prepare for Ben’s trial, and the other following Reed and Sue as they search for evidence of what happened to the Inhuman scouts. But first…

PART ONE: INTERLUDE

After the all-out action of the last story arc, we take an issue to catch up with the supporting cast and our various subplots:

When last we saw Frankie Raye (Johnny Storm’s girlfriend/rival on the outlaw racing circuit)…

…she’d had a drunken make-out session with rival driver Tura. Frankie broke it off before things got too heavy, but she’s still a little shaken up by it. For one thing, she’s surprised at herself for showing such loyalty to Johnny. I mean, they’re just havin’ some fun, right? RIGHT? Hurm. Heading to the garage the next morning, she hopes to commiserate with her BFF/mechanic Wyatt Wingfoot, but instead walks in on him in the aftermath of a night of passion with Jean-Paul Valley, driver for the Northern Lights racing team (who, in another world, is the mutant super hero Northstar). This is primarily a comedic scene, but Frankie’s confusion and frustration plays off Johnny’s increasing infatuation with Crystal, setting up the inevitable triangle.

Meanwhile, Namor sponsors the Latverian rebels in their bid to be recognized by the UN. It’s a controversial choice, considering Namor’s attack on the country’s legal government alongside Latverian expatriate Dr. Doom. But Namor handles the situation with an uncharacteristic elegance, explaining that his attack is what first brought the rebels’ plight to his attention. “My actions were misguided, based on poor intelligence about a Latverian attack on Atlantis. But the Hammerfell government is tyrannical nonetheless. And just as we in Atlantis have learned to embrace democracy, I believe that the Latverian people deserve the same chance.”

Alicia Masters (blind sculptress, lady friend of the Thing, and possible Skrull) gets a visit from her father Phillip (aka the Puppet Master, a famous stage puppeteer, and a secret Skrull agent).

As he promised he would, Phillip asks Alicia if she’d have a word with the FF about making a public appearance with Gabriel (charismatic evangelist and anti-Skrull activist). Alicia looks suspicious (“Dad, what are you up to?!”), but he assures her it’s all on the up and up. “Nobody wants the Skrull off Earth more than me, honey. You know that.” The two of them exchange a meaningful look, but Alicia remains ill at ease.

Of course, WE know that Masters only met with Gabriel to give his psychoactive clay time to bond, so that he could make a puppet of the man, under orders from the Skrull high command. But Alicia evidently does not. How much she knows or doesn’t know is – hopefully – the subject of much reader speculation at this point.

We also get back to the mysterious Men in Black (who’ve been going around asking questions about the FF for purposes unknown). Somewhere in the American Midwest, the dark-haired Man in Black (the one who seems to disapprove of the team) approaches a tidy home in a small town. The name on the mailbox reads “Grimm.” A sturdily-built elderly woman answers the door. Tall, with steel-gray hair, she’s a handsome woman in spite of her age (think Big Barda as somebody’s grandma). She’s wearing a leather workman’s apron, with a pair of leather gloves tucked into the waist and a pair of safety goggles resting on her head. “Miss Petunia Grimm? I’d like to ask you some questions about your nephew…”

CUT back to Namor, relaxing in his chambers with Dorma after his speech. He expresses distaste with it. “Embracing Democracy,” it seems, is not really something he’s very interested in. Dorma (ever conniving) soothes him, reassuring him that the deception, though necessary for diplomacy, will only be temporary. “If Doom can really deliver on his promises, darling, you’ll be back on the throne again soon. And then you need never worry about lying again.” They kiss, but their embrace is interrupted by a call from Hong Kong. Namor’s annoyance turns to shock, however, when hears a voice he never thought he’d hear again: his cousin Namora, ruler of the Atlantean splinter city of Pacifica, and protector of the Pacific Rim!

(She was introduced in the Fin Fang Foom arc, but that’s wwaaayy too complicated to explain here.)

The issue closes on Dr. Doom, watching news coverage of Namor’s UN speech from multiple different international sources, to gauge world-wide reaction to his scheme. His phone rings (though a phone seems like an awfully prosaic device for Doom to be using – maybe it’s some kind of cell access built into his mask?). It’s his lawyers, telling him that his strategy for dealing with the charges against him for his part in Namor’s attack on Latveria (long story) has worked. There are a few details left to clean up, but it looks like he’ll walk away clean. Pleased, Doom turns to a computer screen and opens a document labeled “Time Drone Analytics: Latverian Overthrow Stage Two.” His reverie is interrupted, however, by an unexpected visit from Reed Richards and Susan Storm!

REED: “We need your Time Platform, Victor! Lives may depend on it!”

TO BE CONTINUED!!

