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thefairywithboots · 6 months ago

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I'm Gonna Put You Down For A While (Robert Plant x Fem!OC)

Hi! So I'm back with some more Robert/Evanna. I just got the random inspiration for an idea for these two late at night, and bust it out overnight. It's not as good as my usual stuff but smut and angst is what I have the most fun writing. So I hope someone enjoys it. :)

Takes place in early 1970. Evanna has been seeing Robert Plant for the past four months, and the more she spends time with him, the more she feels herself falling for him. But Robert does not want to be in a committed relationship with anyone and wants to keep things casual between the two of them. Evanna respects this decision and decides to stop sleeping with him. But quitting the Golden God is not easy.

Rating: Mature (very smutty, minors please dni!)

Warnings: Angst, smut, counter sex, high sex. Hurt/no comfort.

@bijouxcarys @ourshadowstallerthanoursoul @jimmysdragonsuit13

@callmethehunter @firethatgrewsolow @brownskinsugarplum76

@m-faithfull @dzdndcnfsd @friccinfricks

@elliotts-personal-property @jimmypage7 @teaforqne @chromations

Let me know if you want to be tagged for future fics. :)

After spending four years in a relationship in which affection was withheld from her as a form of punishment, there was one thing that Evanna was sure of: she hated being toyed with.

Robert had made it clear from the beginning that he wasn’t looking for anything long term and had wanted to keep things between him and Evanna casual. She was okay with that at first; the man had thousands of groupies at his disposal, ready to fulfill his every desire. Why would he want to be tied down to one woman?

But Evanna did not like being used for pleasure and discarded. Every time she went to bed with him, she could feel a piece of her soul leaving her and being attached to him.

She was speeding towards inevitable heartbreak, and she knew it.

She eventually decided to break things off before it ended in tears and yelling like things had ended with Geoffrey.

The contrast between the two of them was like day and night. When Evanna thought back on her relationship with her ex, she was filled with memories of coldness and paranoia - as if she were walking on eggshells that would someday cause him to explode on her again. But with Robert, he was like a bright ray of sunshine that warmed her from the years of being frozen to the bone. Being wrapped in his arms made her feel safe and loved.

The idea of walking away from that feeling made her feel like an iron fist was clenching at her heart. The coldness was threatening to take her over again…

Evanna was setting up her camera in the photographer’s pit several hours before the concert. Hyper-focusing on her job used to help her stay distracted from her personal life problems, but after falling into Robert’s arms - into his bed, multiple times over the past four months - she felt like this was only making her problems worse.

Still, the quietness of the empty venue gave her a chance to try and clear her thoughts.

That was, until she felt a familiar warmth as a pair of hands planted themselves on her hips. She mentally groaned, turning around to find her face against Robert’s chest. She had to tilt her head back to look into his face to find him grinning down at her.

“Shouldn’t you be backstage warming up?” she asked him while taking a step back to free herself from his intoxicating spell.

Robert let out a quiet chuckle. “I’ll be fine, darlin’. I’d rather be warmin’ you up.” He snaked one arm around her waist, pulling her up against him. She gasped, her hands flattening against his chest. He was wearing a button-down black shirt, and she could feel his warmth practically searing her through the fabric.

“I have to work, Robert…”

“Not for the next couple of hours,” he said while leaning in to give her neck and ear a playful nip. She could hear the rational part of her brain screaming at her, reminding her of her decision to stop giving her body to him if they were not in a serious relationship. But she couldn’t help herself. It felt so good. He felt so good, just with his kisses alone.

“I thought you said you didn’t want anything serious…”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy each other,” he said, an infuriatingly smug smirk playing across his beautiful face.

He led her to the side of the stage, propping her up on the platform and peppering kisses along her jaw and neck. She let out a heavy sigh, feeling tempted to just let him kiss her worries away.

But she couldn’t. Not knowing that it would eventually lead to her eventual heartache.

She placed both hands on his chest and pushed him away. He gave her a confused expression.

“Robert… I can’t do this…”

He took a strand of her auburn hair and twirled it between his fingers. “Did I do something wrong?” He asked the question in such a gentle manner, she almost felt guilty for pushing him away. He had let her know from the beginning what the nature of their relationship would be. It wasn’t as if he had led her on to believe he wanted anything more than sex.

It’s your own fault for developing feelings, she told herself.

“No… it’s not you… I just… don’t want to continue having sex if there’s nothing else there,” she explained, unable to look him in the face as she kept her head down.

She could feel Robert soften, even as she wasn’t looking at his expression. “Did I not make you feel good?”

She furrowed her brow in bemusement. Is that really what he thought? That he hadn’t satisfied her?

“What? Of course you did. It was… the best sex I ever had…” She felt her cheeks burn as she admitted that to him. She could feel his hand gently stroke her chin to bring her eyes up to meet his. She didn’t want to tell him the real reason: that he had made her feel too good, and that every time he entered her, she felt a piece of her soul leave her and cling to him.

He placed a hand on her cheek, and she couldn’t stop herself from melting at his touch. He was so warm.

“We don’t have to have sex if you don’t want to,” he said while leaning in to murmur in her ear. Even as he spoke these words, his voice was low and seductive, and she could feel the heat pooling between her legs.

Despite her insistence that she distance herself from him, she felt an emptiness in her heart as he finally had to pull away to get ready for the concert. She turned her attention back to her camera as the venue started to crowd.

Back when Evanna’s relationship with Geoffrey had been mentally and emotionally draining her due to his constant emotional abuse, music had been a balm for her soul, healing her and wrapping her in an embrace that seemed to soothe every bit of hurt that he had caused her.

Now, it would have had that same effect on her if Robert had not been on vocals.

His voice had a way of seducing everyone in the crowd, of captivating the most unwitting spectator. Before, while Led Zeppelin’s music had felt like an embrace and comfort against the pain that Geoffrey was causing her, now it felt like an embrace but in a different way. It felt like he was making love to her all over again but with his voice. She knew that the same moans and shrieks that he made on stage were the same noises he made while she rode his cock.

As did probably half the girls who were watching him backstage right now, she thought to herself bitterly.

One of the roadies beckoned her to come backstage to get closer shots of the band. Evanna followed him.

Evanna focused on getting closer shots of each individual member, zooming her lens in to capture their faces. She saved Robert for last, though she felt tempted to skip him all together.

She let the music carry her away, her attention switching between Jonesy’s basslines to one of Jimmy’s guitar solos to some wildly aggressive drum solo that Bonzo was doing.

Jimmy was in the middle of one of his ten-minute guitar solos during Dazed and Confused when one of the groupies were passing around a joint. Evanna stared at the long stick, thinking about how it was a very bad idea before taking a drag out of it. Perhaps it was due to her lack of experience with taking drugs, but she was pretty sure this was very strong weed.

Someone had brought out a couple of sofas from the dressing rooms to the side of the stage and Evanna soon found herself sitting next to Robert and several other girls. The joint was passed to Robert, and he took a drag, seeming to be a lot more seasoned than she was when it came to marijuana.

The thoughts she had earlier of distancing herself from Robert completely vanished as she stared at him through her marijuana-induced haze. His golden hair seemed to dance all around him like the rays of the Sun. His face was so beautiful, she thought. He was a Sun God whom she wanted to worship and bow at his feet like he had done with her so many times before in bed.

She clung to his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder possessively. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders before bringing her lips up to meet his. They kissed passionately, and she was seemingly oblivious to the groupies giving her envious looks.

Robert eventually had to pull away to go back on stage after Jimmy’s guitar solo was over. He was obviously buzzed from the joint but sang beautifully regardless.

Everyone and everything were so beautiful, Evanna realized. The colors and stage lights were coming to life before her very eyes. Robert transformed into a deity as bright and as beautiful as the Sun. Jimmy transformed into his dark, Moon-like counterpart. Jonesy and Bonzo’s rhythm section ingrained itself into her very blood, causing the music to pulse through her veins.

Evanna knew that she had to take as many pictures as possible while the colors were this beautiful. She circled the stage, snapping as many pictures as possible. She grinned, thinking to herself ‘this is my best work yet!’

Robert excitedly announced John Bonham as the percussionist before Jimmy and Jonesy started out the riff of Moby Dick. He quickly rushed over to Evanna, taking her by the arm and leading her to his dressing room. Every thought of staying to get pictures of Bonzo, as well as staying away from Robert to protect her own heart, was out the window. She didn’t protest as Robert led her away to his dressing room, lost in a kiss as their hands were exploring everywhere.

By the time they reached his dressing room, they wasted no time. She quickly got rid of her jeans before sitting up on the counter. Robert unbuttoned his tight bell bottoms before pulling them down to his knees. He gripped her hips before pulling her against him. He kissed her as he slid himself into her.

