#IF IT'S REALLY TRUE THAT ALL THE GOLDEN GUARDS AND HIS BROTHER ARE JUST HALLUCINATIONS THEN IT /MEANS/ HE FEELS /SOME/ GUILT WITHIN HIM

[bittybattybunny]

Chapter 1: The King’s Favorite

(As I said I had a new multi fic, but until I do a cover it won’t go on ao3, so for now enjoy! Second Chances and Angel Foodcake!)

He sighed as he worked on whipping the egg whites. He had another weird dream with that woman in it. The sad smile she wore made his chest ache. He gave a sigh as his brother stole an orange from the bowl on the counter.

“What’s with you?” Marcus asked as he started to peel the fruit. He shoved a slice in his mouth as Arulius set the bowl down and ruffled his hair.

“I had a weird dream---”

“Shocking.” Marcus’s tone was dry as he ate another orange slice, “Not Ru king of weird dreams. Isn’t that why you’re a writer?”

“Shut upppp.” Arulius sighed as he grabbed the other bowl and began to fold the whipped egg whites with the whipped cream, “Look I just. You try dreaming of the same woman night after night since you’re 16!”

“Nope. I don’t dream.” Marcus reminded him as he continued to eat, “maybe she’s your soul mate.”

“I doubt it. Considering I think shes my guard?” he frowned, “in the dream’s I’m married. I have kids. She’s just… she’s so sad.”

“Maybe circumstances kept your love unable to exist. If you find her when you aren’t hallucinating unconsciously flirt with her.” Marcus snickered as he finished his orange and threw the peel away, “Good luck with your sleeping beauty!” he grabbed his bag as he headed out, “oh and it’s your turn to do the dishes!”

“Fineee!” Arulius sighed as his brother left. He sighed and poured the batter into the pan. Undoing his apron he got to work on cleaning up.

“Kept it unable to exist…” he mused. He chuckled, there was no way.

------

As he held the boxed cake on the subway he felt something was off. His stomach was uneasy. It wasn’t his first time on public transport with a dessert he didn’t want ruined, and yet. He grimaced.

“Are you okay?”

He looked up and his breath caught in his throat. Long curly black hair held back with a blue ribbon, large eyes in two different colors (Black on the right side, bright blue on the other), mouth drawn in concern as a small fang stuck out, she furrowed her brow as she looked at him.

“Are you okay?” she asked again.

He gasped, “Um yeah! Sorry my stomach’s got butterflies!” he admitted nervously.

“Interview?” she asked with a small laugh, “you’re really pale so I was worried, maybe you should get off soon and rest before continuing.”

“No I’m just, going to my book club.” he laughed, “I promised to bring cake.”

“Oh? Which one?” she covered her mouth in shock, “you aren’t heading to Horizon Group are you?”

He blinked a few times, mouth twitching, “I am…”

She laughed, “My brother attends that! I was going to get his car keys!” She sat beside him and he felt his heart racing, “I’m Eclipse! Sena’s my elder brother!” she explained.

He gasped, “Ah! I can see it!” he realized as he looked at her, “you do look like him.”

“I know right? If people don’t know they tend to not notice but when they know its clear we’re related!” she laughed and looked at the cake, “Sweets, so you must be Arulius right?”

He felt his cheeks growing warm and nodded, “how did you?”

“My brother says you often bring snacks for meet ups! And you always get new cookbooks!” she giggled and he felt his face growing warmer. She touched her lips with a grin, “Actually he brought some of the cookies you made last week, the raisin oatmeal were really good~! I was sad I couldn’t try your chocolate chip ones though.” she gave a saddened sigh.

“Ah? I can make some…” he offered and she shook her head.

“I’m allergic to chocolate but the hospital trip was very tempting they smelt so good~!” she laughed.

“Ah.” he put a hand to his mouth, “White chocolate?” he asked. He knew it wasn’t a “true” chocolate.

She shook her head, “No, my allergy is a bit severe.” she gave a dejected sigh, “most white chocolate is processed in the same plants so…”

“What if I made it from scratch?” he asked with his head tilted, “Candy melts?” he wondered.

She turned red, “y-you don’t have to do that! I was just complimenting your baking!! It’s really good!”

He gave a soft smile, “well when we get to the meeting, want some of this?” he held the cake, “it’s a whipped cream cake! Kinda like angel food cake but it has whipped cream IN the cake.” he explained.

She gasped and covered her mouth, “That sounds good! Is that alright though? Isn’t it for the others?”

“Well I brought it to share, and I’m sure it’s fine, I always leave with leftovers.” he explained. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding. Something about the young woman was familiar to him (other than her being Sena’s sister. Something was there.) and something told him to be on good terms.

“If you want, I bake a lot, i can always send some stuff with your brother, or you can join teh club!” he grinned.

She turned bright red, “N-no I couldn’t! It’s fine! I-I don’t have time for it I need t-to finish my thesis!”

“Thesis?” he asked with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah! I’m doing a report on the fallen Solgarian kingdom!” she clapped.

Solgario? He blinked as that rang in his head. His dreams. He remembered that name.

“History major?” he asked as she nodded happily.

“I’m working on my Master’s! I want to curate a museum!” she admitted with mirth, “I love studying old things and I love the sotries of the last king!”

“Yeah? I can’t say I know much. Tell me?” He checked the stops, they had time.

“Oh where to begin!” she beamed, happily like a cocker spaniel, “King Luka Thatcher Law was the last king of the empire, he was married to Queen Vanessa Everfrost and they had a daughter together! Sadly tragedy struck. First the death of the king’s personal aide to poison, the death of the princess, and then the king himself withered away.” she sighed, “The queen was the last monarch but a war struck and she was unable to fend it so the kingdom fell.”

“That’s… that’s horrible…” Arulius tensed up. The butterflies were worse.

“There’s some theories the queen herself poisoned the guard, you see King Luka and the guard knew each other as children, and she was the daughter from the only ducal household---”

“A female guard?” Arulius’s chest hurt, “What was her name?”

“Amaris---”

He felt his chest pinch and his vision fogged.

“Ah!” Eclipse shouted as he slumped forward.

------

His head hurt. He jolted and sat up in bed. He looked around confused at the lavish space. He frowned. This wasn’t the hospital or subway. He covered his mouth in thought, long black hair falling over his shoulder. He blinked and looked at the curl, then his hands. He stared at the callouses that weren’t in their normal spots.

“What…?” he covered his mouth in shock at his voice. What happened?! He got up and whacked his head on the bedframe, before crumpling to the ground.

“Mmmmy looooord are you okay?” came a singsong tone.

His mouth moved on its own, “I’m fine Amaris.” he covered his mouth in shock.

“I’m coming in.” 

Before he could stop her the door swung open and the black-armored knight stepped in, her silver hair cropped short and fluffing around her face, large eyes of black and blue, scars on her cheeks. She gasped and ran over to help him up.

“My lord!” she fretted as she helped him stand and dusted him off, “Dear me why on earth are you on the floor?!” She looked up and paled. Her gloves were removed and she reached up to stroke his face.

He sniffled as the tears pooled and dripped. She was here. Alive. 

“Lu?” she asked softly, “Luka what’s wrong?”

“S-sorry just. Had a bad dream.” he muttered. She snorted and raised her hands, a soft light emitting off her hands.

“Pain pain go away leave Luka’s heart calm and pure~!” she sang happily. He felt a bit lighter and sighed as he rested his cheek in her hand.

“Such a competent Nightingale.” He chuckled. He took her hand in his as she laughed, giving him a sad smile that made his chest sting. The smile he always saw her wear in his dreams.

“Of course, I’m your head guard for a reason~!” she hummed, “Come on now, the queen has been crying all morning for you.” she sighed heavily, “Pregnant women are difficult to deal with. Or is it just Vanessa?” 

He shuddered. Vanessa. Luka. Amaris. His golden eyes grew wide.

----

He gasped as he sat up and winced. Eclipse held her hands cautiously near him, afraid to touch him.

“A-Aruli--” she squeaked when he wrapped his arms around her, tangling his fingers in his hair as he tried to stop crying. She whined but slowly wrapped her arms around him.

“Pain pain go away…” She mumbled and he felt a small breeze and a lightness in his chest. He pulled away and she wiped his eyes. “You okay?” she asked with worry.

“Just… Sorry, I’ve had weird dreams lately… was that..magic?”

She turned red and shook her head, “I-it’s just an old wives tale you know---” her eyes were spinning and she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He chuckled.

“Sure, okay. Say I believed that.” 

She stared at him confused as he simply smiled. 

He hated to admit it, but maybe his brother was right on something.

“Magic’s neat.” He watched her turn red and look away ashamed.

“Um… are you two done?” the train conductor asked as he scratched his head. Tired violet eyes looking at the two.

“I’m fine! I just didn’t sleep well it seems!” Arulius lied. He moved to stand and wobbled. Eclipse supported his side and he tried to get his stomach to behave. He gasped, “nooo my cake.” he saw the box on the floor and reached for it. He sighed seeing it ruined.

“What stop is this?” He asked.

“You should go to a hospital I think.” Eclipse fretted as he headed towards the door while holding her hand.

“No i’m fine really! I just have had issues sleeping!” he explained, “so I have weird dreams, it just so happened the name you mentioned reminded me of them so I passed out.”

She frowned and reached to put a hand on his forehead. He hadn’t noticed before but her body spray had a slight pine smell to it, pine and honey. Lavender too?

“You’re a little warm. Let’s go to the bookstore, I’ll get Sena’s keys and drive you to the hospital.” she insisted. “I don’t want you passing out like the train. To think you’re feeble bodied.” she sighed.

“Should a witch joke about that?” he teased as she turned red.

“I-it wasn’t magic! Honest to goodness! I’m not! I’m not!” she fretted as he snickered.

“What’s your familiar?” he asked as she tried to hide her face, “why are you so embarrassed?”

“W-Why you ask! You keep instigating I’m a w-witch do you know how they are seen?! Wannabes who think they can be hot shit just cuz they can fly o-or heal things!” she pouted as her hair fluffed up, “No one likes witches!!”

“I do.” he opened the door of the bookstore.

“Sena your friend is insane!” she insisted as the eyepatch wearing shop owner turned confused. He tilted his head and saw Arulius behind her.