TWO: HOMECOMING

This issue deals with Crystal and Johnny, returning to Attilan to prepare for the trial. Its events take place over the course of a week, as they get things in order and await Reed and Sue’s return, hopefully with evidence that will clear the Thing.

It’s an awkward homecoming for Crystal; when she fled the city with the FF, she flouted generations of cultural tradition, and abandoned her duty to Inhuman society, as well (she was betrothed to Triton, Lord of the Undersea, and Black Bolt’s only equal). If it weren’t for Karnak’s judgment of her moral superiority in the Fin Fang Foom incident, she might be tossed in a cell upon her return. But Karnak’s word holds much sway, and so she is tolerated, if not welcomed back with open arms. Her sister Medusa, in particular, treats her coldly.

Visual Note: I haven’t found many Inhumans redesigns I liked all that much, but here’s a Crystal design I stumbled across that I do like. It’s alien, but still attractive, and the pose gives her a bit more fire to boot:

It’s through these various conflicts that we gain a more balanced view of Inhuman society. Black Bolt is far from the tyrant he seemed in the first Inhumans arc. He actually rules wisely and justly, and is beloved by his people. Gorgon is revealed as a melancholy poet, rather than the brute he pretended to be in pursuit of the FF. And Karnak… His final attack on the Thing has filled him with guilt and (worse for a man of his station and abilities) doubt. He spends every minute in deep meditation, emerging only to tend Ben’s wounds.

Ben, for his part, is doing as well as can be expected. After the attack, he’s undergone a shocking physical change: his rocky outer shell having been split in half by Karnak, his body shed it like a crushed fingernail, revealing a soft “nail bed” beneath. His exposed flesh is reddish-orange and very sensitive to touch. Inhuman medicine has helped as much as possible, but he’s still obviously quite uncomfortable. He faces it with a surprising humor, however, and little of the self-pity that’s haunted him since his transformation. Over the course of the week, he endears himself to many in Attilan, and eventually confesses to Johnny that he feels comfortable there. “For once, I’m not the ugliest guy in the room.”

Part of Ben’s change stems from the time he spends with Karnak. He applies healing unguents to Ben’s sensitive flesh, his abilities allowing him to apply the medications with only the slightest discomfort. But he also teaches Ben some of his meditative techniques, teaching him how to mentally overcome the pain, and in the process, helps him find peace within himself. (Note: this is a good opportunity for some cool trippy visuals. Specifically, some of Ben’s meditations could be built around the patterns of the Thing’s rocky hide.)

Meanwhile, Medusa, Crystal, and Johnny travel with Lockjaw to contact and gather witnesses. Black Bolt (speaking, as always, through Medusa) places a strict limit on the number of outsiders allowed into Attilan, however, and vetoes any of Ben’s military buddies, arguing that agents of human governments would be beholden to reveal Attilan’s existence to their superiors. That leaves them with three options: Alicia Masters, Ben Baxter (builder/owner of the Baxter Building, and mentor to Reed), and (gathered at Ben’s suggestion) his Aunt Petunia. Alicia and Petunia come immediately, with the others agreeing to testify on the day of the trial.

We see Johnny and Crystal grow closer through all of this. His attraction is obvious, and he makes her laugh in a situation that’s otherwise very difficult for her. Triton (to whom Crystal is still technically betrothed) stands between them, making Johnny reluctant to act on his feelings. But Triton hasn’t been seen in the upper city since the confrontation in Black Bolt’s throne room, and Crystal hasn’t attempted to contact him. Her desire for freedom has only intensified since her Terrigenesis, her emotions coming more and more to mirror the tempestuousness of her elemental powers. Eventually, as the week is winding down, she makes the first move. They kiss… And are interrupted by Medusa.

In a cold fury, she informs them that, even though Reed and Sue have not returned, the trial will go on as scheduled. And Crystal has been assigned to speak for the defense.

TO BE CONTINUED!!

THREE: PLUNDER

So where the hell are Reed and Sue? The next two issues answer that question.

We open with the two of them, and Dr. Doom, preparing for a jaunt into THINGBEARD TIMES to discover the fate of the Inhuman pirates Ben is accused of murdering. They’re dressed in clothing appropriate to the era, with Doom in his more subdued “Phantom of the Opera” style mask (Re-Mix Doom has several different costume variations to suit various social situations), and a few subtle accouterments that function like his full armor, but at only a fraction of the full suit’s power level.

(I’m told these are props from one of the bad FF movies, but they give you the general idea.)

He’s also improved his Time Platform since the last time we saw it, moving on from the prototype to something more streamlined and easier to control. He’s agreed to let them use it, but only on the condition that he himself goes with them, to ensure that they do nothing to alter history… “this time.”