Evanna threw her head back and moaned in sheer ecstasy as she felt that sharp sting of him stretching her. The world around her seemed to swim as she clenched around him as he slowly started thrusting. Her hands clutched at his shoulders to steady herself as their pace quickly sped into their familiar erotic dance. They moved in sync with one another, their moans and grunts loud and unapologetic.

“Evanna…” Gods, she loved the way he moaned her name, as he tasted each syllable on his tongue. She panted and buried her hands into his hair as she pulled him closer to her, pressing her forehead against him as his thrusts became deeper and quicker. Being this close to him felt like she was making love to the Sun itself. His heat and radiance felt like it was searing her skin, and his golden hair was making a curtain around them both, wrapping her in the golden rays of the Sun while she was being ravished by it at the same time.

She felt a sharp stinging in her clit as he thrust into her deeper, causing her to clench hard around him.

“Fuck, Robert, don’t stop…!” she whined as her back arched against the mirror on the wall.

She could feel a low growl in his chest as he unbuttoned her blouse while keeping the pace of his thrusts. He seemed visibly annoyed by the black lace brassiere that was creating a barrier between his mouth and her breasts. She could feel him fumble around for the clasp and push the thin lace away to tease her nipple with his teeth and tongue.

She moaned louder, winding her hands through his hair, trying to keep the Sun on her for as long as possible, not caring that she would end up badly burned afterwards. The rush she felt from him being inside her was worth the price she would eventually pay. Because like the Sun, she knew he could never fully be hers, she realized with an ache in her heart.

She moaned in time with each of his thrusts. Bonzo only had a few minutes left of his drum solo, so they would have to make things quick. As his thrusts became deeper and more deliberate, he took her nipples into his mouth, sucking and tugging on them with his teeth, turning them into taut points.

“Robert, I’m getting close-“

He shushed her, kissing her softly before holding her hips more firmly against his so that he could thrust into her so deep, the tip of his cock brushed against her cervix.

She cried out as she held onto him tightly, which only pulled him deeper into her. She could feel his balls tighten against her, the sound of their skin slapping against each other filling the room. She quietly prayed that no one would walk in on them, though even if they did, she knew that neither of them would be able to bring themselves to stop.

Robert’s face buried into her neck as his pace became faster, causing her to clench around him again. She felt his breath against her neck as he murmured something that sounded like “unghh, come with me…”

She panted as her hands convulsed in his hair, her face contorting with pleasure as her back arched. They both climaxed together - two orgasms that were so powerful, it was as if the Sun had exhausted itself as the explosion engulfed her, heat searing her skin, melting away her resolve until her soul lay naked before him as they both rode out the waves of pleasure.

His name as well as a string of curses came rolling off her tongue as she clung to him in the aftermath.

She had never come undone so easily with anyone else. Not even her ex. Fuck, she couldn’t even remember that guy’s name in this moment.

Robert’s face was still buried in her neck, his teeth sinking into her neck when he came inside her. But she had been so caught up in the throes of her own orgasm, she hardly felt the pain.

When they finally stopped moving, she was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. He was still inside her, as if she was too warm and comfortable to ever want to leave. Bonzo could be heard reaching the end of his drum solo, so they only had a few more minutes.

He whimpered something into her now bruised neck: “I love you.”

Evanna flinched, thinking that she must have misheard him.

“What did you say?” The haze of the joint she smoked earlier was wearing off, and she was no longer having psychedelic visions. The aftermath of their encounter was still in full effect, however.

Robert raised his head to look at her, resembling a confused lion cub. His face was pale, as if just realizing that he said that out loud.

He pulled out of her suddenly, leaving her with an empty and cold feeling.

“I’m sorry, Evie, I didn’t mean…”

Evanna’s brow furrowed. He never called her by her nickname. He had always used her full name, as if he couldn’t bear to be parted with even a syllable of it.

She reached for him, but he pulled away, tucking himself back into his trousers and zipping them back up.

“Robert, please-“ She didn’t know how to finish that plea. Please don’t leave her? She had known from the beginning that he had never promised her anything.

She reached for him again, but he pulled away, unable to meet her eyes. She felt her heart break in her chest.

“I need to go back out…” he whispered while keeping his eyes averted to the ground.

“Robert, please don’t feel sorry… I… I lo-“

“Don’t,” he cut her off, this time meeting her eyes even though it pained him to do so. “Don’t say anything you’ll end up regretting.”

She shook her head and took a step closer to him. “I don’t regret you.”

He gave her a pained look before slowly raising his hand as if he wanted to stroke her cheek but pulled his hand away at the last moment.

“Do you regret me?” she asked softly.

He didn’t hesitate. “No.”

“Did you mean what you said?”

Robert opened his mouth but then closed it, a pained look in his eyes as his mouth formed in a tight line. “Look, I’m not… built for relationships, okay? It will just end like it did with-“ He cut himself off and looked away from her.

Jimmy and Jonesy were back out on stage now, performing the end of the song. Robert turned to leave.

Evanna grabbed his hand. “Robert, I-“

“Evie, I have to get back onstage.”

“Why are you calling me that!?”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “Everyone calls you that.”

“I know, but you never do! You…” She tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to come forth. Everything she had known was going to eventually happen was happening. “Why are you acting like this…?”

Robert took a deep breath. “Look, maybe you were right about us needing to stop sleeping with each other.”

“Funny how you say that after you just finished fucking me!”

One of the roadies pounded on the door. “Plant! They need you back onstage!”

Robert turned to face Evanna, her eyes glistening with tears. “I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t think…” He couldn’t finish his sentence without confessing to feelings that he obviously did not want to have. “I need to get back…”

He turned and left the dressing room, leaving Evanna in there with her disheveled clothes and hair. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks despite her attempt to fight them. Her heart ached in her chest as she adjusted her clothes back to their original state. She couldn’t stop herself from feeling this way, from having her heart be drawn to the man who she knew deep down could never give her what she truly wanted.

The words he had murmured into her neck had hurt her the most because she genuinely did not know if he meant them or not. And if he hadn’t, then it only broke her heart more because she had. She had felt this way ever since he had offered her his shoulder to cry on four months ago. It hadn’t happened immediately, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had fallen so deeply in love with him, and nothing could pull her out of it.

#led zeppelin #robert plant #robert plant fanfiction #led zeppelin fanfiction #robert plant x reader #robert plant x oc #my fanfiction #my writing #smut #angst #hurt/no comfort #thefairywithbootslibrary

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nerdieforpedro · 1 year ago

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The Brave, The Bold, The Dirty - Fanfics that I adore

Volume 2

Fanfics that I am currently reading or re-read because they’re that good!! 😊

This list is for those aged 18 and up, please respect the author's tags, warnings and notes as they are there for a reason.

Crawling Back to You Author: @prolix-yuy

(Dieter Bravo x female reader) There’s a secret that Hollywood has been keeping from us that explains so much. Found out I find horns sexy.

This Charming Man

Author: @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin

(Frankie Morales x OFC Camilla) No one said Frankie had to be good all the time. To be fair, he's had some major life events. He's unhinged but also sweet. He's got layers. Some of the layers are concerning. Make sure to check the warnings before reading. Dark fluff!

Dr. WeVibe; or How Dieter Bravo Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Remote Vibrator

Author: @imalrightllama (Dieter Bravo x female reader {established relationship}, Dieter Bravo x female reader x male soft Dom, Dieter Bravo x male soft Dom) This is smut. It has evolved into ultra smut and eventually reaches super ultra smut. There's also toy use. You have to read it to understand.

Opia Author: @artemiseamoon

(Ezra x black female reader) A woman's journey for a payday leads her to meet Ezra under less than ideal circumstances. The bond they form is life-long.

Kinktober 2023 Author: @palioom

Thirty one days of October - thirty one different fics each with their own theme to sink your eyeballs into. Make sure to double check warnings.

going slow Author: @ezrasbirdie

(Javier Peña x female reader) An issue that no one really speaks about but can make sexual intimacy extremely difficult. Thankfully, Javier Peña is a sweetheart and willing to take it at the reader's pace.

anytime Author: @undercoverpena

(Javier Peña x female reader) Reader and Javier have been friends for years. Seen each other through the best and worst of times. Javier's mind is rattled and there always seems to be one thing or person rather that settles him.

I like the way you Author: @undercoverpena

(Frankie Morales x female reader) Reader is friends with Frankie. An offhand remark leads a becoming friends with benefits. What could go wrong? Feelings? No one agreed to that.

When the west was wild Author: @boliv-jenta

(Silva x OFC) Nine part story about a woman living alone in the west. An injured strange changes her life, for better, for worse? Read and find out.