“Ah, Pia you know Ru?” he asked confused as she slammed her hands on the desk with a huff.

“We met on the train.” Arulius set the ruined cake down, “I had a bit of an incident and passed out.”

“Well you’re pretty weak.” Sena snorted, “Pia what’s the issue though? He’s insane?”

“I told her I like witches.”

Sena snorted and had to kneel behind the desk to hide his laughter.

“SEE HE’S INSANE!” she was completely red in the face.

“W-Why would…” Sena snorted and laughed, “what brought this on?”

“Pain pain go away.” Arulius sang, causing the bookseller to start laughing harder.

“YOU USED A HEALING SPELL ON HIM!” he wheezed as her hair fluffed up.

“I-I didn’t! I didn’t! I’m not a witch! Witches are--”

“The one in front is really cute.” a litted voice laughed as the black haired individual slid down the railing from the second floor, “hey Ru, why is my husband dying?”

“I said I like witches and Eclipse is throwing a fit.” Arulius chuckled.

“Pia used a healing spell on him Love! And acting like she’s not a w-witch!” Sena cackled.

“Well she has always hated that term, you guys aren’t even witches technically.” Love shut an eye, “you’re what, like half fae?”

“Something like that.” Eclipse grumbled as she tried to fix her hair, “B-But he’s still weird! Give me the car keys he needs a hospital!”

“Naw he’s fine.” Love looked at the young writer, “seems he may have a magic his own.”

“Naw, I’m boring.” Arulius held his hands up, “weird dreams and a writer. That’s it!”

“Weird dreams he says.” Sena tried to stop laughing.

Eclipse groaned, “I’m not a witch! Witches are mean and ugly and haughty! I’m not! I didn’t sue magic! I’m---” She flinched when Arulius covered her eyes with his hand. Instantly she relaxed against him. He blinked in surprise that had actually worked.

Sena stared at the two and blinked a few times as he finally got his composure back, “well then. Are you sure you aren’t magic?”

“I’m really not.” Arulius laughed, “my dad’s a lawyer and my mom teaches pre-k. We’re just an average family.” he laughed, “Honestly, I just. Have weird dreams. I thought this may help.” he slowly removed his hand as she peeked at him with a completely reddened face.

He smirked and she squeaked and looked away. He couldn’t help the dumb grin, “hey Sena.”

“What?” the book seller raised his brow.

“Would you kill me for trying to seduce your sister?”

The entire shop went silent.

The silver haired shop keep’s eye twitched.

“WHAT?!”

[okageshadowkingfannovel]

Book 2: Chapter 3

“Finally! I feel as if we’ve been putting this off for weeks!”

This is the farthest Ari’s ever been on the path leading out of Tenel village. The villager that’s usually on guard duty is suspiciously absent. Ari stands on that spot, staring at the path that snakes its way through the forest, meets the bridge crossing the river, and then dissolves into the open fields. He swallows hard, trying to steel himself.

“Wouldn’t you agree, slave?” King Stan prattles on, “I mean, it really feels like we’ve had two or three weeks of solid stalling. So. Much. Wasted. Time.”

Ari rolls his eyes, distracted just for a moment from the yawning unknown laid out before him in the daylight. Placing a hand on the sharpened fruit knife on his belt, he takes a deep breath and begins to walk.

It’s going to be ok, he tells himself, it’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok. I just have to walk really, really fast. Is that a ticking sound?

Ari pauses and looks around along the ground.

“Just one second, Stan,” says Ari before the evil king can roar at him with impatient rage, “found it!”

The ticking leads him to a small patch of grass where a tiny gear waits. It looks just like the one found behind the Nameless Dwelling and just like that one, it stops ticking the moment Ari touches it.

He hears Stan growling.

“Burning …”

“Alright! Alright! I’m going!” Ari protests as he slips the gear into a pocket where it can join its brother.

The boy can’t help but notice that he’s developing a strange new hobby - gear collecting.

I guess it suits an uncool weirdo like me …

Eventually, Ari finds himself at the bridge. It crosses a small ravine that cuts the border of the field. The river tracing down the middle of it flows with a peaceful ease, not at all reflecting the dangers that lay beyond. The bridge itself seems sturdy and safe. It’s made of thick slabs of pale wood. Nothing about the bridge or the ravine or the river gives Ari the slightest hint of worry.

It’s the grassy expanse on the other side, dotted with trees and bushes and bunches of wild grass and suspicious looking patches of bluish fog, that make his heart race and his skin go grossly clammy.

It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok. You have Sta- … you have a fruit knife. That’s something.

In preparation, Ari pulls free the fruit knife and holds it ready. He begins to carefully cross the bridge. The farther he goes and the more things don’t happen, the better he begins to feel. The calming sounds of the water below and birds singing from far off in their trees start to soothe the pounding of his heart. Once he gets to the bridge’s midpoint, he might even dare to call himself relaxed.

See? It’s fine. So far, so good …

As soon as the thought passes through his head, a little white cloud fades into view at the far end of the bridge. It possesses wide, yellow eyes and bobs up and down in that all too familiar, ghostly way.

Of course.

Ari stops and Stanley pops up behind him.

“Oh, here is some low class evil being like the one in the church that I smashed for you.”

“It seems so, Evil King Stan.”

“But slave, you should improve your skills.”

“Improve my … what now?”

“Now, slave, destroy the one there. A true servant of mine should be able to do this easily. Now, go!”

Stan suddenly sinks back down, leaving Ari awkwardly and pathetically alone with nothing but a fruit knife.

Ok … ok … ok ok ok. It’s just one ghost, right? I have the fruit knife and … and maybe I can figure out the whole overdrive thing.

“O-o-verdri-”

Before Ari can say the word, a bone-chilling ‘boo’ pipes up from behind him. He turns to see a red ghost coming up from behind, growling and eying him up like a particularly easy and delicious snack.

Stupidly, Ari brandishes the fruit knife, whipping back and forth between the two ghosts. Even he thinks he looks pathetic as the knife shakes violently in his fear plagued fingers.

“St-Stanley? K-k-k-k-king Stanley … uh …”

Nothing happens. The ghosts continue to approach, forcing Ari into the middle of the most unfortunate sandwich of his life.

“Uh … ok … um, h-hello, guys … girls … um, whatever you are.”

The ghosts say nothing - not even a ‘boo.’

“I’m really sorry. I-I just got a little lost. This is your bridge, isn’t it? It’s a nice bridge. Very sturdy. I’ll just … leave your nice bridge alone so I don’t … um, sully it.”

Unfortunately, neither ghost seems inclined to move aside to let him pass.

Whelp, I guess this is it … not even 5 seconds into the wild and I’m about to be eaten.

He feels the stinky, icy breath of peckish ghost death bearing down upon him, caressing his face and slipping down the back of his neck.

“Wait a minute!”

An angel?

The thought is cliché, but being seconds away from being ghost-food, Ari isn’t expecting to hear female voices from anything on the earthly plane. Quickly following it, there come the heavy sounds of running boots hitting wooden planks. The whole event passes in a blur. A series of swish-swish sounds whirlwind around him and a fast passing body knocks him to the ground.

Dizzily, Ari looks up to find the first ghost fading away into nothing. Looking over his shoulder, he finds a similar fate befalling the second.

“Phew! Recently, there have been so many cruddy ghosts floating around. Are you ok?”

Ari gets up slowly, shaking his head to clear the dizziness. He turns and where there was once a ghost, there now stands a beautiful woman.

He shakes his head a bit more and rubs at his eyes for good measure.

She’s still standing there in a very un-hallucination-like manner, staring at him with increasing concern.

The mysterious woman seems to be in her early twenties. She has a slender, but subtly muscular build. It reminds Ari of a dancer, but cooler. She wears a long military style coat with blue trim, shiny gold fasteners, and epaulets. Heavy, calf high boots explain the footsteps Ari heard earlier. And the thin, wickedly sharp sword in her right hand explains the fate of the ghosts.

“Um … are you ok?”

Her face is gorgeous. She has large yellow brown eyes and a firmly set, heroic countenance. A headband that looks suspiciously like a buckled belt keeps back shoulder length locks of golden honey colored hair. In her non-sword holding hand, she carries a delicate pink parasol, keeping her in a patch of cool looking shade.

“Hello?” she says as she smoothly sheaths her sword.

“Oh! Um … y-yeah. I-I’m ok … thanks to you. That was so coo-”

“Don’t walk around so vulnerable like that! You don’t even have a weapon!”

As if in his own defense, Ari holds up the fruit knife. It takes him just a fraction of a millisecond to realize how stupid the defense is.

“What an optimistic attitude! I can’t believe it! Hold on a sec.”

Before Ari can recover his first impression, she passes by him and crosses the bridge to recover a ridiculously large bag that had been thrown to the grass in her haste. Without dropping the parasol or losing a hint of coolness, she rummages around among the bag’s contents.

“Here we are,” she says, slipping out a sheathed sword.

The mysterious woman runs back up to Ari on the bridge.

“Here, take this!” shes says, shoving the sword into Ari’s hand. “You’ll have much better luck fighting ghosts with this.”

“Um, th-thank you. Are you su-”

“It’s a cheapie, but it’s better than that,” she says, nodding towards the fruit knife. “You know how to use a sword, right?”

“Uh, stab it until it dies?”

Her face looks grim, but still cool. “Good enough, I guess. Just … you know, don’t be a sissy. Got it? Ghosts can smell an easy, fearful meal from a mile away. They’ll be all over you if you don’t toughen up a bit.”

“Right! Thank you! … um, can I have your na-”

“Oh no! It’s already that late! I have to go or he’ll … I gotta go!”

The mysterious woman suddenly takes off running, back from whence she came.

“Good luck, kid!” she calls over her shoulder.

Ari watches until she disappears into the fog and wild grass and trees.

“Damn!”

Ari jumps.

“I didn’t have time to appear! Who was that anyway?!”

“Probably the coolest person I’ve ever met …” he replies wistfully as he looks down at the leftover sword.

Ari returns the fruit knife to its clip and sets to work strapping the sword sheath to his belt.

“You are a pathetic thing, slave. Two lowly beings show up and you cower like a troll!”

“Well, it’s not like I have any powers that will cause things to be consumed by black flames of infinite evil … like somebody I know.”