(In flashback, we see how Reed and Sue got from Hong Kong to New York so quickly: they hitched a ride with Aged Genghis, who transported them magically back to the Baxter Building. When they thank him for his aid, he just smiles a vacant smile and says, “Anything for Wise Grimm.” Then he disappears in a puff of smoke.)

And so they’re off! Reed has brought along a sensor device that he’s attuned to detect Terrigen energies, which he hopes to use to find the Inhuman ship and its cargo. But first, they need some idea of where to start looking. That trail begins with the historical Blackbeard, Edward Teach (who capitalized on the fear surrounding the Thingbeard Incident to take the name for himself). Teach has no idea where the Inhuman crew is, but he gives them the name of another pirate who might: Lord Plunder, who’s most likely to be found across the Atlantic along the Gold Coast of Africa.

(Plunder is, of course, a long-standing Marvel name. If you want to assume this guy’s an ancestor of Ka-Zar, I’m not gonna stop you.)

They find Plunder freshly-returned from a trip to the Savage Land, selling live velociraptors to the highest bidder. They attend the auction, hoping to use it as an in to get information out of Plunder. Reed places bids (much to Doom’s chagrin – that could alter history, after all). But luckily, he’s outbid by… THE BLACK PANTHER! This is our first glimpse of the Panther, an ancestor of the modern-day T’Challa (who we’ll see in a later arc). He uses the raptors to destroy a slave port and free some captured Wakandans. Our Heroes get swept up in that action, aiding the Panther, but being helpless to stop the carnage he unleashes in the attack. Once that’s resolved, Plunder tells them what he knows. He has done business with the Inhuman crew in the past, but last he knew, they were heading round the Cape of Good Hope and back up toward Singapore.

An aside: Among Plunder’s crew is a Savage Land native who bears a striking resemblance to Reed’s mother. Reed (who spent time in the Savage Land when his parents took him there as a child) speaks to her in her own language, asking about her heritage. She tells him that her grandparents came to the Savage Land mysteriously one day, and disappeared just as mysteriously when she was a child. And Reed, she says, looks a lot like her grandfather… (TO BE CONTINUED!!)

(Note: Other Marvel Comics pirates who could be in Plunder’s crew: Patience Drew (aka the Queen of Spiders) Jebediah Fate (an immortal) Long John McGurk (a stranded space alien) Raza Longknife (another stranded alien, posing as a Pacific Islander) Jim Spliny, Black Mike, Maura Hawke, Slug McCarthy, Fredric Falkon, Heinrich Von Grubb

Most of these would just be easter eggs, names assigned to various background characters. But since I crawled down an interweb rabbit hole to get them, I thought I should share.)

FOUR: SHIPWRECKED

Plunder’s information leads Our Heroes to the South Pacific, and the Terrigen detector leads them to the future Monster Island, where they find the Inhuman ship run aground. There’s no sign of life, or of the ship’s Terrigen cargo.

Reed, Sue, and Doom split up to search the island for clues. Reed heads immediately to the volcano at the island’s center, and confirms his suspicions: the Terrigen has already been dumped inside. Searching for the cave the team found in the last storyline, he also finds the dormant Fin Fang Foom slumbering in peace, the Terrigen’s mutagenic effects not yet birthing monsters from his flesh.

Doom, meanwhile, finds a survivor of the shipwreck in the jungle. He’s just finished covering up a mass grave, in which he’s buried the bodies of his fellow crewmen. Delirious and half-crazed, he tells Doom the story of how the ship came to be there. They were caught up in a vicious storm, the worst any of them had ever seen. Conditions were so bad that communications with Attilan became impossible, and they feared they might be lost at sea. Struggling to keep afloat, they were then set upon by an armored warrior who came out of the storm itself and slaughtered everyone. This lone survivor lived only because he was pulled overboard during the attack, and brought to the island. He was delirious through much of the experience, but he claims that his benefactor was the man who helped them retrieve the Terrigen cargo in America: Benjamin J. Grimm, the man they dubbed Blackbeard!

Because, again, I can’t post this picture enough.

Elsewhere, Sue explores the wreck of the ship. Using her ability to make other things invisible, she looks around for secret compartments, or even just things they might have overlooked on their quick initial search. After poking around a bit, she finds the ship’s log tucked away in the captain’s quarters. It confirms the FF’s departure (Reed coming off far worse than Ben), then reveals the same story just told to Doom, but (crucially) ending before the arrival of the armored warrior. She finds a knapsack among the captain’s gear, puts the book in it, and is about to leave, but stops when she hears something. Turning toward what appears to be an ordinary part of the ship’s hull, she reaches out to make it invisible. We don’t see what’s inside, but she gasps as we…

CUT to the jungle, where Doom pumps the pirate for more information. But, exhausted from his exertions and nearly dead from exposure, he instead collapses into Doom’s arms. Doom lowers him to the ground and, holding him in a soothing manner, calmly snaps the pirate’s neck.