Be all and Endor Jyr’ika Author: @djarins-cyare

(Din Darin x OFC) An epic love story told over 40 chapters. Use the bathroom, get a blanket and get comfy, there's reading to be done.

Darkness Author: @ezrasbirdie

(Ezra x female reader) We all know Ezra has explored many ways, things and positions. One that he has not explored is our reader. He's a bit scuzzy, but a gentleman - mostly. You gotta invite him in, give him the ok.

Moonlit Serenades Author: @geminimoonbeamx

(Poe Dameron x plus size female reader) Poe needs some comfort after a tough mission that only the reader can provide.

Headshots Author: @secretelephanttattoo

(Marcus Pike x OFC Ella) Turns out reader's new job as a photographer for the FBI changes her path in life forever. The job was temporary but the relationship was for life.

The Gift Author: @mandoisapunk

(Javier Peña x female reader) Sweet Javier Peña fluff. Reader's gift to Javi is life changing. I'm not crying, you are!

An American in Paris Author: @absurdthirst

(Ezra x female reader) If you ever wondered what Ezra would be doing in the late 1940's after WWII. Our man went to Paris where he meets the reader. This pic had me at Ezra in Paris and then held on to me tight and tossed my feelings around like a rag doll.

To hold you tonight Author: @iamasaddie

(Marcus Pike x female reader) Dark! Marcus has a very dark spin in this one shot. He also has a love a statues that extends to the reader. Please read the warnings before reading.

Full of colors. Author: @trulybetty

(Tim Rockford x female reader) Tim’s working a difficult case, you’ve got work piled on the table. Quality time is needed. A walk-in shower is a treat.

Dry Run Author: @chronically-ghosted

(Javier Peña x female reader) Anyone who may have questioned if dancing with THE Javier Peña in a club was sexy or not - your answer is here.

Tired Author: @javierpena-inatacvest

(Javier Peña x female reader) It’s date night for you and your husband Javier Peña. Everything that could have gone wrong, has. You are stressed out. Date night was not what you’d planned at all.

Diosa Hermosa Author: @fhatbhabie

(Javier Peña x plus size female reader) Javier finds the reader to be the sexiest vision he could see in the museum.

Preciously Plump Author: @melodygatesauthor

(Santiago Garcia x plus size female reader) Our reader is a bit self-conscious, Santiago has her get over that quickly.

Dirty Secrets Author: @absurdthirst

(Dave York x female reader) Your husband Dave is suspicious about your change in behavior. He endeavors to find out the reason why.

#fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #oscar issac characters #plus size fanfiction #Pedro pascal characters x plus size charcters #Oscar Issac characters x plus size #javier pena #Dave york #santiago garcia #marcus pike #dieter bravo #pedro pascal fanfiction #tim rockford #din djarin #silva strange way of life #frankie catfish morales #Nerdie’s recs

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eemcintyre · 2 years ago

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All Eyes On Us (Tom Cruise)

Another addition to the "Something to Talk About"/"One More Night" series. And yes, the title is a subtle reference to "So It Goes..." by TS bc that's the vibe. I hope you all enjoy this as much as me; I have been on that grind

TW- none

Summary- Oscars night finally arrives and you and 90s!Tom make your official debut as a couple. You are overwhelmed by the attention, chaos, and some invasive interview questions, but Tom is there supporting you through it.

At several points over the course of the plane ride home, Tom had to peel Y/N away from the entertainment shows and newspapers. He noticed that she kept trying to check to see what the outlets were saying about them, and it was making her visibly distressed. Each time he would lean toward her, snatching the paper from her hand or switching the television off.

“Honey, this isn’t good for you,” he would say, and she would begin to pout until he took her mind off the subject by bringing her into a kiss instead. “This is a much more productive use of our time. But think of how exciting it’s going to be- we don’t have to sneak around anymore, and I get to show you off at events.” He hit her with a playful, encouraging grin.

“As soon as we get home, I want you to start looking for a dress. I know you’ll pick something incredible.” Y/N perked up somewhat at that idea, toying with the buttons on Tom’s shirt. “It’ll be fun, you’ll get to meet everyone I’ve told you about- Cameron, Renee, Cuba… they’re a really fun group, you’ll like them.”

“Are you sure I look okay?” Y/N whispered, eyebrows furrowed, glancing up at Tom with anxious eyes.

“Are you kidding? No one is even going to notice that I’m there,” he grinned, shaking his head in amusement as he admired her gown. It was a sleek nude dress with a plunging neckline and ruffled, flowy short sleeves, encrusted all over with matching gems. Tom had opted for a classic black tuxedo with slightly elongated, silky lapels.

Tom gave Y/N a last kiss on the forehead, accompanied by a reassuring squeeze of her hand, as the limousine rolled to a stop. They had reached the drop-off point for actors and their plus-ones at the Dolby Theater- the location of the Academy Awards. She sucked in one last deep breath before it was time to exit the vehicle and face the intimidating wave of photographers preparing to descend. Gripping her clutch purse and a fistful of her dress in one hand, Tom took the other in his as he helped her from the limo.

They were immediately surrounded by a claustrophobic perimeter of camera lenses, flashing lights, their accompanying photographers, and other attendees. As Tom guided her along a path through the crowd, it took everything in her to focus on not tripping over her gown at the same time as she was trying to smile for the cameras. Fans in the distance behind a barricade started to scream when Tom came into their view and he waved, smiling broadly. Y/N followed his lead, squeezing his hand in a vise grip. He then caught her off-guard with a kiss to her cheek, bringing a genuine smile to her face as people’s cheers grew louder.

“How about her, huh? Isn’t she something?” Tom called, gesturing to Y/N before they continued on their way inside, waving goodbye to the onlookers.

Before too long, interviewing time commenced. Between briefly circulating the arrivals as Tom introduced her to former coworkers and industry friends, they traveled from television host to host, from the likes of E! News to ABC and CBS. Each interview was fairly similar and went something like this:

A TV host, wearing something resembling a prom dress, would announce them with maniacal enthusiasm after they ascended the stairs to a slightly raised platform on the red carpet.

“Aaaand now we have with us tonight, Tom Cruise! And his wife- Y/N! Now let’s see this ring…” she asked, and Y/N shyly raised her hand into view of the camera, blushing. “Oh my God,” the reporter gushed. “You must feel like a lucky woman.”

“I am,” she replied, trying not to look directly into the camera. “He’s a wonderful guy. I still can't believe any of this is real. And I’m so proud of him tonight, whatever happens.” She referenced his Best Actor nomination.

“Aww… and who is it that you are wearing tonight? You look fabulous,” the reporter gestured dramatically for emphasis.

“I know, isn’t she a knockout?” Tom agreed, squeezing Y/N's waist.

“You two are adorable,” the reporter exclaimed, maintaining the same forceful enthusiasm. “Now, you guys have been very secretive about your relationship; no one even knew you were dating and now you’re married- what is that about?” The interviewer’s voice took on a subtly harder tone as she brought her microphone in closer to her interviewees.

The corner of Tom’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, and his eyes narrowed, although the charming smile didn’t drop. “I mean, I think I’ve always been a pretty private person. I’ve made it clear that my personal life doesn’t exist for ratings and reviews.”

Y/N looped her arm in his protectively as the host pressed on. “Are you concerned, maybe, about what your exes or the public might think? Y/N, does it bother you that Tom's already been through the motions a couple of times? I mean, when he moves on, he moves on...”

Y/N’s mouth fell open, and her raised eyebrows created a wrinkle on her forehead. Too disoriented to answer, Tom swiftly chimed in.

“Um… well, I don’t know where you heard that because it’s just not true. I’m on good terms with my former partners.” Tom cocked his head to the side, slipping a hand into his pocket as his posture stiffened and his smile faded. “Besides, all of that is in the past, and no one’s business but my own. I love this woman, and she’s my wife. Are we going to talk at all about the movie I’m nominated for?” He made a visible effort to relax his stance and expression.

The rest of the exchange, which was mercifully brief as time ran out and it was the next interviewee’s turn, was almost unbearably awkward as the host returned to softball questions about the experience of working on Jerry Maguire. As they walked away, Tom fumed, and though Y/N’s palms were shaking and sweaty, she was also angry on his behalf.

“You’d think with how much you’ve done for the industry they’d show you some respect,” she muttered when they stopped off to the side of the milling crowds to regain their composure. She softly brushed a runaway strand of his hair back into place, and he grinned sweetly at her, grasping her shoulders and rubbing them.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it. Comes with the territory, unfortunately. But you do know I love you? You know I’m not going anywhere?”

Y/N shook her head and chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Relax. I don’t treat the E! channel like gospel. And you know better than to leave me for someone else anyway. I’d take the cat, and I’d kick your ass.”