“On top of that, you were saved by some passing hag!”

“Hag? Are you nuts? She was so cool! Plus, she gave me this!”

With a clumsy flourish, Ari whips out the sword. It’s light enough to be shakily lifted by one arm. The edges seem comfortingly sharp, glinting in the sunlight.

King Stan sighs angrily. “Oh well. Be grateful that my evil hand is merciful to my servants. Seeing how pathetic you are in battle, maybe I’ll render you aid from time to time.”

“Well, that’s good of you … nice knowing my life means so much to you that you may help out.”

“But you must still become stronger! Discipline yourself by making your way to Madril and giving any lower being that crosses your path a good thrashing! We’re going to have issues if you can’t protect yourself. Don’t forget that your shadow houses the great Evil King Stan!”

With that, the great Evil King Stan disappears and Ari’s left alone with nothing but a sword and a ghost infested open field.

Somehow, despite such a disastrous start, Ari doesn’t feel as doomed as he did before. He’s pretty sure it has something to do with the sword clutched in his right hand. Thinking of how cool the mysterious woman was, he slashes the air, enjoying the wind cutting swish noise it makes.

Ok … let’s try this setting out thing one more time.

NOTE: Okage Shadow King is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment and Zener Works. This novelization is purely a fan-work and the writer claims no ownership over the characters, general plot line(s), etc.

[lori-the-dragon-ninja]

Not so special afterall

TW///blood/stabbing

Cole: Anyone got a plan?

Kai: Well, we could-

Cole: Let me stop you right there, anyone got a good plan?

Kai: You didn't even let me fini-

Jay: Maybe we can do a surprise attack?

Lloyd: Hmm... Alright, here's the plan...

The ninja are in the first realm, Faith called them over when she noticed dragons disappearing. Her fears turned out to be true, other hunter clans are still capturing dragons.

Forstbourne was busy caring for younglings, she needed to stay at her nest and protect them, they were too young to even see. Faith, and the ninja took some dragons and started looking. The rest of the former hunters decided to stay in case any of the other clans decided to attack.

The ninja managed to track them. They can hear what seems like half a dozen dragons in the clan's camp. It has a wall with guards around it so they can't just sneak in.

They decided to use a distraction. All the dragons, led by a fire dragon rode by Faith, flew straight for the gates. All the guards from the wall ran to defend the front gate, just like planned. With the guards gone, the ninja could easily sneak in over the back wall unnoticed.

It didn't take them long to find the captured dragons, since they were roaring in distress, and break the chains.

The previously captured dragons' escape got the clan's attention. Half of the guards went to fight the ninja.

All the dragons, including the ones the ninja brought, started to flee when the arrows started falling from the sky and chains started trying to grab them, wrap themselevs around the dragons' bodies like snakes and leaving them trapped.

They could probably survive the arrows and avoid the chains, but due to all the horribe memories, the dragons decided running would be a smarter option.

For the ninja, it was all going well, until an earth dragon, in it's confusion and fear while trying to break free and leave, slammed it's head in the ground creating an earthquake that threw Lloyd off his feat.

He tried to get up as fast as he could, but before he completely stood up he felt a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen.

He looked down and saw a blade coming through his belly, covered in blood. His flesh started to burn. Pain started to grow by the second.

He didn't scream. He experienced worse. This was more shocking and frightening than it was painful. At least, at first. When the pain started to grow, and didn't stop, that's when he started hyperventilating and sobbing.

He didn't even acknowledge what was happening around him. He didn't notice the guy who stabbed him laying on the floor, unconscious, in a pool of blood. He didn't notice the fight being over. He didn't notice his friends calling him.

He could hear muffled screams in the distance, but who was that? Who were they calling? He didn't know and he didn't really care. He couldn't take his eyes off of the wound, the blood slowly trickling down his skin was... hypnotic.

It's almost like time slowed down. Everything was calm. It was just him. Silence.

Then, the real world hit him as he snapped back into reality.

He was suddenly on the floor, his breathing out of control, everything was loud. He was confused, disoriented, scared.

Kai: Lloyd?! Can you hear me buddy?

Nya: It's okay, it's gonna be okay! Everything is going to be fine!

It sounded more like Nya was telling that to herself.

------

The dragons flew away during the battle. The ninja had to cross a big ravine to get to here, there was no way they were going back that way on foot. And without the dragons, they couldn't go back to Ninjago.

Faith: There might be a way around if we go north.

Jay: Might? Might be? Lloyd got stabbed,the dragons left us stranded and there might be a way back to camp? Great, just great!

Zane: There has to be a way. The other clan got on the other side and they don't have dragons to ride. Logically speaking, there has to be a way around.

Jay: But where? Where do we even start?

Cole: How about we ask someone from this camp?

Camp Leader: Hah, we'd rather die than help you!

Kai: Oh, you will die after what you did to our brother!

Camp Leader: Then so be it.

Faith: I know of a way back, but it requires climbing steep cliffs, which Lloyd cannot do. So I guess we just go north and hope that there really is a path there.

Lloyd was laying on the ground, Nya was carefully using her powers to wash the wound so it wouldn't get infected. He was bleeding quickly and they couldn't do anything to stop it.

In order to put pressure they would need to remove the blade. The blade was clogging up the wound, slowing the bleeding. Removing it would only make things worse.

They had to travel north. It was their only choice.

------

After hours of traveling they made a camp and took a break. They have been carrying Lloyd for miles, and he was heavy. Not to mention they had to comfort him all the way because the pain only got worse over time.

The bleeding didn't help. He was pale, very pale. If the bleeding didn't stop soon, they would have to cauterize the wound, aka heat something up and put a burning hot material against Lloyd's skin. They didn't want to cause him even more pain, so they tried to put that off for as long as possible.

------

After the break they had to start climbing a mountain, which proved to be even more difficult. They were already exhausted, both from the fight and the trip. They had to stop again and take a nap. At least for a few minutes.

Lloyd was still bleeding, but luckily the pain stopped getting worse, although the level it was at now was still quite agonizing and wouldn't let him rest.

But what was worse, he started hallucinating.

He saw three glowing dragons land near him. They looked just like the golden dragon. They looked so real. Were they real? No, that was impossible, right? Was it impossible?

Cole: Uhh... guys?

The ninja started to open their eyes.

Cole: Does anyone else see the golden dragons?

Lloyd: So... I'm not hallucinating?

Without a warning, there were three bright flashes of light.

"Can we help you?"

"Help them? We don't know who they are!"

"They look like they need help!"

"Are you insane? What reason do we have to help them?"

The two arguing voices were interruped by a third, soft one.

"Fortisa is right, we should help them."

"Flos? You can't be serious!"

Flos: Yes Letalis, I am serious. Don't you sense it?

Letalis: Sense what? That they're trouble?

Fortisa: Flos has a point. The young boy. He is one of us.

Jay: Uhh, what's going on?

Cole: Who are you people?

Flos: My name is Flos and these aree my sibilings: my sister Fortisa and my brother Letalis.

Letalis: And who are you? And why are you on our territory?

After the introduction and explanation of how they got into this situation, the three sibilings offered to take them to their home and care for their wounds.

Having no better choice, the team accepted, fearing that they would be dooming Lloyd to bleed out if they didn't accept help.

Zane: Thank you. We are forever in your debt.

Flos: No problem. It was our pleasure.

Letalis: Speak for yourself...

Nya: Just one question; why did you help us. I mean, it's no that I'm complaining, it's just- ya know...

Fortisa: Doesn't really make sense? Yeah, I get it. Buy you know, our kind has to stick together.

Cole: Your kind?

Fortisa: Yeah, my sibilings and the blond kid.

Lloyd: Me? What are you talking about? What kind are you?

Flos: Oh, how rude of us, I apologise. We are the dragonies, the hybrids between the mighty dragons and the cunning oni. And we sense, so are you.

They are oni and dragon hybrids? What? There's more of them? Was the First Spinjitzu Master not the only one? Did he have more descendants than Lloyd, Garmadon and Wu? Is there something else master Wu hasn't told them?

After briefly for the wound the sibilings transformed into dragons and took the team higher up in the mountains, then down through tunnels, through what seemed like a maze, back up all the way above clouds until they saw a village.

Above the village more golden dragons soared, in it was dozens of people, presumably also hybrids.

I guess being an oni-dragon hybrid doesn't make you so special afterall.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Winner’s Curse Ch. 8

CJ stalked the cold, gloomy alleyways that lined the street to the docks with a brazen whistle and jaunty step. A proverbial sore thumb compared to the adults and small Vks who scurried about with shuffling steps using the shadows as cover from the watchful eyes of the Coven.

“As if they would care about the doings of cowards and sidekicks.” CJ thought to herself. She had only been back in the Isle for a few days, possibly weeks, time was never a sure thing for CJ, and she had pieced together a little of what had happened when she was gone.

Some big name villains had gotten their magic back and were ruling the Isle with an iron fist, no one was allowed to do anything without their permission, children and sidekicks were punching bags for others, some sort of new hierarchy, etc.

CJ didn’t particularly care. She wasn’t going to stay here for long anyway. She was meant to live on the high seas and after seeing all the booty that she could plunder from places like Camelot Heights and Charmington, she had a growing desire to return to Auradon. A land filled with gold and magic and all sorts of princess to scare and seduce unlike this island of delusional madpeople.

And she was going to plunder and steal on the Seven Seas on the Jolly Roger. Her birthright.

Just as the golden compass that she took from its’ hidden, crocodile-ridden vault on Neverland that used to belong to the once glorious Captain James Hook, that Jolly Roger was another piece of her great legacy. It would aid her in her acts of treachery and it would be a sign to all her future enemies that her scourge was coming. iT would strike fear into their hearts even before they saw a glimpse of her.

She wanted to be the most vile, bloodiest pirate that ever lived. More dangerous than her father, more wanted than Calico Jack, people would say Blackbeard was the male CJ Hook. She was dangerous in her own right despite what these idiots on the Isle thought. She was always third. Behind Harriet even though Harriet hardly did anything but keep up the Jolly Roger and occasionally entered a bar brawl, and behind Harry who was practically Uma’s whipping boy.

Voluntarily Uma’s whipping boy and first mate. It was disgusting.