CUT back to Sue as she exits the ship, carrying the knapsack, but nothing else. She seems pensive, but none the worse for wear. Reed’s arriving on the beach at the same time, and, brandishing the bag, Sue tells him that she thinks she’s found what they need to clear Ben. Doom, however, is nowhere to be found.

CUT to Doom, emerging from the Time Platform back in his Time Lab in the present. Stepping calmly to a computer console, he begins reviewing records of previous time jaunts, revealing that he was the one who killed the Inhuman crew! He was positive, in fact, that he’d gotten them all. But his review of the tapes reveals something he’d missed in the heat of the battle: a scaly orange hand pulling one cowering pirate overboard, and away from Doom’s wrath.

“Grimm,” he says. “Obviously more resourceful than I gave him credit for.”

He pauses, thinking. Weighing his options. Then he goes over to the Time Platform control panel, and cuts the tether to Reed and Sue.

CUT to the two of them on the beach, at the exact moment we last saw them. Suddenly, they’re ripped out of spacetime, screaming in a psychedelic void.

TO BE CONTINUED!!

FIVE: MADNESS

A Few Words on Inhuman Justice: In a society that regularly spawns psychics and empaths, it strikes me that trials would work a bit differently. The truth of any testimony could be determined on the spot. But because memory is faulty, truth is relative. Two different people can testify to the same events, tell different stories, and both be truthful according to how they remember things happening. So the Inhumans depend on something I’m calling “Psychic Forensics.” A jury of psychic sensitives listens to testimony from as large a pool of witnesses as possible, and collates all the various stories into one narrative that’s then accepted as truth. Hard evidence trumps this, of course, and the arguments of the prosecution and defense can help shape these narratives, as well. But in a case like Ben’s, where there is no hard evidence due to the great length of time that’s passed, testimonial truth is enough to convict.

That would seem to make this a simple matter, then. Both Ben and Johnny were there when Reed forcibly removed Ben from the Inhuman ship, when the crew was still very much alive. But things are more complicated than they appear…

(Storytelling Note: We get varying degrees of detail on all testimony, seeing it filtered through the lens of the psychic jury. This allows for some trippy visuals (always a good thing), but also for us to avoid going into too much detail about things the reader already knows. So it’s conveyed through snippets of dialogue, flashback, and warped, hazy remembrances shaded by each speaker’s own perspective.)

The trial begins at dawn. Black Bolt serves as judge, with Medusa as prosecutor, and Crystal on defense. Karnak sits at the head of the jury, vigilant for flaws in their understanding of events. The prosecution goes first, establishing their case against the accused, leaving the defense to argue against once the case has been laid out.

Medusa opens by calling Ben and Johnny to the stand. They testify to their leaving the ship, and are found to be telling the truth. But Medusa seems unperturbed, and presses on to establish Ben’s history of violence, arguing that he is not always in his right mind, or in complete control of his own actions.

Petunia fills in some childhood background on Ben. She raised him from around age 10, when his parents were killed in a car accident. Young Ben struggled with depression and anger throughout his adolescence, constantly getting into fights and becoming increasingly aggressive before finally finding an outlet for it in football. Johnny and Bob Baxter pick up the narrative with the Breach Craft team, and Ben’s history as The Thing, with Medusa emphasizing his erratic behavior throughout.

She finishes this line of questioning with Ben’s most recent rampage, when he was (unknown to anyone) under the control of the Puppet Master. Ben himself testifies to that incident, and his memory of it is fractured and hazy. He remembers only parts of it, and in those memories he’s like a spectator to his own actions, watching impassively while his body does things of its own accord.

We give special focus to Karnak during this testimony. Something is troubling him, but he’s not quite sure what. Everyone else, though, is shaken. The team’s been buffeted from adventure to adventure so much since this last rampage that none of them have taken time to really think about it. But when it’s laid out like this… There’s clearly something wrong with him. Even Ben himself starts to wonder if he’s too unstable to be allowed to roam free.

Her argument having been rather convincingly made, Medusa then closes the first day of the trial by lowering the boom: her ally Victor Von Doom (who, like Reed and Sue, is unavailable for testimony) has given her Time Drone video footage, which she shows to the court. It mirrors that of the footage we saw at the end of last issue, with the Inhuman ship in the midst of a terrible storm. But instead of Doom slaughtering the crew, it’s Ben!