Tom laughed. “On the bright side, it’s almost time to sit and eat. I think there’s gonna be cake.”

Y/N made an exaggerated gasp, although genuinely excited by the prospect of a good dessert. “Well, then let’s get on with it; what are we waiting for?”

#tom cruise #tom cruise fic #tom cruise fanfic #tom cruise imagine #tom cruise x female reader #tom cruise x reader #one shot #creative writing #just for fun #imagine #tom cruise fluff #fluff #x reader #fanfic #self insert #reader insert

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lordkingsmith · 4 months ago

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Had a dream in like 2014 about a young man who is kept in an ornate bedroom for who knows how long. He’s chained naked to the bed and drugged, and his handler is a woman he calls the Lavender Lady. He doesn’t know his name or his past but he knows he needs to leave before “the master of the house” shows up. Eventually he does escape and gets onto the lawn in the middle of winter butt ass naked. Manages to get off the grounds into the surrounding woods and runs into a woodsman who gives him pants and brings him to his home, presumably to help him. However when he eats soup he sees the man is really a marionette. He fights the man and manages to defeat him. Doing so he gets a rabbit skin coat-and a memory.

His name is Waylan Spark. He’s a nature photographer from a small town. When he went home for his father’s funeral he was lured into the woods by a mysterious message about fairy wrens and his missing mother and the old manor in the woods. He then got himself ensnared and held captive by the local fae king who’s been terrorizing the human towns for centuries. He also knows one thing for certain: he can’t go home until he gets all his memories back, and the Autumn King’s got at least one back at the manor, which he will use as bait to get his prize toy back.

The dream out a bit like…resident evil or silent hill meets American McGee’s Alice in wonderland. Wrote it down with the intention of making it a novel, then a video game. Waylan’s an oc I revolve in my head. I can’t decide what the Autumn King is to him, or why he’s so desperate for THIS guy, specifically. The forest is where the broken toys go, so maybe he’s just a random shiny plaything that the king isn’t done playing with-whatever the playing entails. I got the sense there were ulterior motives but I’ve been thinking about the dream for years and I still dunno what those could be.

Waylan’s tall, and thin, with waist length copper wire colored hair. Watchful electric blue eyes. Before he got snatched up he wore it in a loose pony, afterwards the hair is free with things twined in it. Before, he wore a black turtleneck, a yellow and blue vest, jeans, and red sneakers. After he’s naked with a collar and a handcuff around his wrist. After that he adds loose burlap breeches that hit just below the knee and a large rabbit skin coat that is so big on him he’s swimming in it-and he’s not a small man. With the coat he can become a rabbit for periods of time.

Like, there’s images of the dream I still see so clearly they might as well be memories. It’s a dream I constantly have to take out and stare at. Wondering about it.

Used some picrews for Waylan. Not wholly accurate but they get him mostly across

Had the dream before I got into whump, but now I can very much see it as what it is. That king had just about turned this photographer into some kind of pet.

#honestly I also wonder how the lavender lady was doing during this #the pet escaped on her watch!#I keep flipping between these two are related somehow #to the king is just taking people who mildly interest and offend him and this one is just exceptionally interesting to him #to he’s trying to craft himself a perfect lover #my dreams be weird

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thesmallmeggles · 8 months ago

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Happy April!

As someone who plays both Hi-Fi Rush and Cassette Beasts, and inspired by @psychangels AU, I'm ready to share the beast teams I've assembled for my main HFR OCs.

🟣Violet/Bacon🟣: Palangolin, Ratcousel, and an Undyin (Poison bootleg?) she swears isn't part of her team

Palangolin's knight theme ties to a pair of characters Violet connects with in RP (neither one is a Zanzo) and Sir Bromelain's Travels, a fictional play I made up for her to obsess over so I don't break immersion 😄. This beast also uses a polearm type weapon. Ratcousel is both for humor and to connect with her toy collecting. Undyin is related to the scary ghost lady Violet sees in her dreams. No significant lore relevance with that other than I had a creepy dream and wanted to incorporate it into RP.

Fun Fact: My Cassette Beasts character is currently a version of Violet. I plan on redressing her as the Moonstone Island Alchemist once the crossover update releases

//Image Description: A photograph of Cassette Beast's character creation screen depicting "Bacon", a woman with short, side swept blue hair, light skin, and glasses. She's wearing a purple poncho, yellow pants, and black shoes.//

💓Shiruko💓: Mascotorn, Kirikuri, and Fountess (Glitter bootleg? So her entire team can be pink ❤️)

Mascotorn because Shiruko likes cute things, wants to wear a mascot suit someday, and would kin this mon. Kirikuri is for vibes, though part of its description fits it like a glove. Fountess was also chosen based on its description. It's a bootleg since Shiruko actively avoids water

🧜‍♀️Mel🧜‍♀️: Miasmodeus, Mardiusa (Water bootleg), and last is either Spitzfyre, Southpaw, or Scarleteeth (maybe bootleg?)

In RP, Zim's nickname for Mel is "Sea Witch", since she loves mermaids and is also... Not a pleasant person to be around generally. Miasmodeus is the "witch" part and bootleg Mardiusa is the "sea" part. Mel also likes dogs so she would have one of the canine monsters.

🦇Worcestershire💀: Kingrave for sure. Second is either Folklord or Apocrowlypse, and third is either Hedgehern or Draculeaf

Goth druid, goth druid! Whatever his final team is, it's dripping with style.

🎭Forte🎭: Flapwoods, Sharktanker, and his piece de resistance GLAISTAIN

Flapwoods is a funny guy that wears a tie, so Forte respects it on principle. Sharktanker is a funny reference to the Production level shark that Forte plans to use for transportation. Glaistain is the closest equivalent to a Spamton Neo like form in this game and it goes FAST

🐢Allegro🐢: Lobstacle, Fungogh (might be a Plastic or Metal bootleg), and Lapacitor

Fungogh references the creative inclinations O5-KAR units have in canon. Lapacitor fits since Allegro struggles with battery charge retention + tortoise and hare. Lobstacle... Is another vibe based choice, I guess.

#meg thinks out loud #hi fi rush #cassette beasts #hfr oc #crossover time!#although I consider Zim like an OC he IS Zanzo so I left him out #there are other cassette beasts that could work #but I omitted them because the vibes weren't right

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alwayswasagoodthief · 1 year ago

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Abigail Marston - Getting down to the RP basics!

The Basics:

Main Blog: Bio:

General Information:

Name: Abigail Roberts Marston

Gender/Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Age: 22

Date of Birth: (this rp takes place in 1899) May 11,1877 Zodiac: Taurus MBTI: ISFJ Enneagram: 6w1

Language: English, French

Alignment: Neutral Good

Occupation: Former sex worker, outlaw, later rancher

Religion: lightly protestant

Affiliations: Van der Linde Gang

Physical Appearance

General Appearance: Raven hair often worn up, about mid back length, blue eyes, fair skinned with hints of pink. Face Claim :Lauren Cohan despite her hair color.

Distinguishing features: Freckles and a few sunspots

Height: 5’7 / 1.7 Body Type: Average, on the thin side

Personality

Personality: At her core, Abigail is a compassionate, steadfast woman who is willing to do absolutely anything and everything to protect those she loves. She does not have a formal education, but she is intelligent, cunning, insightful, and a diligent worker. She used to be something of a romantic and a dreamer. Part of this aspect is still present, but her pessimism and exhaustion have taken precedence. She is very motherly overall. She doesn’t plan on mothering people, but she finds that the people she meets need that sort of nurturing. However, she is frustrated with her lot in life. She wants nothing more but to settle down, be properly married, work a ranch, and enjoy her family. Abigail can be cold and calculating and ruthless, even to those she loves. She is also very assertive, stubborn, and emotional at times.

Likes: Chili, warm blankets, mystery novels read to her, good wine, playing the piano, chocolate, the color blue, a cozy fire, deer

Dislikes: Snakes, liars, opossums, filth, unabashed cruelty, etc.

Habits: Bad posture such as leaning over too far, crossing her legs, scrunching her nose, humming, putting her hands on her hips, singing, tends to go into quiet coughing fits, especially in RDR 1.

Family: Mother- Adelle deceased. Father - Henry - Deceased

Sexuality: Bisexual (Not counting past clients)

Relationship Status: Estranged

Romanceable?: Tentatively, yes.

Miscellaneous Information

Skills: Lying, manipulation, stealing, seducing, killing, gambling, foraging, light tracking, sewing, some hunting skills, infiltration, explosives, acting, decent at reading people

Living situation: Transitory (later Strawberry and Blackwater)

Special belongings: Most of her and Jack’s belongings were left behind in Blackwater. Photographs, baby clothes, Jack’s books and toys, nearly everything. She has a few clothes, but not much else

Level of education: No formal education, but has street smarts and a sense for business due to her days as a working girl.