When she was young she had envied and idolized her brother for his fierceness and the hook he used to slash people’s throats for daring to not follow his orders. But ever since he fell for Uma and pledged his life to serve her, she lost her respect for him. Why be a first mate when you could be a leader and take the best share of booty for yourself.

It was a universal rule not to fall for anyone on the Isle. It made you dependent and weak. Yet Harry was clearly hook over his head devoted to Uma and that seemed to make him stronger. Harry fought like an untamed animal with Uma by his side whenever someone treaded on their turf or insulted their gang. People feared him more now than ever, not daring to speak a bad word about Uma or him. They said he was insane. They said he killed for fun, a true sadist.

She hijacked her way to Auradon, she stole a whole roomful of treasure, she’s been living the good life on the seas without a tie to anyone, a leader unto herself. And she was still second-place to Harry, a pirate who was no leader, just a first mate.

It was just like that when they were kids. Her father treated Harriet more or less with respect or left her alone since she took care of things when he was off drinking until he could see and defeat his hallucinations of Peter Pan. He more or less ignored Harry seeing too much of himself in the boy, seeing his failure in the future. Her, she was his favorite, she knew that. Sure, he didn’t like it when she talked to him, he wasn’t a fan of kids talking or kids in general, but he would treat her mildly better like teaching her the proper way to stab someone. But it was clear that he had no hopes for her to grow into her pirate legacy or any of her capabilities. 

Apparently, he thought her siblings had more raw skill and she had too much of his obsessiveness.

Fine, he was right she was obsessed. Obsessed with treasure, with being a pirate, with being great. She was going to get her own treasure. Steal it from her own father. Like a true treacherous pirate.

He would hate her.

Good, she hated him.

Hook was a greedy man. Wouldn’t be such a fearsome pirate otherwise. He refused to give up any of his possessions to his children. They hadn’t “earned” it. Or as he usually yelled at them, “You’re supposed to be fucking pirates! Get your own treasure!” That declaration led to the bitterest resentment in her piled near the times he forgot her existence in favor of talking to her siblings, doubting her, agreeing with the rest of the Isle. Placing her fourth behind the rest of the family.

She would prove them all wrong, and make them pay.

Her angry thoughts echoed with her pounding footsteps as she kicked the hollow wooden wall behind Madame Medusa’s casino that had formerly been the diamond plunder’s basement, now Lady Caine’s lair.

CJ would have liked to make a dramatic entrance, much like the one she did at the Auradonians silly Neon Lights Ball  but she sadly didn’t not see any vines or ropes to swing from so she settled for bounding down the stairs and brandishing a sword.

Brandishing her sword in a dark, empty room apparently, the only light coming from a small window.

The basement was much larger than she thought basements were supposed to be until she realized she was in a small entrance room and she had to go through another door. The door led through a stone hallways, it’s only light coming from the cracks of the wooden ceiling which CJ figured must be the floor of the casino. Some stones had been chipped and the place reeked with mildew and dust but it was also decorated to intimidate.

There were blood splatters and spare limb joints wedged in corners of the walls, rusty swords bent with decay that had been stuck to the wall and unable to be removed. Posters buxom female pirates and males with broad chests holding knives in their mouths were crudely tacked up alongside “Wanted” signs of Lady Caine’s gang.

CJ recognized some of the pirates from the stories Harriet used to tell. The heartless Blackbeard, the infamous Davy Jones, and CJ’s favorites, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Grace O’Malley, Ching Shih..

“Hmmm I like her too.” A female voice purred, sidling up to her side. It took most of CJ’s composure not to jump at the sudden presence of whom she instinctively knew to be Lady Caine and forced herself to smooth her face into a wicked grin as she faced the self-proclaimed “Queen of Thieves.” 

The older pirate was a bit shorter than her, reaching to her nose but that didn’t lessen her intimidating presence. In fact it just made CJ even more on guard knowing that it was likely Lady Caine would find a sneaky advantage like hitting her in the crotch or some other unprecedented move using the dagger at her belt. 

The rest of her body was less intimidating since toll of the Isle showed. She was skinnier than CJ so it made her corset look like it was hanging limply from her body rather than pushing up ‘the goods.’ Her hair was limp too, and straggly from lack of clean water and constant sea mist.There was an uneven spread of muscles on her arms tempered with some new and healed-over scars, one that even went through her skull and roses tattoo on her right shoulder. Her left leg was clearly injured since she favored to lean on her right and CJ could see the spread of blood seeping through her tent-canvas pants. The one piece of jewelry, a skull necklace was cracked and rusting over making it look more like a demented clown. 

What really brought the scare factor was Lady Caine’s face. Her mouth was set into an unnerving casual smirk. The kind that implied she was the type of person to arrange for someone ‘to swim with the fishes’ simply because she needed something to do to fill her time. Yet her smile didn’t reach to her eyes. No, her eyes were too guarded, menacing, immediately telling CJ that if she tried to double cross her, than Lady Caine would return the favor. Ten-fold. 

“Yes, she has quite the treasure chest.” CJ commented. 

“Heh, I meant I wouldn’t mind taking over her nine hundred squadron fleet to raise a little hell,” Lady Caine raised an eyebrow, her brown and shoddily red-dyed bangs brushed against CJ’s cheek as the older women got into her personal space. “But I can share your admiration for her figure too. Would she be any competition for that voodoo sorceress you’ve been with?”

CJ forced herself to breath normally through her mouth despite her sudden wildly thumping heart. Unexpected and unwelcome memories filled her mind, pushing the faded poster of Ching Shih away. 

Freddie’s dark lips, stained with purple berries that brought out the highlights of her kelp green eyes. Those same lips who created enticing and persuasive arguments with her ‘velvety’ voice coaxing new sounds out of her as they glided across her body. 

Her nimble hands easily able to pickpocket and grope with none the wiser than she, but CJ always knew because she knew that girl. Her tricks of trade, her facial tics, what sent her over the edge in the most pleasurable sense of the world.

That was until CJ had been totally blindsided when Freddie decided to become independent. She knew Freddie had a stubborn streak, which Freddie would retort that she wasn’t stubborn, she was practical, not carrying the obsessive Hook madness. But for Freddie to abruptly tear away from her to have her own dreams was something CJ never thought would happen. Freddie had always seemed to content in helping her with her own schemes, she said she found keeping CJ under control to be entertaining which would be followed by a night of dark magic and ecstasy.

“Of course not.” CJ barked out a hearty laugh and tried to move the conversation to safer, less complicated, emotional areas as well as keep her mind off the stunning spawn of Facilier.

“The girl is my sidekick. My pet. My Auradon pet since she insists on becoming a famous singing star for those goody goodies. She’s not at all like Ching Shih. What I would give for a nine hundred boat squadron which brings me to the important thing. How am I getting the Jolly Roger?”

“We’re getting the Jolly Roger.” Lady Caine corrected leading her toward a bigger room which CJ could tell had used to be used for storage due to the familiar musty smell of aged alcohol. The large boxes had been shifted and carved to form makeshift chairs, weapons were hung or stabbed haphazardly around the place and in the center was a wooden throne which Lady Caine lazily slouched upon, looking at CJ up and down with amusement.

CJ pulled out her sword again, glaring at Caine threw slitted eyes. “Not the deal. The Jolly Rogers mine.”

“Relax. I don’t want that ship, I have my own. I just have my own plans for your father once we steal it in front of bloodshot eyes.” Lady Caine smirked malevolently, “He still drinks, doesn’t he?”

CJ faltered a little when she realized that wasn’t a rhetorical question, “Uh maybe. I don’t associate with him. I’ve been Auradon.”

“I’ve heard about that. Now that is something people should talk about more. You got into Auradon on your own. No pitying help from Prince Furrball. No ‘turning good,’ turning their backs on us so we could rot in hell while their mushy goodhearted brains sleep on pillows. You lived up to your wickedness, CJ.” Lady Caine cocked her head, looking oddly at CJ. Her eyes glinted with a strange happiness and her mouth curved in a genuine smile like when Captain Hook envisioned himself killing that dratted green boy. So proud of his imaginary accomplishment.

Proud. That was what Lady Caine looked like. Not proud of herself but proud for CJ.

CJ’s staggering realization that someone was actually proud of her was tempered by the words sinking in, “No one talks about me and my accomplishments? I have stolen loot from Merlin!”

“Exactly. They still speak of your brother and his violence, but not your greatness. It’s ridiculous. Descended from two great pirates..well I’m a great pirate, your dad-” Lady Caine waved her hand as if she couldn’t quite describe the numerous fatal flaws of Captain Hook in words.

“Yeah…” CJ wasn’t sure how to continue, another odd feeling, she had always remained sure and in control most of her life, “How did-How are you my mother? Dad despises you. He has dreamed of you and Pan being crushed under his stern.”

“And I despise him as well. It’s complicated. I wasn’t in the right mind when I did it. I was drunk, we were fighting, his Hook slipped and instead of scratching me it kind of went the hot and sexy route..huh? That actually wasn’t very complicated now that I say it out loud.” Lady Caine shrugged, wiping a hand over eye and smudging her heavy eyeliner. It sort of reminded her of Harry. 

Truthfully as she looked longer at Lady Caine she found it difficult to see the resemblance between her and her supposed mother. Lady Caine’s brown hair matched more with Harriet and the eye-liner, totally a trademark of her brother. Maybe..just maybe if Lady Caine ate more and filled out, CJ would be able to see if they have the same slender figure, and if she wiped away the magenta lipstick, maybe they had the same lips.... 

“And you’re not Harriet’s or Harry’s-” “No.” Lady Caine vehemently denied, “I would remember if I slept with that son of a bitch more than once, especially if I was pregnant afterwards. Just once is enough for me. What else do you think the C in your name means?”

CJ hadn’t meant to look so shocked but she lost her control, her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped, “The C is for Caine?!”

Lady Caine burst out laughing, getting off her chair and back to CJ’s side, “No again. Your dad named you and he would never choose something that referenced me. You should have seen the look on your face though. Ha!”

Once CJ’s heart resumed its normal rhythm, she managed a weak laugh, “Okay great. But seriously, the Jolly Roger. What’s the plan? I want that boat.”