This, Medusa argues, is incontrovertible proof. Not that Ben killed their scouts during the Thingbeard Incident, but that he WILL do so, in some future time jaunt rampage that’s yet to happen. The question before the court, then, is not one of guilt or innocence. It’s whether they will execute him for crimes he has yet to commit, or prevent him from committing them in the first place, by simply imprisoning him in Attilan… forever!

SIX: REVELATIONS

We pick up the night after Medusa’s devastating prosecution argument. The first day of the trial has ended with things not looking good for Ben. Alicia tries to comfort him, but he’s fallen into despair. He no longer trusts his own sanity, and tells her to leave. “I might hurt ya, baby, and not even know it. So scram. Get outta here. Go back to New York and forget you ever knew me.” But she’s not having any of it. She knew the risk when she started dating him, and honestly kind of likes it. “So you don’t get to push me away, you big orange bastard. Not over this.”

CUT to Crystal’s chambers. Medusa comes for a visit, and they have it out over Crystal’s abandonment of her duty to Attilan (and Triton) over what Medusa calls “lust for a pretty young human boy.” Crystal bristles at that (visual note: her elemental powers flare up around her dramatically when she gets mad), but ultimately Medusa’s concern is well-intended. She doesn’t want to see her sister become an outcast because of a youthful indiscretion. They part on better terms, but Crystal is left confused and upset. She doesn’t want to marry Triton, but should she really throw her lot in with a bunch of outsiders because of that? She worries about her sympathies in her upcoming defense, as we…

CUT to Karnak, deep in meditation once again, replaying Ben’s testimony in his head with the aid of an elderly Inhuman named RANDAC the ORACLE, an experienced and highly-skilled psychic. Karnak doesn’t believe that Ben was lying, but he noticed something, and its exact nature escaped him. But now, with Randac’s aid, he spots it: a flash of something, just as Ben is talking about blacking out in advance of his last rampage.

Visual note: the “flash” could be expressed as a very narrow panel, showing a sliver of whatever it is he gets the impression of, but not enough to identify it. They continue working to uncover it, through the night and all the way until…

DAWN! Though Karnak has sent word that he is unable to serve with the jury, the trial continues, and Crystal begins her defense. She starts by casting doubt on Doom’s video. Johnny testifies to the bad intelligence Doom gave Namor (which caused Namor’s ill-advised attack on Latveria), and Baxter reveals Doom’s threat to “deal with” the FF if he ever deemed them too dangerous to live. “Without this man here to submit to questioning, the truth of his work can’t be confirmed! So can we really condemn Benjamin Grimm to death for a crime that even the prosecution admits he has not yet committed?”

CUT to Karnak, zeroing in, the narrow flash panel getting wider… wider… but still not wide enough.

BACK to the courtroom! Crystal cites Ben’s many acts of heroism, and explains the torment his transformation has caused him (something the Inhumans, whose entire culture is built around such transformations, don’t really understand at all). Johnny and Bob Baxter act as character witnesses, guided now to discuss Ben’s positive qualities. They admit to Ben’s instability, but stress the great good he’s done, and can still do. This terrible future – if that video does, indeed, show the future – can still be averted with the support of friends and advisors, and a woman who loves him.

That’s Alicia’s cue to take the stand, and she gives eloquent testimony to Ben’s heroic soul. Even Medusa seems moved by it. In the background, we see an Inhuman court official conducting a genetic scan on her (as he’s done for every other witness), looking first puzzled, and eventually alarmed. Just as she finishes her speech, the Gene Lord leaps to his feet, and makes a shocking proclamation: “THIS WOMAN IS A SKRULL!”

CUT to Karnak. Finally, something clicks, and the flash panel stands fully revealed: it’s Alicia’s first statue of Ben!

BACK to the courtroom! Alicia tells her story. Sent to Earth as a far advance scout decades ago, Phillip Masters (the Puppet Master) settled, married a human woman, and gave birth to a daughter: Alicia herself. Her parents kept her father’s true nature from her until she hit puberty, when her Skrull genes began to manifest. Full shape-shifting isn’t possible for her, but she can slightly alter her form by shifting mass from one part of her body to another. It’s useful for retrieving things she’s dropped into tight spaces (and for her love life with Ben), but otherwise it’s not something she even thinks about very much. As far as she’s concerned, she’s human.

She knows nothing of the Skrull beyond that. As far as she knows, her father severed ties with his people after she was born, and hasn’t worked for them since. She doesn’t know the details, but he’s told her not to worry. His loyalty lies with her, and her loyalty lies with Earth. The jury verifies the truth of her statements, but the revelation still unsettles the courtroom. Alicia looks plaintively at Ben, but his expression is impossible to read.