Weapons: Knives, poison, gun proficiency - has a Schofield revolver gifted to her by Uncle, a knife John made for her as a gift, a carbine repeater - used to borrow John’s - he bought her one so she’d quit taking his, cunning

Horse

Breed: Tennessee Walker

Coat: Dark Bay, nearly Black.

Name: Arabica

#rdr 2 #abigail roberts #rdr 1 #abigail marston #red dead redemption 2 #van der linde gang #red dead redemption 1 #john marston #jack marston #arthur morgan #hosea matthews

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istherewifiinhell · 1 year ago

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okay attempt two. masterforce posting. pretenders are tfs who can also look like humans. headmasters juniors are children in tf mechs and godmasters are...

[ID: Tranformers Super-God Masterforce (88 anime) screencaps, of the villian characters Giga and Mega. They face two other characters. Subtitles "they are the offspring of myself and Mega." Giga is a man with dark long hair in a braid, and a widows peak. He wears spikey armour, notably with claw like forms that wrap around his shoulders. Mega is a is a woman with close croped green hair. Her fashion is somewhere between princess and witch. A pointed black hat with a trail of yellow fabric from the top. A large stiff collar that doesn't actually attach to her wide necked dress. END]

okay but actually??? in the most literal sense [aka the toy gimick] if there are "headmasters" where a smaller bot/human turns into the head of the mech. or "targetmasters" where a smaller partner turn into A Gun. its like. and "Enginemaster" The smaller partner is a... blocky shape that attaches to the large body.

in the. lore sense. they are when a tf bodies, [like the headmaster kind]... soul bond?? with a humans. Which sounds like there alive but they dont seem to act outside the will of the human host. hard to say if theres a personality to that.

Oh and one of them looks exactly like optimus prime and their not. mentioning that... anyway. ginrai is a japanese man who moved to the usa to persue his trucking career! and comes to posess a very Particular truck

hes not over keen on the very silly genre direction his life is turning until uh. the bad guys start killing all his trucker friends.

[ID: 1. Ginrai, a young japanese man with short hair, laying on a bed, looking saidly at a photograph he holds in his hands. He says the names of his friends "Billy... Dan... Cougar..." 2. Same shot but with more pronounced lighting, rim lit from lightening pouring in past the blinds on the window. Saying "Why was it you guys...?]

[ID: Ginrai's truck/tf vehicle [the iconic flat face red semi], in road combat with a much larger black/purple truck with an offset engine compartment. Ginrai's truck ramming into the larger one. Ginrai yelling "You bastard!" END]

[complete bonus things i look up cause of tf] Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward or flat face (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting above (or forward of) the front axle.This contrasts with a conventional truck where the engine is mounted in front of the driver.

anyway. the trucks. etcetc

[ID: Hydra, a human man with purple hair pink tinted glasses, dress shirt and tie complete with sleeve guards, and no eyebrows. He learns out of the largers truck's window, elbow out, looking back with a smug look "Don't be making this difficult, now" END]

^ pin point creation of insufferable dude.

[ID: Ginrai, with his wrists crossed above his head [to have the two gold braclets he wears touch, somewhat obsured by text]. He yells "Let's go, Destron! METAAA-MORPH!" The fansubber note up top reads "Ginrai uses a Japanese word for transform, henshin, which isn't used by actual Transformers in Masterforce or G1, although it was used in Beast Wars. END]

^[blogger translation note: destron means decepticon] normal man who didnt realise hes gotta operate by super sentai rules now. u gotta speak in english ig... dfbgdf. good gag.

[ID: Ginrai in the full Godmaster transformer body mode [Which just looks like G1 Optimus], tackling one of the decepticon godmasters around the waist. The Decepticon is a grey, purple, and red mech with the wing portions on the back of a jet. END ID]

^yeah idk which one

#some shit #its not called cisformers #👍🏻 bizarre show. what im here for..#every single portion of the show could be its own show. the pretender teams. kids mecha team. these normal ppl turned other. thing.#kids get end animal motivations. adults get dead friends. ig. [ignore the kid who got orphaned ep 2]#oh and are mega and giga human??? well. i suspect maybe not....

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sasha4books · 2 months ago

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AfroPuffs Art Studios (@afropuffs_studios)

instagram

#afropuffsstudios #afropuffs studios #toy photography #photographer #photography #black toy photographer #black woman toy photographer #my photgraphy #my phoyography #my photos #ig #instagram #doll community #toy community #toys #Instagram

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oletus-carousel · 1 year ago

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[[ EVENT START ]] :: "Patrilineal Puppetry"

💡 HOMURA ASTOR HAS ARRIVED AT THE MANOR! 💡

[[ Tag asks with💡to talk to Homura! ]]

"after a fall from grace, he'll rebuild his troupe by any means necessary."

"fear is the hand that pulls your strings / useless toy, pitiful plaything."

ALIAS :: "The Ringmaster" [formerly The Hypnotist] AGE :: ??? [Believed to be in mid-to-late forties. Refuses to disclose.] IMPORTANT RELATIONS :: "Carrie Astor" - Daughter // Haruhi Astor - Ex-Wife // Bernard [of Hullabaloo Circus] - Childhood Friend, Rival // Ada Mesmer - Former Colleague SKILLS :: Hypnotism, Puppeteering, Deal-Making

FACTION :: Hunter

APPEARANCE :: The Ringmaster stands tall and proud in direct contrast to his daughter, and is around 6''6. His black hair is usually short and well-kept, but he's neglected it for long enough that it reaches the nape of his neck and the fringe almost covers his eyes.

His right eye is covered from view by a simple medical patch, secured with bands. It seems too big to just be covering said eye, as if the concealed damage spread, and is otherwise affixed firmly to his face to prevent any light getting beneath it. His left is normal, hazel coloured, but it tends to stare directly forwards instead of having any sense of direction.

Around his neck, he wears a watch on a chain. This is engraved with the Muse Mark, boasting both a small clock and a photograph in opposing sides. The latter depicts a young man and woman who appear to be at a showground, dressed in appropriate performance attire with a tent in the background. Nobody except the three in the Astor family have witnessed this photo, as it was taken when Homura and Haruhi were young lovers.

He wears a black button-down shirt and pants, the only embellishments being red curlicues sewn on the collar. Above this, he's regularly seen with a black waistcoat adorned with shining red buttons. His shoes are always polished black dress shoes, no matter how casual the occasion.

The oddity in his design, however, lies in the control bar strapped to his back: the black cross of wood, often seen manipulating a marionette, but crafted as an oversized mimic. Its strings wrap around his arms and legs in an unruly spiral, slicing through fabric and skin indiscriminately. Though the man’s own blood dries upon these strings, it is the very control bar that he brandishes as a blunt-force weapon in-game.

PAST :: Homura was a childhood friend to Bernard, the ringmaster of Hullabaloo, and was compliant in helping the troupe form - doing tricks diligently, even as the group rose into popularity and he was cast aside for newer, more interesting acts. So he broke away, attempting to form his own - Sparkslide. This he ran alongside his wife with his daughter as his pawn, for a time that she no longer remembers. After all, he'd spent many years honing his acts, particularly hypnotism. He has unspecified ties to Ada, as she's a hypnotherapist, but declines having worked at the White Sands Street asylum.

He was summoned to Oletus Manor with the promise of everyone there [the survivors] brimming with potential for the troupe, and a possibility of revenge by taking in some of the past Hullabaloo members to that number: even Carrie when she'd run away to join that rival troupe.

All he had to do was use his hypnotism to the Baron's benefit, helping muddle the memories and recall of the participants' lives beyond the games, hollowing them out and making everything easier for the Baron to manipulate. He had no clue that he'd be included in a game himself, eventually, but it'd likely be Carrie's. She's his closest connection in the manor, and he fears that she'll crush his chance of dominion.

#💡 > hypnotic hellraiser #🎠 > new paint // event tag #🎠 > oletus carousel

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cantsayidont · 1 year ago

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March 2022. An intermittently amusing but frequently infuriating Ellen Rapoport sitcom, launched on HBO Max and then switched to STARZ for its second season, MINX is set in the early '70s and follows the misadventures of an idealistic white woman named Joyce Pritchard (Ophelia Lovibond), who reluctantly transforms her plan for an intellectual feminist women's magazine into a high-profile adult magazine for women, published by good-natured sleazebag Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson), who sees it as a weird but potentially viable addition to his existing magazine line. Joyce is deeply uncomfortable with Doug's world of nude centerfolds and sex toy ads, but as the magazine takes off, she finds she loves being famous — and enjoys taking advantage of her position of power over attractive, often none-too-bright men. Meanwhile, Doug's long-suffering Black girlfriend cum business manager Tina (Idara Victor) wants more respect; gay photographer/art director Richie (Oscar Montoya) struggles with his aspirations to do something better — and editorial directives not to make a magazine full of naked men seem too gay; and Joyce's married older sister Shelly (Lennon Parham), who resents Joyce for leading a kind of life she never got a chance to experience, has an unexpected affair with former nude model Bambi (Jessica Lowe) that leads to a midlife gay awakening.