Lady Caine looked like she was about to laugh again, but she refrained seeing the seriousness in CJ’s eyes. “There’s no official plan...yet. But you will be in charge of it since you know Hook’s turf better than I do.” A part of CJ’s gut pinged at Caine’s words. It felt wrong somehow. Too easy that the “Queen of Thieves,” known for her hard will and controlling way would just hand over the plan to CJ, even if she was her child. Yet CJ swelled with ambitious excitement. She was finally getting the respect her reputation deserved. She could totally plan and execute a way to take the Jolly Roger.

“What do you want with all this?” CJ questioned, giving in a little to her gut feeling and eyeing Lady Caine warily.

“Like I said, I have my own score to settle with Hook. And a small favor. I want to use the Jolly Roger to storm Corona.” “You see, CJ, long before you were born. Before Auradon or the Isle or any of this existed. I lived in Corona. My father was a petty thief that King Fredric jailed because he couldn’t stand any sort of criminal. Murderers in cells with domestic abusers and first time offenders. It was Corona’s own version of the Isle. The first one. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Beast took the idea from him.

My father died in that prison since he couldn’t compete with the big guns. I grew up on the streets which was for the best I suppose ‘cause look at me now.  

But that self-righteous King Fredric has the balls to send me with common criminals and louses all over again. Off with his head along all the rest of those do-good bastards.”

“Off with their heads?” CJ laughed, giving the moment some levity, “You sound like the Queen of Hearts.”

Lady Caine glared at her, visions of anger and blood quite evident on her face, “Tie them to the rack, firing squad, crucifixion. Whatever you want. The point is those Auradonians will suffer, and they will not live.” 

———————————————————————————————————

Jordan inhaled deeply before knocking on Ben’s office door.

This was it, today was the day, no turning back.

After getting those cliches out of her head, Jordan paused to make sure that the rumbling of her stomach was just hunger from being too nervous to eat dinner and not impending throw up out of nervousness.

Yet before Jordan could knock on the door, Ben flung it wide open. She was starting to wonder if Ben was some door opening psychic for the past five times she visited this week to go over Operation: Defeat the Coven (official more badass title still in progress), he always opened the door before she knocked. Either she was a very loud presence or Ben was always waiting for someone to bother him.

She had a feeling it was the latter since he was King of Auradon and all, which seemed sad. She knew she would go crazy if she had people constantly knocking on her lamp all the time asking to fix some crisis or other.

Well, people used to do that to her lamp, but after sending those people off in a sandstorm, almost everyone learned to leave her alone. Just how she liked it.

"Hi, Jordan! Are you ready to beat some baddies?" Ben enthused, sounding unusually chirpy and breathless.

"Baddies? Really? No wonder you got caught so quickly on the Isle." Jordan shook her head with amusement.

"Yep, that's me." Ben said, pushing her back so he could close the door behind him, smiling way too brightly and nervously swishing his bangs out of his face as if that would make him look more casual.

Yeah, he was hiding a girl, or he was watching porn. She had seen Aziz act with this sort of bad nonchalantless plenty of times whenever she popped by his room unannounced. And since Ben was way too innocent to even know of the dark side of the internet and he did possess a girlfriend, she could bet he and Mal were having some alone time.

Ben leaned firmly against the door in a move that would prevent anyone from being able to open the door without getting through him, "Do you need any last minute supplies?"

As he said this, Jordan finally spotted the tell-tale bite mark on his neck that confirmed her suspicions.

Jordan was tempted to make a comment about how it looked like a certain purple dragon had marked him as part of her hoard, but refrained. Auradonians were still on edge about Vks even though they had been around for a year, and even more were up in arms about Ben promoting Mal to be his future queen. 

If anyone had gotten wind that Mal was in Ben's room, alone, giving him love bites and who knows what else when he was supposed to be doing kingly duties, the scrutiny would be worse than ever on Ben. She might as well let them have their private moment.

Even though that private moment just showed how relaxed Ben was about Operation Defeat the Coven while she still wanted to throw up.

And that's exactly why she needed to talk to Ben. It was clear he had too much faith in her and her abilities and so he needed to be given a reality check of how they could all die and the world that they know it would be taken over by every villain on the Isle imaginable.

"Ben, I promise I'm not backing out. I mean, it is really too late for me to back out anyway so I can't. But I don't feel prepared for this at all. I'm a genie. I'm a sidekick. I don't really make tough decisions, I just entertain people with my magic powers, not fight them. The Coven have a millennium of experience over me and in dark magic which a completely different sort of power, and-"

"I understand how you feel." Ben put a comforting hand on her shoulder while her mouth dropped rather unattractively.

"You do?"

"Hey, I turned king when I was 16. I read a lot about politics and policy making, but it is completely different when I was thrown into ruling. It was like everything I studied and read meant nothing at all when it came to dealing with people and trying to listen to all their problems and think of plausible solutions on a deadline. I can't say I know what I'm doing most of the time."

Well that was very reassuring knowledge.

"But one major thing I have learned when it comes to leadership is that we all develop our own style. You can't prepare for it, you can't learn it. It just comes to you as you learn and grow. You just have to take your time."

"But I CAN'T take my time!" Jordan retorted, "This mission has a short deadline with snap decisions. I can't grow from this."

"It's adventure. People always grow and develop during an adventure like all our parents in their stories." Ben answered back with irritating calmness.

Jordan felt her eye twitch. She should have known that knocking some reality into the eternal optimist wouldn't work.

At least the eternal optimist had eyes so he could see her clear annoyance and distress because Ben said something else, "Besides Jordan, you may be the leader of the mission, but you have your friends to help you. That's why I have a Council. I don't know everything, but I surround myself with people who do and who will help guide me to making the right choices. You're not alone in this."

Jordan exhaled, surprised by how that little nugget of advice actually eased some of her nerves. She did feel pretty confident about her team. Aziz and Jay were excellent with parkour and other athletics so they could be counted on in the case of an attack, and Calix had the magical skills to go up against the sorcerers with her. Plus she had adventured with Aziz and Calix enough times to insticively know when to act in sync. It was too bad Jay was left in the cold in that respect, but he knew his way around the Isle so he had an advantage over all of them.

Additionally, Ben, Carlos Jane and Evie volunteered to alternate in keeping contact with them via magically-enhanced ear chip so they could research useful information in the library if needed.

She trusted them to know what they were doing, and she supposed with so much back-up if she did make a mistake then they could resolve it quickly before any real damage ensued.

"Thanks, Ben. I think I'm ready to go." Jordan said, brushing his hand off her shoulder.

"Right. I'll meet you there. I should go get Mal." Ben said, fixing his collar and rushed into his room.

Jordan sing-songed to the door before leaving, "Ben, I'm pretty sure Mal's room is on the other side of the castle."

She walked quickly to the front of Auradon Prep by the Beast statue where Evie, Aziz, Jay and Calix were already waiting and the moon was high above them all.

Since Ben had arranged the excuse to FG that she, Jay and Aziz were taking a field trip to Agrabah for a week to research illusions in connection with desert mirages so the two boys were dressed in loose pants and shirts that concealed the thick leather body armor underneath as well as the shafrah and scimitar strapped to their legs.

She had copied that look in a flowing black sundress with a two straps filled to the teeth with daggers criss-crossing her chest.

Truthfully, she never used a dagger before, but like with leadership, she hoped she would catch on. How hard could it be to stab someone?

Calix, on the other hand, was looking far too casual with a one shouldered toga that showed off most of his chest and no way to hide weapons anywhere on his body. Apparently he ignored her lecture that you can’t flirt someone to death in mortal combat. 

"Good luck." Evie hugged Jay once she saw Jordan arrive. "Avoid Harry and the Gastons. And any of your exes."

"I don't have exes. We didn't date on the Isle, remember." Jay said, mock punching Evie on the shoulder, "I just have enemies that I slept with and never talked to again."

Ben and Mal joined the group before anyone could comment on that topic, not that Jordan knew exactly what to make of that piece of information, and they started their official goodbyes.

"We're only an ear chip away." Evie said handing each of them a small metallic chip that Carlos had made to place in their ear drum, "All you have to do is press and it turns on and off, and since Mal spelled it. It is guaranteed to work even when you close the barrier."

"Alright. Now where are we going first? Maleficent's castle? Ursula's fish and chips?” Jay clapped his hands together, clenching his fists for the undoubtedly upcoming fights.

"The jungle." Aziz, Calix and Jordan said in unison.

What?" Jay, and Mal looked utterly confused by the answer.

"Do you not check the group messages?" Jordan snorted derisively, "Anyway, we are going to the jungle first to fix some of the holes in the barrier. Since Evie said the jungle is unoccupied by humans, we won't be noticed and attacked by the Vks immediately. Calix and I will fix the holes so the Coven won't be able to have an escape route. Then we'll work our way inland to the Coven's laier and do battle."

"Oh, okay. But you’re wrong though on the jungle being unoccupied. Some people live in the jungle. Mainly hunters who wanted some fresh meat rather than the leftovers you give us." Jay corrected.

All the Aks tensed at that and Ben looked shamefaced to the floor.

Jay hadn't said the comment in a bitter or accusatory way, but matter of factly. Which made it sound worse. It was simply a fact of the Isle that if one got tired of rotten and disgusted food from the overprivilged that you had to face the dangerous wild jungle and kill for raw meat.

"You’ll fight those VKs off we meet them." Jordan instructed after an awkward silence. Then nodded to the others. "We're going now."

Aziz took the cue and rubbed her lamp that was snugly strapped to his hip. She hated the fact that she had to bring it to the Isle, but she had no choice. While she could do magic to in transporting herself places, when it came to performing magic on others it required a wish.

"I wish to transport to the jungle of the Isle."

Shimmery pink smoke enveloped them, wind rushing past their ears and moving their bodies even though it felt like their feet were still firmly on the ground. Once the smoke cleared, all they could see was shades of green and brown.

The green came from the leafy canopy and thickets of thorns that blocked the view of the sea while the brown was the dead grass that crumpled underfoot, the dead trees that fallen over to their left in a small pile and the holes of dirt.

Jay crouched by one of the holes, studying the edges. Standing up he informed them a hyena probably created it.

"Are hyenas nocturnal?" Calix eyed the hole nervously, looking around as if to find some sort of protective cave even though there was nothing but trees.