Black Bolt signals for a recess, but before court can adjourn, there’s a flash of energy as a portal opens in the center of the room. Out of it step an elderly Reed Richards and Susan Storm, dressed in primitive tribal garb, and seeming to have aged 40 years since their departure. With them is a strange young woman, tall and thin, with pale green skin and bulbous black eyes. Reed is holding a device that looks like a modified version of one of Doom’s Time Platform remotes. He turns a dial on it, then looks around and smiles. “We made it, Sue! We finally made it!”

The portal collapses behind them, and Sue steps forward, holding the knapsack she collected from the Inhuman pirate ship. “Lord Black Bolt. We apologize for our tardiness. There were… difficulties on the road. But we have important information for the court!”

TO BE CONTINUED!!

And that, believe it or not, concludes The Trial of the Thing. Yes, there are still issues to be resolved. But the story goes somewhere else for a while first, so that’s what we’ll deal with next time. For now, though, all we’re left with are…

ARC FOURTEEN NOTES

The long break between posts masks this somewhat, but I’m slightly concerned that I may be giving the audience “adventure fatigue.” I very much wanted to emulate the great Steve Ditko Dr. Strange run through this part of the Re-Mix, with its string of endless cliffhangers, new creations, and excitement. But readers eventually need an ending, and we’re now roughly 26 issues into never-ending adventure. Seriously. We’ve gone from the introduction of the Frightful Four (6 issues) to the introduction of the Inhumans (6 issues) to Fin Fang Foom (8 issues) to the trial (6 issues), with each arc rolling right into the next, and the only true resolution being the defeat of Foom.

Even I’m getting tired at this point, which may be an additional reason I stalled out on the series last year. So I think it may be time to wrap things up a bit. I still have a good bit of story left to tell before I’m done with my ideas for the Re-Mix, but it might be wise to have some clear beginning-middle-and-end arcs before we launch off into the grand finale.

(An aside: I just went back and did a rough issue count for the Re-Mix to date. This arc takes us up to issue 82! Insanity! I had originally thought this might take around 100 issues total, but I’ve got enough for another 50, easy. More, if I explore a few half-formed side concepts along the way. Hmm. Maybe I should go for 200 instead. Hmm…)

One last thing: In re-reading the previous installments of this series, I became acutely aware that I haven’t focused enough on Sue. I have to keep reminding myself that she’s our narrator, so we’re getting her perspective on everything as we go. But I had this idea at the outset that she would become more self-confident as time went on, and that her powers would grow accordingly. But she doesn’t even have her force fields yet! So I need to give her some attention. And soon.

But speaking of the future…

In Our Next Exciting Episode: Adventures in Time and Introspection! Past Peace and Future War! Politics! Wakanda! Plus… INFINITE THINGBEARD!

Fantastic Four Re-Mix, Part Seven: The Trial of the Thing! So it's been a while since we did any Fantastic Four Re-Mix. A full year, in fact.

#comic books #Crystal #Dr Doom #fan fiction #Fantastic Four #Fantastic Four Remix #Inhumans #Lord Plunder #Namor #The Thing #Thingbeard

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paradox-oflife · 5 years ago

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q and a part 6 pls ignore

1. Who was your favourite teacher at school and why? My 9th grade Lit teacher. She was the kindest soul I’ve ever met.

2. Whats your favourite party game? I LOVE MAFIA. I’m not talking about basic mafia. You gotta play upgraded versions. I personally love playing one called One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I also like playing the law version which is made for super big groups - There’s police involved, and they choose the mafia. The person accused can hire lawyers who defend them. The police have to present their reasoning, and the lawyers have to figure out how to prove them wrong. God it’s basically Danganronpa isn’t it.

3. Is it acceptable or unacceptable to smack a child as form of discipline? Now this is controversial, and understandably so. I personally would never hit my child and yell at them. But for other people, if it’s a light smack, like a pat, I guess it’s alright. But otherwise nothing harder than that.

4. Can a hetrosexual male ever wear pink? Um, yes??? Do what you want man.

5. Is it criminal to wear socks with sandals? Listen I’ve seen too many people wear these in public to the point where I’m numb to it.

6. If you were captain of a ship, what would you call it? Make it an obscure video game reference or an inside joke.

7. If you were to join an emergency service which would it be? Probably the medical side of things, like an EMT. Or a firefighter. EMT’s go through a lot of pressure.

8. If you were to join one of the armed forced which would it be? Maybe coast guard. But I really would not want to join the military. I’m too sensitive. If people yell at me I’d probably cry lol. And there’s the colorblind test.