Like the earlier G.L.O.W. streaming series (which it strongly resembles in structure and tone), MINX wants to be titillating, but its smug middle-class disapproval of porn and sex work is like a millstone around its neck: It's willing to concede that Doug and Tina, who are strictly on the business side, are pretty savvy, but it stubbornly refuses to entertain the notion that anyone who poses for or performs in porn could harbor any real intellect — the male models are all hunkier versions of Lenny from OF MICE AND MEN, and even Bambi, who's arguably the show's most likable character, is presented as a kind of idiot savant. Moreover, the show walks a weird line of expecting the audience to laugh at Joyce's second-wave feminist priggishness while also presuming that she's ultimately right, morally if not practically, in ways the narrative doesn't really support. The problem with Joyce is not that she's a feminist buzzkill, but that she's an entitled, classist snob who struggles to conceal her obvious contempt for anyone she considers her social or intellectual inferior (and who becomes an increasingly terrible boss as the magazine takes off). However, for the show to really engage with why Joyce is terrible would require the writers to reexamine their own prejudices, which they're obviously unwilling to do.

MINX remains watchable mostly on the strength of its supporting characters — Tina, Richie, Bambi, and Shelly are more interesting and far more appealing than Joyce — but it would be nice if the show were less eager to make them the punchline of the joke. The show also further strains goodwill with the unwelcome addition of the intolerable Elizabeth Perkins as a wealthy widow who becomes the new owner of Doug's publishing empire (an insufferable rich bitch completely indistinguishable from the insufferable rich bitch Perkins played in the second season of the agonizing comedy-mystery THE AFTERPARTY), a character whose narrative function is make the tug-of-war between Joyce and Doug largely irrelevant and to add an additional layer of smug white lady entitlement to a storyline already top-heavy with it.

#teevee #minx #ophelia lovibond #ellen rapoport #jake johnson #idara victor #lennon parham #jessica lowe #oscar montoya #elizabeth perkins #if you couldn't tell i loathed the afterparty

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freakingoutthesquares · 2 years ago

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Russell's Japan Tour Diary (Part Two) (Part one is here) Words: Russell Senior, Photographer: Richard Priest Taken from the New Musical Express, 24 February 1996

The tawdry entrance to the eating place is billowing steam into the cold night air. Inside it is about the size of a barn with 12 kitchen/bars each having bar stewards round them where people eat and drink. It's busy and people are milling about in the aisles between the kitchen/bars. It's rough and ready with the prices and names of each kitchen's specialities hanging from the ceiling on coloured strips of cloth and paper.

Unlike everything else in Japan, it's very cheap, it's a cross between Bladerunner, a pirate's den, a bookies and a cockfighting pit. No over-bowing, women are laughing, being brassy and not taking tiny steps. We're the only westerners but we're here with our host who is Japanese and Rover who has tattoos and stuff, so in this wild Eastern bar we kind of fit in.

Rover has fallen in love, he hasn't decided who it's with yet, but is winking and smiling at several contenders just to be on the safe side. A woman in silver hot-pants swaggers over to him, blowing smoke in his face. Strangely, our host has no problem with this at all and now seems to positively want US to talk to women... and it all becomes a bit clearer.

Our guide book says, "The industrious men of 17th-Century Japan liked to relax at the end of the day with hard liquor in the company of actresses and prostitutes". The Japanese guide to English etiquette no doubt says, 'The hard-working musicians of 20th Century England love nothing better at the end of the day than to snort cocaine from the pockmarked thighs of groupies"

Soooo... we weren't being protected from the fans in the bar - they (nice girls from good families) were being protected from the foreign devils. They needn't have bothered, but I'm glad they did because this place is ace. After midnight all the deference and daintiness goes out of the window and the drunken bonhomie so familiar to us arrives on a bullet train. Bang!

People are being chummy with us, offering us saké and amusing themselves at our gaucherie, like we'd laugh at one of them putting brown sauce on their cornflakes. Rover keeps asking for 'Tom Cat soup', which transpires to be tasty things on skewers not unlike our British shish kebabs. A woman comes over and it transpires she's offering to have sex with all of us. We make our excuses and leave, having convinced her that Rover has three penises. We leave him extending the hairy hand of international friendship.

In the morning, Rover appears at breakfast devoid of his black leather, wearing an all-white pyjama suit, his head completely shaven, muttering something about the seventh law of enlightenment. He later claims to have ended up in a bar with a scantily-clad schoolgirl kicking a giraffe.

The fans at the hotel in Tokyo think we're super cool but they think they are too - this is better. Don't be like us, oh no, be even more Japanese please. "You must be feeling tired," sympathises a fan who's been waiting up all night to see us. Well actually no, we always look dog rough, but you don't want to hear that, do you? You want us to be plastic fantastic, you've put your money in a vending machine and you get Pulp just how you want it.

Rover has just come in disappointed. Apparently there are vending machines in Tokyo where you can buy schoolgirls' underpants... used. Anyway, turns out he's bought some sixth-form boy's ones, which aren't quite what he had in mind.

Shopping! The toy shop is slightly disappointing. The real toy shop is called Electric Street, where you can buy a gadget for everything. I buy a Jacuzzi for sunglasses; it works, they come out clean and relaxed.

Early evening. We're taken out for a traditional Japanese meal. Shoes must be removed before sitting cross-legged at a low table. We choose a fish from a tank called a 'blow fish'. The sexual organs of this fish are deadly poisonous. Every year 40 people die from eating this fish, along with 40 chefs who must take the honourable way out. The fish is brought to the table with the organs removed and the edible strips of raw flesh arranged in a pattern at the side.

The fish, however, is far from dead, it leans its head upwards looking at us. "This fish has died for you and you must respect it," says our host's girlfriend, who is administering the food ceremony. I don't think anyone's very happy about this and Rover blurts out, "But it isn't dead and if you don't take it away and kill it, I'm going to get my knife out and kill it!"

The fish is taken away to be killed. It tastes like raw fish. The English are drinking saké while the Japanese drink lager. The English have also bought cool cameras in Electric Street and snap away furiously. 'Bloody tourists!' think the Japanese. You probably think it's really weak not to speak out more forcefully about some of the things we see, but we're guests here and must respect their customs. However distasteful it seems, it's probably less hypocritical than our own attitudes to eating animals. Vegetarians be warned: the concept is not understood here and saying, "I don't eat dead animals" often results in a live one being brought.

After the meal we go through a ritual humiliation, Japanese style. 'Karaoke Is Joysound!' says the sign. Hmmmm... Unlike in England, you get a private room with your mates, who choose a song for you to sing and you have to get up and do it. I get 'Trouble' by Shampoo, not something I would ordinarily be inclined to sing in company. Jarvis gets a very badly translated version of MC Hammer's 'Can't Touch This' in which "legit" comes out as "Leggit", etc, etc.

And for Rover, we choose 'Gimmie A Man After Midnight', which he isn't very happy about. On the way out, we see a bloke squatting in the middle of the road staring at traffic which stops in front of him. We are taking the piss a bit, which turns out to be a very bad idea because this is not a drunk, but a Yakuza hard man staking out his territory. Our host is concerned and runs on ahead to make sure there are no more. I recollect the fearsome knives and weaponry for sale in Electric Street and stop taking the piss. The Yakuza chop off their little finger as an initiation - you do not want them as your enemies.

The first concert in Tokyo goes very well. All the concerts sold out very quickly and there is anticipation amongst the stylish and supposedly reserved crowd. I've never seen so much energy without aggression. Everything's running like clockwork. Back in the hotel foyer, which is the size of a football pitch, we are greeted by gift-bearing fans. In the middle of the foyer is a bar area, demarcated by a complete ring of chrome about 2ft-high.

None of the fans dare enter this magic circle. We are joined by some of Steve's supermodel friends called Ginger, Manx, Feline, Persian and Pussy. They are impossibly thin and drape themselves around the bar, nibbling nuts. Rover approaches, his eyes roll around in their sockets like a fruit machine. "How long is it since you tasted some 100 per cent British beef?' he asks. Bingo!