"Yes, but I wouldn't worry. Usually the leapords take care of them." Jay said ignoring Calix’s more distressed look and motioned for them to follow him into the trees. "Since we are near the coast, the cliffs should be close by here."

And so their journey began. 

[dcclclly]

--- IS THAT ( JENSEN MCCARTHY )? I THINK I SAW THE ( TWENTY THREE ) YEAR OLD ( MALE ) ( GARDNER ) IN THE TOWN SQUARE EARLIER. THE ( CHARLIE HEATON ) LOOKALIKE COULD BE DESCRIBED AS ( SHY ), BUT ALSO BE CONSIDERED ( IRRATIONAL ). I HEARD SOMEONE IN TOWN SAY ( HE ) WAS THE TOWN’S ( DOOLALLY ), BUT ONLY TIME CAN TELL IF THAT’S TRUE OR NOT !

hi! hello?? ,,, aloha? um,,,,, I’M TESS. it’s nice to meet all of you beautiful people?? i’m 16, i’m in the cst area, and i use she/her pronouns, but you can really call me anything you want tbh?? um,,, i brought jensen here over from an rp that closed like,,, today?? and the plot was different so he’s a bit of a wild card, but i know he’ll work!! anyways, here’s a bit about him!

* just a quick note, the “doolally” in a label is commonly described as: crazy, irrational, ‘mad’, and other terms, some degrading to those with suffering mental health. in light of this, i will be playing to his calm side! of course, there will be paras where he is showing stronger symptoms of his schizophrenia, but as someone who is best friends with a victim of paranoid schizophrenia, it’s important to humanize them so sdfjbdsnjkfs yeah ok okie yeppp. 

* also i’ll be sure to tag any of his violent outbursts under “schizophrenia tw” and “violence tw”, so you can blacklist those if you’d like! if anyone would like me to tag his hallucinations or irrational spurts, let me know!

male, 23, he/him

so incredibly more damaged in a certain kind of way

had a loving family with three siblings (2 sisters and a brother, very much wanted??)

always paranoid as a child, accused everyone of everything, even if it hadn’t happened, was known to hallucinate a lot

diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at 14 after attacking a kid in school for “cheating off his paper” even though they weren’t taking a test or anything near the sort

spent three years in and out of hospitals and isolation cells,  mixing and matching medication to treat his condition

damn near home free until he attacked the hospital guard, breaking his nose and hand for no reason other than “the dire wolf of the night must die”

sent to a juvenile mental facility until he turned 18, then sent to an “asylum”, for lack of a better word

spent the next 5-6 coping with his diagnosis and finding a system of support, finding a way to help his condition

released 2 months ago after being a year violence-free

came home to golden, most of his family had moved away, but he returned to his family’s home

works as garden maintenence in town

very shy, tries to stay away from public interaction so he won’t risk having another outburst

very paranoid, sometimes sees things that arent there, blows things way out of proportion

NEEDS SO MUCH LOVE IT ISNT EVEN FUNNY

so um, yeah, that’s my darling jensen!!! i would love any and all connections possible!! and if someone wants to bring in his siblings, plEASE. so yeeee!!

[wineanddinosaur]

High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America

Absinthe has long held a special intrigue in the minds of imbibers, and when updated regulations in 2007 effectively allowed for a large-scale reintroduction of the spirit in the United States, a surge in popularity was expected — only it didn’t really happen. Initial interest was largely tied to old myths and the mystique of a taboo, and that attention waned as quickly as it arose. In recent years, though, absinthe has made a real return, fueled by a few factors: U.S. craft distilleries producing their own renditions, a more developed cocktail scene, and bars that celebrate traditions like absinthe service, water fountains and all.

“I think the most exciting thing about absinthe right now is that it’s sloughed off the novelty tag that it had during the first few years it was reintroduced in the States,” says Brian Robinson, a spirits collector and absinthe aficionado, as well as a partner in Columbia Room, a renowned Washington, D.C., bar. “Instead, many people now view it as almost a necessity in a fully stocked bar because so many cocktails call for it, even if you’re not doing the full drip ritual.”

A Traditional Approach

That ritual, though, is at the heart of how some bars and restaurants are approaching and showcasing absinthe, allowing guests to participate in a tried-and-true tasting experience. At Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, Calif., beverage director Leigh Lecap offers a wide-ranging lineup of different absinthes available with traditional service, highlighted as a fundamental piece of the establishment’s identity with a cherub-adorned marble fountain in the center of the bar with piped-in, properly chilled water.

Photo by Jake Emen

“Jeune’s cuisine is a reaction to the current trend of bistronomy in Paris and how the new guard of chefs are interpreting classic French cuisine,” Lecap explains. “We’ve embraced the Nouvelle concept of adopting global influences, obeying the seasons, celebrating locality, and paying a lot of attention to composition. In a way, we thought the bar program should mirror our kitchen’s sentiment and honor an era in France when the country as a whole experienced a renaissance in art, literature, and science, and adopted new ways of thinking and perceiving. Absinthe soaked the thread woven between all those things.”

To honor that thread, Jeune et Jolie has even instituted L’Heure Verte, or “The Green Hour,” an all-things absinthe late-night happy hour of sorts, late on Friday or Saturday nights. “With the consumer, there are always still questions of whether or not it’s real, or ‘will I hallucinate?’, which is my favorite,” Lecap says. “A couple quick facts about when the ban was lifted in the U.S. and what ingredients in the distillation make absinthe what it is, usually does the trick. Explaining absinthe is — more often than not — enlightening and incredibly enchanting. There’s nothing else like it.”

At West Main Crafting Co. in Lexington, Ky., Jonathan Laurel has put absinthe at the forefront of his offerings as well, including in cocktails and traditional fountain-style service, and offers an environment where imbibers can taste in an environment built for education and dialogue. “The average absinthe drinker — even the experienced ones — still have plenty of questions about absinthe chemistry, styles, history, and tasting,” he says.

For Laurel, West Main fills an important gap in the beverage space. The country has plenty of whiskey or agave bars, for instance, “but not yet a program like ours where you can drink an absinthe, read tasting notes, and taste individual tinctures that illustrate those notes,” he says.

Beyond an educational approach and a deep selection, using a traditional fountain was an essential part of what West Main envisioned with its absinthe offerings. “The iconic golden-age apparatus for diluting absinthe was the fountain, an artistic, elaborate silver stand with a bowl of ice water in the top and individual spouts,” he says. “We couldn’t do absinthe service without offering this pillar of the experience — it’s such a spectacle and it captures people’s imagination.”

Photo by West Main

Absinthe Made in the USA

A range of distilleries are now trying their hands at quality all-American absinthe. Philadelphia Distilling, for instance, produces Vieux Carré Absinthe Supérieure, which was initially released at the end of 2008 as the “first legal absinthe to be distilled, bottled, and sold on the East Coast of the United States” in nearly a century.

Robinson points to brands such as Delaware Phoenix, Leopold Brothers, Lawrenceville Distilling, Tenth Ward, and Mt. Defiance, as among his favorite American producers. “They’re all doing great work by integrating historical protocols and ingredients with slight twists to make them their own,” he says. “All of them are great representations of the category, and they all seem to be doing it as a labor of love, which shows in the final product.”

The Absinthe Verte from St. George Spirits is another bottle to know. The lauded distillery infuses brandy with wormwood, fennel, and star anise, distills the infusion, and then infuses again with botanicals such as mint, tarragon, hyssop, and stinging nettles. The company suggests serving its absinthe with a single ice cube and no sugar, or using it in a classic cocktail.

Some of the most widely available American absinthes come from Louisville brandy producer Copper & Kings, which produces two absinthes in its lineup, an Absinthe Blanche, as well as a barrel-aged offering. “We also have some sublime absinthe aging in port and in sherry now that is over four years old, and ridiculous,” founder Joe Heron says. He calls absinthe a “distiller’s paradise in terms of botanical engineering,” and notes that original absinthe had brandy as a base as well. “We wanted to celebrate the history and the heritage, and to showcase our own brandy distillation competence.”

As with St. George, Copper & Kings also recommends skipping the sugar cube during a traditional service. “We do not add sugar to the spirit, with the botanicals, such as fennel, licorice, anise, and black pepper (which distills sweet) all sweet enough already,” Heron says. “The sugar cube is really for spiky absinthe made with grain-neutral spirits.”

Photo by Copper & Kings Absinthe

Classic Cocktails & New Riffs

At Jeune et Jolie, Lecap relishes the opportunity to showcase absinthe in a broad range of cocktails. “It’s a fun challenge to remind people of absinthe’s versatility,” he says. “It doesn’t just bury every drink that contains it. I think tiki really opens the door for the inclusion of absinthe in cocktails the way it lends itself to warm spices and tropical flavors. And even as bartenders, we forget how absinthe is used across the spectrum of drink styles, from the Sazerac and Robert Burns, to the No 2. versions of both the Tuxedo and Corpse Reviver.”

An example of that versatility is seen on Lecap’s menu, where he also offers an absinthe frappé. The refreshing serve is about as far removed on the flavor spectrum from the spirituous, bold Sazerac as possible.

“Absinthe cocktails serve as a genius gateway for people,” Laurel says. “Just as with other spirits, there’s always a way or a cocktail to make a proper introduction for every palate. Convincing someone they actually love the spirit they’ve expected to hate is rewarding.”

At Columbia Room, beverage manager Paul Taylor feeds off the curiosity of his guests and seeks to deliver an authentic experience. While the Sazerac is his personal favorite absinthe cocktail, he also recommends a French 75 riff with absinthe subbing in for gin, particularly for the first-time, absinthe-curious imbiber. “If someone is interested in getting into absinthe and enjoys the flavor, I like to make that for them,” he says. “Shake the absinthe, a rich simple syrup, and lemon juice, strain it into a white wine glass, and top with Champagne. Boom!”

The article High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/high-quality-absinthe-is-finally-having-its-moment-in-america/

[isaiahrippinus]

High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America

Absinthe has long held a special intrigue in the minds of imbibers, and when updated regulations in 2007 effectively allowed for a large-scale reintroduction of the spirit in the United States, a surge in popularity was expected — only it didn’t really happen. Initial interest was largely tied to old myths and the mystique of a taboo, and that attention waned as quickly as it arose. In recent years, though, absinthe has made a real return, fueled by a few factors: U.S. craft distilleries producing their own renditions, a more developed cocktail scene, and bars that celebrate traditions like absinthe service, water fountains and all.