9. Whats the worst thing about being your gender? Periods. And the pain of child birth. Also how it’s scary to walk alone at night sometimes.

10. Whats the best thing about being your gender? Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone, but I feel like sometimes the friendships girls have are more emotional than boys.

11. If you swapped genders for a day how would you spend it? Honestly? Just observe my body. Not in a sexual manner but like, how does it feel like to not have boobs? How does it feel to have a dick???

12. If you were exiled what country would you choose as your new home? I’m moving back to New Zealand lol. I already have a passport and family there. Or maybe Canada if I don’t want a big culture difference

13. Have you ever made someone cry? Yeah :( Not through verbal attack though. I accidentally kicked a football into a girl’s face.

14. Have you ever starred in a school play? In the first elementary school I went to, it was mandatory to do a play. So yes. Three, actually.

15. Were you a member of any celebrity fanclub? Nope

16. Have you ever been a member of any other club? Yes! Animal Services and Protection, CSF (volunteering stuff), Martial Arts

17. If you could have a full scholarship to any university what would you choose to study? The university I’m going to rn

18. Whats been your greatest ever day? I have a lot. One of my favorites was going to an amusement park at the end of middle school. Had a blast.

19. What historical period would you like to live in if you could go back in time? Hmm... Maybe during the Age of Enlightment?

20. What would you bring along to an idillic picnic? My friends, no phones, music, and a sandwich.

21. Whats your favourite childrens story? Does Harry Potter count? I guess not really. When i was little I loved Geronimo Stilton LMAO

22. What movie ending really frustrated you? And how would you change it? The Mist. I mean, it frustrated me not because it was bad, but because it was so FRUSTRATING.

23. What three things do you think of most each day? Now we’re in quarantine, “I wonder how my friends are doing?” “What am I doing with my life?” “Will life be the same?”

24. What do you call your evening meal? Dinner Tea or Supper? Dinner

25. What do you call your after meal sweet? Pudding or Dessert? Dessert. I usually just have a fruit

26. If you had a warning label, what would yours say? “Warning! Certified Grade A Clown!”

27. Have you ever got sweet revenge on anyone? Can’t really think of one

28. Have you ever been to a live concert? aaaah no i really want to though

29. Have you ever been to see stand up comedy? It was a long time ago on a cruise. It was pretty funny :D

30. Have you ever needed stitches? Yup. If you observe closely, you can see a faint scar near my eye. If it was a bit more obvious I’d look like an anime villain lol

31. If you could invent brand new baby names what would they be? LMAO imagine naming your child like, Fire Emblem names. “Hi yes this is my baby, um, his name is Chrom”

32. Do your dreams ever tell you to do anything? I have the most bizarre dreams. They’re super vivid. They range from me summoning tornados, to me being killed in some Danganronpa world. I dreamed of a school shooting once and a couple days later some other school in my state had a shooting

33. Who's your favourite radio 1 DJ? I don’t really listen to radio lol

34. Whats the best way to your heart? Be a good person. Have good morals.

35. Do you know your own mobile phone number off by heart? Um yes???

36. If you were a fashion designer, what style of clothing or accessories would you design? Just comfortable hoodies that don’t change when you wash it.

37. Do you ever laugh at things you shouldn't? I laugh when I’m nervous. Like I go like, “hahahawhat the hell”. I also laugh when I’m shocked.

38. Have you ever been in a submarine? Yes! But it wasn’t underwater.

39. Have you ever walked out of a cinema before the film was done? Nope.

40. What song would you say best sums you up? Eeeh i can’t decide but Read my Mind by the Killers. Their music video. When he’s twitching his arms, but he’s acting like everything’s fine.

41. Do you have any old friends would wish you could meet up with again? Yeah :( I had a super super close friend from 4th grade and we slowly drifted apart. By the time of high school we just stopped. I want to be friends with her again :((( I really miss her

42. Whats your favourite Nursery Rhyme? Idk... ring around a rosy maybe just because the context of the lyrics lol

43. Do you prefer metric or imperial measurements? Of course I’d take metric over imperial, but I’m used to it by now.

44. Who's your favourite monarch of all time?Queen Elizabeth I

45. What was the last thing you ate? These Asian things called Zong Zi in Chinese. I’m pretty sure like every country has their own version of it lol/

46. Whats your favourite farmyard animal? I love baby chickens but cows for me I guess

47. If you could choose one celebrity to be the father/mother of your child who would it be? Just someone who’s caring. Tyler Joseph

48. What would you do if someone proposed to you tomorrow? If it’s someone I like, then I’d freak out. Because I’m way too young for it.