Meanwhile, back in Blighty, we're being lampooned by Spitting Image along the lines of "I want to live like famous people"; fair enough, but what would you do, all my friends and brothers? The second concert in Tokyo we go on to Beethoven's Ninth. It's a flip chill winter bastard outside but inside all is horror show, there are even quite a number of mates in the audience. We fight through a few minor technical problems to cobble together an exciting show. Jarvis has to go off to replace a lost contact lens. To the Japanese, work equals style, times content. I guess you have to live some distance from Camden to appreciate this.

Battling through adversity in a cold climate is something our cultures share, it gives a certain edginess to the evening, which is a positive thing 'cos, as I'm sure you know, there's quite a lot of darkness under all this Pulp froth. Jarvis introduces all the songs in Japanese and this goes down very well. The Japanese seem to get this, they like a good present to be in a good box. The idea that style could possibly subtract from content would not make any sense to them.

Pulp had to get popular with the public before the feral scum-sucking tabloid British music press (Love you too - NME) took any real notice, and then it was in a cartoonised and, to my mind, rather humiliating way.

We awake with the rising sun like the people in the cornflakes advert you always aspire to. I've started rooting through my paltry belongings for presents to give back to fans. The best I can do is sunglasses, which are much appreciated. However, next time in the foyer, I see that half a dozen pairs of my former sunglasses are being worn and it's embarrassing, mainly because it's impersonal and a cheap con, like giving beads for land.

Many of the presents we receive are very thoughtful indeed, very personal and apt. We give the fans so little attention, don't even bother to learn their names and they give us so much. Why these kind, intelligent people do something, on the face of it, so uncool is beyond me, but I'm not complaining.

One of the many preconceptions was that we would be yammered away at about other bands, much as in the rest of the world, only more so and in a comical Japanese accent... "Ah Erastica, you know Bobby Girrespie? You know Brur?" This is definitely not the case; it almost seems impolite to mention another band when they're so focused on you. So that's another preconception, that they're impersonal.

Also going is a well-reasoned belief in the supremacy of European culture, see ya. Actually there is one exception. They do keep giving us pictures of Menswear and assuring us that they are, well, as if they are our long lost children. We've seen so many cheesy pictures of them grinning red-eyed, in Hawaiian shirts that severe loss of ace-faceness has occurred.

The last show in Tokyo is less frenetic, but very good; we play well and do a rare-for-us second encore. Jarvis has sustained a finger injury and is taken to the hospital where an already painful finger is subjected to squeezing, pricking, burning and electrocution.

The tour manager had only come into t'doctor's office to bring t'singer but they gave him t'stick and all! It was noticed that he had a cold and he had a man kneel on his back attaching crocodile clips to his nose, electrocuting him so he thrashed about like a pinhead, his neck pulsing alarmingly. Needless to say they both confessed. God knows what they'd do if you're really ill. No wonder everyone looks so healthy, they're scared shitless to be ill.

Our last meal in Japan, at our request, involves no live animals. We give a present to our host, who then proceeds to blub uncontrollably for the rest of the meal. Any preconceptions that these are cold people went way back. As the orders are being placed, one of the record company men pipes up, "I like Beetles!" Well almost. He stands up and starts to reel off his repertory of the Fab Four's songs which is quite extensive. We're used to this kind of excellently barking mad behaviour, so it's alright. Go buddy go!

We assemble early in the lobby for departure, Jarvis has gone on ahead dressed as a Hasidic Jew to avoid the crowds. Like many well-known celebrities, Jarvis employs a double. Jarvis' double (You may have seen him in the 'Mis-Shapes' video) has been up all night drinking in a dangerous club and staggers into the foyer not only refusing to sign autographs but swearing at anyone who comes near him before failing over a sofa and collapsing on the floor.

Safely checked in at the airport, we ascend an escalator waving gaily to the tearful fans. "Please come back to Japan soon," they plead. "We will, we will," we promise. It's a promise we are to keep because it is the wrong escalator and leads nowhere. After waiting round the corner for some time, the crowd at the bottom is still there so we have to descend the escalator, waving to the now laughing fans. "Welcome back to Japan," they say. Ah ha! Enough, enough, no more gratitude. Let's go somewhere where it's rude.

The record company, who must be ill, offer to pay our room service bill. Oh gullible company did ye ken, ye'd be picking up the tab for half a million yen?

Nietzsche would have aphorised the Pulp philosophy as: 'I have my feet on the ground and my head in the clouds, thus I grow taller.' There is, of course, a combustibility to this. We draw our inspiration from elevating ordinary life, therefore ordinary people relate to it, therefore we become famous, therefore we are no longer common people, therefore we lose the sap that pushes us to the clouds and it goes snap! This is exactly how it should be.

By example, Japan has injected a certain amount of crackle back into this fragile alliance. Perhaps we can last until the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve 1999. Pop!

Based on a true story.

#russell senior #jarvis cocker #pulp #japan #90s #britpop #printed article

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pandorafallz · 1 year ago

Text

Vampire AU | Lingering Shadows

Sleep provided some rest. The hammock she had been given for the night was very comfortable but her heart remained unsettled. Her mind wandered afar as the early morning light shine through the cracks of the curtain of the finely crafted mauri that their father would have been proud of if Eywa had not taken him into her embrace quickly after their mother. Outside, she had heard movement as light seemed to stir the Dreamwalker couple into action yet didn’t want to go outside just yet; let them have their peace in the morning. The fire was cracking quietly now in the distance.

It was a small mauri, fit for a single being. Though this was quite clearly his personal space. He had his personal rack of his spare clothes and weaving adornments and armbands. His collar was off and set to the side. But, what stood out was the sky people stuff he had inside; a wooden shelving but…he had books. Some bigger but most were Sky-people sized so they were small. She recognised that as a reading and writing tool and comprehension that Neytiri and the other children would talk about. Not only were there books but there was a little put of things; trinkets.

A device that seemed to tick a little, two arrows that seemed to slowly move across to number markings. Graceaugustine had a similar one on her left wrist on her native body; she didn’t know its purpose. A ridiculously tiny spool of white thread, child-sized mortar and pestle that was set on display but had a purpose of holding small beads inside at the very least. A few writing sticks, a flat wooden box with black and white squares with CHESS carved into its side. A small rattle-toy also seemed to rest there. Tiny, far smaller than anything else.

On the wall, there were things strung up; pictures and drawings alike, one she recognised as Neytiri’s finger-painting at the school. She didn’t look at the photographs that deeply.

N’deh slept onwards on the floor and in the way between her and the exit if she had wanted to pass, his side lightly bruised now but she had seen fresh herbs around to aid the pain and the bruising away soon enough.

Her heart ached for him. It always had since his absence had been so sudden but she hadn’t thought to question her mate’s decision on the matter. Eytukan had his merits and saw ahead for the sanctity of the clan's wellbeing, they butted heads often when they both had their separate ideals of how to handle complicated or political situations where sky people were involved.

Mo’at knew N’deh had joined the school by her request; to meet the sky people and to interact with Dreamwalkers. She personally only really Graceaugustine but he had met more than just her in his years with the school and even accompanying Dreamwalkers in their territory to oversee their science yet she knew he did that to also keep the sky people in check while being respectful. He had told her many stories and she had seen the scientist Dreamwalkers learn. She had thought that he had gone too far and in ways he had.

Mo’at had produced no male heirs in her time with Eytukan and found it hard to conceive after Neytiri despite their attempts for more children. The thought of N’deh producing an heir, particularly a male for a future Olo'eyktan had passed briefly. He had not shown interest in a woman of the people despite their parents’ insistence to find a mate, her daughters grew and so, Tsu’tey had been chosen as the next successor for Olo'eyktan. A wise choice.

Had their parent’s pressure to find a mate possibly have motivated him towards that Dreamwalker? Who was this Dreamwalker that N’deh had fallen for so recklessly that he willingly knew he could be banished from the Omatikaya for her? The Dreamwalkers had been so new to them back then; to mate with one was…new. No one had wanted one like that until him. A sky person’s soul was not a Na’vi. A Dreamwalker was not Na’vi; foreign in the way of their differences that weren’t like the natural differences that the reef people had.

Banishment over wanting to mate with one…was not without merit but it wasn’t—in her eyes—an out of proportion reaction, especially on top of the tearing a mating tsaheylu. It was unnecessarily cruel with those factors combined. N’deh had never come to him to let her attend to his tswin in case there had been damage; a sacred part of them that should never have been recklessly pulled if neither N’deh nor his desired mate hadn’t expected it.

She didn’t know enough about the Dreamwalker’s brain to know how it would affect them. The fact he claimed it served her bond with her Dreamwalker for some time was not a comfort. The mated Dreamwalker couple in this camp did show that they could bond together through their Dreamwalkers, just not through their native bodies in the same way. However, she would need more information on how the Dreamwalkers worked. Properly.

N’deh’s breath picked up as he rolled on his mat, groaning softly out.