“I think the most exciting thing about absinthe right now is that it’s sloughed off the novelty tag that it had during the first few years it was reintroduced in the States,” says Brian Robinson, a spirits collector and absinthe aficionado, as well as a partner in Columbia Room, a renowned Washington, D.C., bar. “Instead, many people now view it as almost a necessity in a fully stocked bar because so many cocktails call for it, even if you’re not doing the full drip ritual.”

A Traditional Approach

That ritual, though, is at the heart of how some bars and restaurants are approaching and showcasing absinthe, allowing guests to participate in a tried-and-true tasting experience. At Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, Calif., beverage director Leigh Lecap offers a wide-ranging lineup of different absinthes available with traditional service, highlighted as a fundamental piece of the establishment’s identity with a cherub-adorned marble fountain in the center of the bar with piped-in, properly chilled water.

Photo by Jake Emen

“Jeune’s cuisine is a reaction to the current trend of bistronomy in Paris and how the new guard of chefs are interpreting classic French cuisine,” Lecap explains. “We’ve embraced the Nouvelle concept of adopting global influences, obeying the seasons, celebrating locality, and paying a lot of attention to composition. In a way, we thought the bar program should mirror our kitchen’s sentiment and honor an era in France when the country as a whole experienced a renaissance in art, literature, and science, and adopted new ways of thinking and perceiving. Absinthe soaked the thread woven between all those things.”

To honor that thread, Jeune et Jolie has even instituted L’Heure Verte, or “The Green Hour,” an all-things absinthe late-night happy hour of sorts, late on Friday or Saturday nights. “With the consumer, there are always still questions of whether or not it’s real, or ‘will I hallucinate?’, which is my favorite,” Lecap says. “A couple quick facts about when the ban was lifted in the U.S. and what ingredients in the distillation make absinthe what it is, usually does the trick. Explaining absinthe is — more often than not — enlightening and incredibly enchanting. There’s nothing else like it.”

At West Main Crafting Co. in Lexington, Ky., Jonathan Laurel has put absinthe at the forefront of his offerings as well, including in cocktails and traditional fountain-style service, and offers an environment where imbibers can taste in an environment built for education and dialogue. “The average absinthe drinker — even the experienced ones — still have plenty of questions about absinthe chemistry, styles, history, and tasting,” he says.

For Laurel, West Main fills an important gap in the beverage space. The country has plenty of whiskey or agave bars, for instance, “but not yet a program like ours where you can drink an absinthe, read tasting notes, and taste individual tinctures that illustrate those notes,” he says.

Beyond an educational approach and a deep selection, using a traditional fountain was an essential part of what West Main envisioned with its absinthe offerings. “The iconic golden-age apparatus for diluting absinthe was the fountain, an artistic, elaborate silver stand with a bowl of ice water in the top and individual spouts,” he says. “We couldn’t do absinthe service without offering this pillar of the experience — it’s such a spectacle and it captures people’s imagination.”

Photo by West Main

Absinthe Made in the USA

A range of distilleries are now trying their hands at quality all-American absinthe. Philadelphia Distilling, for instance, produces Vieux Carré Absinthe Supérieure, which was initially released at the end of 2008 as the “first legal absinthe to be distilled, bottled, and sold on the East Coast of the United States” in nearly a century.

Robinson points to brands such as Delaware Phoenix, Leopold Brothers, Lawrenceville Distilling, Tenth Ward, and Mt. Defiance, as among his favorite American producers. “They’re all doing great work by integrating historical protocols and ingredients with slight twists to make them their own,” he says. “All of them are great representations of the category, and they all seem to be doing it as a labor of love, which shows in the final product.”

The Absinthe Verte from St. George Spirits is another bottle to know. The lauded distillery infuses brandy with wormwood, fennel, and star anise, distills the infusion, and then infuses again with botanicals such as mint, tarragon, hyssop, and stinging nettles. The company suggests serving its absinthe with a single ice cube and no sugar, or using it in a classic cocktail.

Some of the most widely available American absinthes come from Louisville brandy producer Copper & Kings, which produces two absinthes in its lineup, an Absinthe Blanche, as well as a barrel-aged offering. “We also have some sublime absinthe aging in port and in sherry now that is over four years old, and ridiculous,” founder Joe Heron says. He calls absinthe a “distiller’s paradise in terms of botanical engineering,” and notes that original absinthe had brandy as a base as well. “We wanted to celebrate the history and the heritage, and to showcase our own brandy distillation competence.”

As with St. George, Copper & Kings also recommends skipping the sugar cube during a traditional service. “We do not add sugar to the spirit, with the botanicals, such as fennel, licorice, anise, and black pepper (which distills sweet) all sweet enough already,” Heron says. “The sugar cube is really for spiky absinthe made with grain-neutral spirits.”

Photo by Copper & Kings Absinthe

Classic Cocktails & New Riffs

At Jeune et Jolie, Lecap relishes the opportunity to showcase absinthe in a broad range of cocktails. “It’s a fun challenge to remind people of absinthe’s versatility,” he says. “It doesn’t just bury every drink that contains it. I think tiki really opens the door for the inclusion of absinthe in cocktails the way it lends itself to warm spices and tropical flavors. And even as bartenders, we forget how absinthe is used across the spectrum of drink styles, from the Sazerac and Robert Burns, to the No 2. versions of both the Tuxedo and Corpse Reviver.”

An example of that versatility is seen on Lecap’s menu, where he also offers an absinthe frappé. The refreshing serve is about as far removed on the flavor spectrum from the spirituous, bold Sazerac as possible.

“Absinthe cocktails serve as a genius gateway for people,” Laurel says. “Just as with other spirits, there’s always a way or a cocktail to make a proper introduction for every palate. Convincing someone they actually love the spirit they’ve expected to hate is rewarding.”

At Columbia Room, beverage manager Paul Taylor feeds off the curiosity of his guests and seeks to deliver an authentic experience. While the Sazerac is his personal favorite absinthe cocktail, he also recommends a French 75 riff with absinthe subbing in for gin, particularly for the first-time, absinthe-curious imbiber. “If someone is interested in getting into absinthe and enjoys the flavor, I like to make that for them,” he says. “Shake the absinthe, a rich simple syrup, and lemon juice, strain it into a white wine glass, and top with Champagne. Boom!”

The article High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/high-quality-absinthe-is-finally-having-its-moment-in-america/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/611845392422912000

[johnboothus]

High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America

Absinthe has long held a special intrigue in the minds of imbibers, and when updated regulations in 2007 effectively allowed for a large-scale reintroduction of the spirit in the United States, a surge in popularity was expected — only it didn’t really happen. Initial interest was largely tied to old myths and the mystique of a taboo, and that attention waned as quickly as it arose. In recent years, though, absinthe has made a real return, fueled by a few factors: U.S. craft distilleries producing their own renditions, a more developed cocktail scene, and bars that celebrate traditions like absinthe service, water fountains and all.

“I think the most exciting thing about absinthe right now is that it’s sloughed off the novelty tag that it had during the first few years it was reintroduced in the States,” says Brian Robinson, a spirits collector and absinthe aficionado, as well as a partner in Columbia Room, a renowned Washington, D.C., bar. “Instead, many people now view it as almost a necessity in a fully stocked bar because so many cocktails call for it, even if you’re not doing the full drip ritual.”

A Traditional Approach

That ritual, though, is at the heart of how some bars and restaurants are approaching and showcasing absinthe, allowing guests to participate in a tried-and-true tasting experience. At Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, Calif., beverage director Leigh Lecap offers a wide-ranging lineup of different absinthes available with traditional service, highlighted as a fundamental piece of the establishment’s identity with a cherub-adorned marble fountain in the center of the bar with piped-in, properly chilled water.

Photo by Jake Emen

“Jeune’s cuisine is a reaction to the current trend of bistronomy in Paris and how the new guard of chefs are interpreting classic French cuisine,” Lecap explains. “We’ve embraced the Nouvelle concept of adopting global influences, obeying the seasons, celebrating locality, and paying a lot of attention to composition. In a way, we thought the bar program should mirror our kitchen’s sentiment and honor an era in France when the country as a whole experienced a renaissance in art, literature, and science, and adopted new ways of thinking and perceiving. Absinthe soaked the thread woven between all those things.”

To honor that thread, Jeune et Jolie has even instituted L’Heure Verte, or “The Green Hour,” an all-things absinthe late-night happy hour of sorts, late on Friday or Saturday nights. “With the consumer, there are always still questions of whether or not it’s real, or ‘will I hallucinate?’, which is my favorite,” Lecap says. “A couple quick facts about when the ban was lifted in the U.S. and what ingredients in the distillation make absinthe what it is, usually does the trick. Explaining absinthe is — more often than not — enlightening and incredibly enchanting. There’s nothing else like it.”

At West Main Crafting Co. in Lexington, Ky., Jonathan Laurel has put absinthe at the forefront of his offerings as well, including in cocktails and traditional fountain-style service, and offers an environment where imbibers can taste in an environment built for education and dialogue. “The average absinthe drinker — even the experienced ones — still have plenty of questions about absinthe chemistry, styles, history, and tasting,” he says.

For Laurel, West Main fills an important gap in the beverage space. The country has plenty of whiskey or agave bars, for instance, “but not yet a program like ours where you can drink an absinthe, read tasting notes, and taste individual tinctures that illustrate those notes,” he says.

Beyond an educational approach and a deep selection, using a traditional fountain was an essential part of what West Main envisioned with its absinthe offerings. “The iconic golden-age apparatus for diluting absinthe was the fountain, an artistic, elaborate silver stand with a bowl of ice water in the top and individual spouts,” he says. “We couldn’t do absinthe service without offering this pillar of the experience — it’s such a spectacle and it captures people’s imagination.”

Photo by West Main

Absinthe Made in the USA

A range of distilleries are now trying their hands at quality all-American absinthe. Philadelphia Distilling, for instance, produces Vieux Carré Absinthe Supérieure, which was initially released at the end of 2008 as the “first legal absinthe to be distilled, bottled, and sold on the East Coast of the United States” in nearly a century.