49. What are your 3 favourite internet sites? Reddit, youtube, and uh... tumblr or wikipedia. I use tumblr mobile way often

50. How high can you jump? Never measured but definitely not that high

51. Which fictional character do you wish was real? aw man i would say a character but then that would imply their universe exists

52. Who was your first crush? PHFFT IT WAS probably Marshall Lee from the genderbent episodes of Adventure Time.

53. Whats the greatest thing about being your nationality? The food

54. Whats the least greatest thing about being your nationality? Having to explain the difference between Taiwan and China. Like. It’s understandable.

55. Do you believe in destiny, fate or free will? I kinda correlate destiny with fate. It’s a bit paradoxical. We have free will to do whatever we want, but whatever choice you make will end up being your “destiny”

56. If you could talk to one species of animal which would it be? Dogs. They just seem so happy all the time. I want to tell my dog I love him so much.

57. If you had friends round what DVD's would you have to watch? Mean Girls, Heathers, Legally Blonde, or Daria

58. Do you like vanilla or chocolate? Vanilla>>> fight me

59. Are you a giver or a receiver? Both

60. Do you have any enemies? Yeah. Me.

61. Are you scared of needles? YES YES YES

62. How many piercings do you have? Nah I was going to get my ears pierced a while ago but something came up so ever since I’ve jsut haven’t gotten it done

63. Have you ever got majorly lost trying to get somewhere? yes it was scary. Had to use google maps because I have a terrible sense of direction

64. How fast can you say the alphabet? 4 seconds

65. Do you say "Zee" or "Zed" to describe the letter Z? Zee

66. What was the last thing to make you feel happy? My dog fell asleep at my feet and I couldn’t move for the past hour but I love him

67. What was the last thing to make you feel angry? A friend of mine. I love her and all but she takes a week to respond to my texts. And I’m tired of waiting.

68. You are walking to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss told you if you are late one more time you're fired. Do you save the dog? Okay realistically I immediately call animal control or the nearest vet or something. But in some alternate universe I’d take pictures as proof, grab the dog, then get it out.

69. Are you the kind of friend you'd want to have as a friend yourself? I perceive myself as a not so great person. But my friends perceive me as a good person. So yeah. i mean, I might not text first sometimes but if smoeone texted me I’d always respond asap!

70. Do you have any questions or queries about things you're just to scared or embarrassed to ask anyone about? Do my friends like me as much as I like them? I’m so scared of that

71. If you were a wrestler what would your stage name be? and what would your special move be called? Haha maybe like Paradoxical (yes thats my blizzard tag) I’d do something like a shihonage

72. Whats the most interesting thing you can see out of your nearest window? A cat

73. Do you think Barbie is a negative role model for young girls? There’s a lot of Barbie models out there. I don’t think they’re completely bad. But there’s negative things.

74. Have you ever needed an eye test? Don’t have glasses so no. But I might need some soon at the rate of time i spend on electronics

75. Do you find yourself attractive? No. I’m just. Average.

76. Can you roll your R's? Yes

77. What social class do you consider yourself or your family background to be in? Upper middle class

78. Do you know any magic tricks? I used to but I never execute them well enough to convince anyone lol

79. Whats the largest amount of money you've ever won? I ever won? Probably like, $100 lol

80. Whats the largest amount of money you've spent in one spree? $200, if we’re not talking necessities.

81. Whats the largest amount of money you've had to borrow off of a friend or family member? I don’t borrow money. But the most from a friend was like $20 maybe.

82. Have you ever been on a cable car? Yeah, San Francisco is known for that stuff. But I’ve only been on one like, twice.

83. Do you prefer Honey or Jam? Jam! But I like honey too.

84. Do you prefer the French or Germans? Uuuuh, French?

85. How fast can you get changed? Pretty damn fast, if we’re talking my normal outfit.

86. How fast do you type? Around 98 wpm

87. How fast can you run? I’m a decent sprinter. I got 12 seconds on a 100m dash.

88. Which is better, Mario or Sonic? Mario. But both are cool

89. Whats your favourite biscuit to dunk? (im assuming british biscuit but in that case idk)

90. Which would you rather have if you had to, a broken leg or a broken arm? Arm. I like walking around.

91. Do you read a daily newspaper? Nah

92. Do you watch the news on TV? Sometimes

93. Have you ever had anything published? Nope

94. Do you believe in love at first sight? Not really. I mean, Romeo and Juliet, and Frozen has warned us right

95. How many remote controls do you have in your house? Two.

96. Have you ever been in a hot tub or sauna? Yes, and it’s hella

97. Have you ever had chicken pox? Nope. Vaccines rock

98. Do you own a lava lamp? Nah, it seems cool but I’d be too mesmerized by it

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