Robinson points to brands such as Delaware Phoenix, Leopold Brothers, Lawrenceville Distilling, Tenth Ward, and Mt. Defiance, as among his favorite American producers. “They’re all doing great work by integrating historical protocols and ingredients with slight twists to make them their own,” he says. “All of them are great representations of the category, and they all seem to be doing it as a labor of love, which shows in the final product.”

The Absinthe Verte from St. George Spirits is another bottle to know. The lauded distillery infuses brandy with wormwood, fennel, and star anise, distills the infusion, and then infuses again with botanicals such as mint, tarragon, hyssop, and stinging nettles. The company suggests serving its absinthe with a single ice cube and no sugar, or using it in a classic cocktail.

Some of the most widely available American absinthes come from Louisville brandy producer Copper & Kings, which produces two absinthes in its lineup, an Absinthe Blanche, as well as a barrel-aged offering. “We also have some sublime absinthe aging in port and in sherry now that is over four years old, and ridiculous,” founder Joe Heron says. He calls absinthe a “distiller’s paradise in terms of botanical engineering,” and notes that original absinthe had brandy as a base as well. “We wanted to celebrate the history and the heritage, and to showcase our own brandy distillation competence.”

As with St. George, Copper & Kings also recommends skipping the sugar cube during a traditional service. “We do not add sugar to the spirit, with the botanicals, such as fennel, licorice, anise, and black pepper (which distills sweet) all sweet enough already,” Heron says. “The sugar cube is really for spiky absinthe made with grain-neutral spirits.”

Photo by Copper & Kings Absinthe

Classic Cocktails & New Riffs

At Jeune et Jolie, Lecap relishes the opportunity to showcase absinthe in a broad range of cocktails. “It’s a fun challenge to remind people of absinthe’s versatility,” he says. “It doesn’t just bury every drink that contains it. I think tiki really opens the door for the inclusion of absinthe in cocktails the way it lends itself to warm spices and tropical flavors. And even as bartenders, we forget how absinthe is used across the spectrum of drink styles, from the Sazerac and Robert Burns, to the No 2. versions of both the Tuxedo and Corpse Reviver.”

An example of that versatility is seen on Lecap’s menu, where he also offers an absinthe frappé. The refreshing serve is about as far removed on the flavor spectrum from the spirituous, bold Sazerac as possible.

“Absinthe cocktails serve as a genius gateway for people,” Laurel says. “Just as with other spirits, there’s always a way or a cocktail to make a proper introduction for every palate. Convincing someone they actually love the spirit they’ve expected to hate is rewarding.”

At Columbia Room, beverage manager Paul Taylor feeds off the curiosity of his guests and seeks to deliver an authentic experience. While the Sazerac is his personal favorite absinthe cocktail, he also recommends a French 75 riff with absinthe subbing in for gin, particularly for the first-time, absinthe-curious imbiber. “If someone is interested in getting into absinthe and enjoys the flavor, I like to make that for them,” he says. “Shake the absinthe, a rich simple syrup, and lemon juice, strain it into a white wine glass, and top with Champagne. Boom!”

The article High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/high-quality-absinthe-is-finally-having-its-moment-in-america/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/high-quality-absinthe-is-finally-having-its-moment-in-america

[sorayahigashikata]

Chapter 43: "NEEEEEERD!"

[wineanddinosaur]

High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America

Absinthe has long held a special intrigue in the minds of imbibers, and when updated regulations in 2007 effectively allowed for a large-scale reintroduction of the spirit in the United States, a surge in popularity was expected — only it didn’t really happen. Initial interest was largely tied to old myths and the mystique of a taboo, and that attention waned as quickly as it arose. In recent years, though, absinthe has made a real return, fueled by a few factors: U.S. craft distilleries producing their own renditions, a more developed cocktail scene, and bars that celebrate traditions like absinthe service, water fountains and all.

“I think the most exciting thing about absinthe right now is that it’s sloughed off the novelty tag that it had during the first few years it was reintroduced in the States,” says Brian Robinson, a spirits collector and absinthe aficionado, as well as a partner in Columbia Room, a renowned Washington, D.C., bar. “Instead, many people now view it as almost a necessity in a fully stocked bar because so many cocktails call for it, even if you’re not doing the full drip ritual.”

A Traditional Approach

That ritual, though, is at the heart of how some bars and restaurants are approaching and showcasing absinthe, allowing guests to participate in a tried-and-true tasting experience. At Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, Calif., beverage director Leigh Lecap offers a wide-ranging lineup of different absinthes available with traditional service, highlighted as a fundamental piece of the establishment’s identity with a cherub-adorned marble fountain in the center of the bar with piped-in, properly chilled water.

Photo by Jake Emen

“Jeune’s cuisine is a reaction to the current trend of bistronomy in Paris and how the new guard of chefs are interpreting classic French cuisine,” Lecap explains. “We’ve embraced the Nouvelle concept of adopting global influences, obeying the seasons, celebrating locality, and paying a lot of attention to composition. In a way, we thought the bar program should mirror our kitchen’s sentiment and honor an era in France when the country as a whole experienced a renaissance in art, literature, and science, and adopted new ways of thinking and perceiving. Absinthe soaked the thread woven between all those things.”

To honor that thread, Jeune et Jolie has even instituted L’Heure Verte, or “The Green Hour,” an all-things absinthe late-night happy hour of sorts, late on Friday or Saturday nights. “With the consumer, there are always still questions of whether or not it’s real, or ‘will I hallucinate?’, which is my favorite,” Lecap says. “A couple quick facts about when the ban was lifted in the U.S. and what ingredients in the distillation make absinthe what it is, usually does the trick. Explaining absinthe is — more often than not — enlightening and incredibly enchanting. There’s nothing else like it.”

At West Main Crafting Co. in Lexington, Ky., Jonathan Laurel has put absinthe at the forefront of his offerings as well, including in cocktails and traditional fountain-style service, and offers an environment where imbibers can taste in an environment built for education and dialogue. “The average absinthe drinker — even the experienced ones — still have plenty of questions about absinthe chemistry, styles, history, and tasting,” he says.

For Laurel, West Main fills an important gap in the beverage space. The country has plenty of whiskey or agave bars, for instance, “but not yet a program like ours where you can drink an absinthe, read tasting notes, and taste individual tinctures that illustrate those notes,” he says.

Beyond an educational approach and a deep selection, using a traditional fountain was an essential part of what West Main envisioned with its absinthe offerings. “The iconic golden-age apparatus for diluting absinthe was the fountain, an artistic, elaborate silver stand with a bowl of ice water in the top and individual spouts,” he says. “We couldn’t do absinthe service without offering this pillar of the experience — it’s such a spectacle and it captures people’s imagination.”

Photo by West Main

Absinthe Made in the USA

A range of distilleries are now trying their hands at quality all-American absinthe. Philadelphia Distilling, for instance, produces Vieux Carré Absinthe Supérieure, which was initially released at the end of 2008 as the “first legal absinthe to be distilled, bottled, and sold on the East Coast of the United States” in nearly a century.

Robinson points to brands such as Delaware Phoenix, Leopold Brothers, Lawrenceville Distilling, Tenth Ward, and Mt. Defiance, as among his favorite American producers. “They’re all doing great work by integrating historical protocols and ingredients with slight twists to make them their own,” he says. “All of them are great representations of the category, and they all seem to be doing it as a labor of love, which shows in the final product.”

The Absinthe Verte from St. George Spirits is another bottle to know. The lauded distillery infuses brandy with wormwood, fennel, and star anise, distills the infusion, and then infuses again with botanicals such as mint, tarragon, hyssop, and stinging nettles. The company suggests serving its absinthe with a single ice cube and no sugar, or using it in a classic cocktail.

Some of the most widely available American absinthes come from Louisville brandy producer Copper & Kings, which produces two absinthes in its lineup, an Absinthe Blanche, as well as a barrel-aged offering. “We also have some sublime absinthe aging in port and in sherry now that is over four years old, and ridiculous,” founder Joe Heron says. He calls absinthe a “distiller’s paradise in terms of botanical engineering,” and notes that original absinthe had brandy as a base as well. “We wanted to celebrate the history and the heritage, and to showcase our own brandy distillation competence.”

As with St. George, Copper & Kings also recommends skipping the sugar cube during a traditional service. “We do not add sugar to the spirit, with the botanicals, such as fennel, licorice, anise, and black pepper (which distills sweet) all sweet enough already,” Heron says. “The sugar cube is really for spiky absinthe made with grain-neutral spirits.”

Photo by Copper & Kings Absinthe

Classic Cocktails & New Riffs

At Jeune et Jolie, Lecap relishes the opportunity to showcase absinthe in a broad range of cocktails. “It’s a fun challenge to remind people of absinthe’s versatility,” he says. “It doesn’t just bury every drink that contains it. I think tiki really opens the door for the inclusion of absinthe in cocktails the way it lends itself to warm spices and tropical flavors. And even as bartenders, we forget how absinthe is used across the spectrum of drink styles, from the Sazerac and Robert Burns, to the No 2. versions of both the Tuxedo and Corpse Reviver.”

An example of that versatility is seen on Lecap’s menu, where he also offers an absinthe frappé. The refreshing serve is about as far removed on the flavor spectrum from the spirituous, bold Sazerac as possible.

“Absinthe cocktails serve as a genius gateway for people,” Laurel says. “Just as with other spirits, there’s always a way or a cocktail to make a proper introduction for every palate. Convincing someone they actually love the spirit they’ve expected to hate is rewarding.”

At Columbia Room, beverage manager Paul Taylor feeds off the curiosity of his guests and seeks to deliver an authentic experience. While the Sazerac is his personal favorite absinthe cocktail, he also recommends a French 75 riff with absinthe subbing in for gin, particularly for the first-time, absinthe-curious imbiber. “If someone is interested in getting into absinthe and enjoys the flavor, I like to make that for them,” he says. “Shake the absinthe, a rich simple syrup, and lemon juice, strain it into a white wine glass, and top with Champagne. Boom!”

The article High-Quality Absinthe Is Finally Having Its Moment in America appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/high-quality-absinthe-is-finally-having-its-moment-in-america/