“<Do you want me to help you, brother?>” Mo’at asked, gently clambering out of the hammock and almost stepping on his tail. N’deh’s eyes flickered open in surprise before he seemed to realise why she was there before he could panic about it. Mo’at crouched beside him, touching at his bruised side. “<This will take a few days to heal. Sooner with my aid.>”

“” He said, gently sitting up though he didn’t seem to meet her eye again, “”

Mo’at reached and grasped his shoulder, noting how his ears pinned back and his tail curling up behind him. “<N’deh. I know you worry. You told me plenty last night and now you clam up in conversation?>” He had been swift last night to get her to bed and asleep.

“” He said.

Mo’at’s heart sunk to see this behaviour but she could sense the delicate path to know not to push him just yet. Not until she had spoken to her mate on this. That was what he was waiting for. She hadn’t wanted to think that…sky people's behaviour would be learned by the people. Clearly, something had to be done to let him release that fear.

N’deh gingerly got to his feet, though opened up the front of the Mauri to which, Mo’at descended down gracefully bellow.

Jakesully was wheeling himself out of his shack in his human form alone, though had something wrapped in leaves on his lap “Morning, Mo’at. Good sleep?”

Mo’at nodded once. “It was unusual. I’m not used to hearing the rain so close. Hometree doesn’t allow sound to echo so deeply.” She admitted.

“Are you planning to go back now or are you going to stay for the morning meal?” Jake yawned, “We’ve got enough to share.”

“No, I should return to Hometree early and assure my people I have indeed survived the night away.” She said, somewhat dryly.

It was enough to make the human chuckle as he handed off the leaf-wrapped bundle to Jeromeepstein who opened it up to exposed cooked yerik meat; still looking fresh and he began to cut off strips into portions where the Dreamwalker was clearly prepping other vegetables; a sauce looked to be heating up on their fire.

“Well, I’m due to come down in a few hours’ time, I’ll be human today so I’ll probably be at the bead makers, carvers or weavers. I still haven’t fully settled into a specific area just yet.”

“I think tomorrow may be best for you to come to Hometree. I’ll send Neytiri down to continue your language lessons instead.”

Jake paused, sparing a moment to N’deh before he winced at what his presence would mean. “Alright.”

The trip back on the Pa’li was quiet and fast though she felt relief at the growing form of Hometree, but felt a slither of anger surface in between her heartbeats as she considered what she would say and how to say them to Eytukan. She had two sides to her, both as N’deh’s sister but also as Tsahìk. One had more merit and argument to what she had seen but she’d certainly revaluate what her mate had told her those years ago.

N’deh was a little more dramatic and had a flair to exaggerate a little which had been endearing in his youth but he wasn’t a young man now. He reaached thirty-five seasons thus far and she wasn’t sure if…he still had those traits in the missing years since his departure. How had time changed him so much? She had yet to see fully but she sensed pain in his soul.

She heard many relieved calls as she crossed the threshold of the treeline and directed the Pa’li to the tables to which she left in the care of the tamers and onwards into Hometree.

“<Mo’at>” Tsu’tey found her first, his expression relieved, “<it’s pleasing to see your swift return. There’s some food remaining from the morning meal unless you ate at the Dreamwalker camp.>”

“<It was offered but I felt it was prudent to return, lest worry Eytukan too much. I need to check on Neytiri first, however.>” Mo’at departed around him with an assured expression and made her way up the spiral.

The den was open and bright, the walls had been expanded and some panelling removed for new light, the low burning ambers pots were still going but enough for the heat, than light. Neytiri’s back was to them, looking to be very occupied with attending to a child whose arm was she binding lightly with a small woven bandage.

The den looked… more disorganised and cluttered but not as bad as Mo’at had feared as she reached the mouth of the entryway.

“<Mother, you’re back.>” Neytiri lit up as she realised her presence, gently finishing up with her binding and tucked the edge away. “<Play lightly on that arm and do not get it wet before tomorrow evening.>”

“<Yes, Tsakarem.>” the boy spoke, getting up and scurried away happily.

Mo’at chuckled, “” There was a question in her statement if only to seek assurance on her daughter’s word.

Neytiri paused a little, looking around to the mess. “<Attending the clan for one night was well practised. Your organisation makes little sense which will take longer to learn, mother.>”

A soft chuckle passed her lips but she nodded. “”

Neytiri frowned. “<Father is not here. He said he would be back a few hours shy of noon.>”

Mo’at pursed her lips but nodded. She had expected him to be here awaiting her safe arrival given it had been her first night away in a few decades. He had been against her going in the first place as well. “<Did something occur?>”

“<I don’t know. I believe he had gone to examine the Vampire’s claimed home himself. He expects another rain will fall and wash their scents away before the cold ones return to check it out or mate in the near area.>”

Mo’at tisked a little. “”

Scattered mats were moved back into a stack and out of the way, Mo’at took the moment to check a few out-of-place ceramic cups of herbs to see what had been used and what probably needed to be refilled. Neytiri filled her in on what had occurred in her absence which wasn’t a lot, though Tsu’tey popped in briefly to hand over a Niktsyey for which Mo’at was grateful for.

“<Jakesully and his camp will not be coming over today. I’ve advised them to come tomorrow but you should feel free and go down today to continue their language lessons.>” Mo’at spoke before Neytiri could wander or go off to pick them up.

“<Why, mother?>”

“”

Neytiri’s posture stiffened up, her ears and tail straightening up in surprise but Mo’at could see that was on the basis of her knowing. Her daughter was smart and she had been watching the camp long enough to know.

“”

“<Is father in trouble?>”

“<If he did what was claimed, then yes. Since we have time before his arrival, I want to go back through my teaching of the tswin and Tsaheylu with you.>” Mo’at opted. It was important and it had been some time since she had been through such lessons. A refresher was most important now and certainly, if N’deh needed some care, even this far since the separation.

As promised, she heard her husband’s return before he made his appearance down the spiral, his voice echoing orders to keep an eye out on a particular area of the forests then talk of visiting Jakesully’s camp first before he stepped into her den.

Her face remained serious, ears pinning back a little at the sight.

“” she greeted.

“<I see you, beloved. I’m glad to see your safe return. I apologise for not being here to greet you but much news has been gathered. We have spotted a new sky-people camp twenty miles north but have not made an approach just yet.>” Eytukan said, crouching though he sensed her mood swiftly, “<Is all not well? Did something happen at the Dreamwalker camp?>”

Mo’at spared a look to their daughter, “<Neytiri, please go and assist where necessary. This talk is more private for now.>”

Neytiri knew better than to wait around, jumping up and leaving without a backwards glance much to the confusion of Eytukan. Her call for Seze echoed which seemed to suggest she was going to the Dreamwalker camp.

“<You’re worrying me, Mo’at. Did something happen?>”

“<Yes.>” Mo’at said, “<You told me before I left yesterday afternoon you suspected they were hiding something and you are correct. I found out what it was.>”

Eytukan frowned, “<Why do I sense that you are angry at me? If they—>”

Mo’at held up a hand, quickly silencing him with that gesture. “<N’deh.>”

Eytukan’s posture stiffened, ears twitching as his lips pursed, “<The Ikran bones make more sense now. I had wondered where they had got that. That should not change much as he should not be on Omatikaya land as he is banished.>”

“<No.>”

“<No? Mo’at, he brought great risk to the clan with his obsession with the sky people and their ways. Taking them to sacred lands and allowing them to steal parts of it for their studies, or worse, taking things himself to show them. You know why he was removed from the clan.>” Eytukan spoke firmly.

“<We have Sky people coming and going from Hometree every other day. Times have changed since then and now that I see that banishment seems to have been a far cruller punishment on top of what you did to both him and his mate.>” Mo’at said, watching intently to her husband’s reaction.

His ears pinned down a little in discontent. His jaw tightened yet he had the pretence to not look too unbothered and more defensive on his choice.

“<It was…necessary to intervene, my love. She was not a good match for him. Mating with her was ending his good life with the people.>” He spoke, not refuting his actions. “<I knew you’d be displeased if I informed you of his actions—“

“<You forcibly broke a mating tsaheylu.>” She stated though she felt the heat of anger rose but she kept her voice even. “<you broke a sacred bond between two souls, not allowing them a moment to comprehend what you were doing before it was done. As a Tsahìk, I know what I was taught with Tsaheylu and of all the things to have done, ma mate, which can be considered unforgivable by the two afflicted by your intervention. I speak to you as a Tsahìk, not your mate nor as N’deh’s sister!>” She got off her mat, standing above him but offered him a hand up to still be on equal terms. “The pain is unending to his very spirit. He longs for her in a way you cannot imagine because that untethered bond is like a frayed nerve that pulls and the need to tsaheylu offers peace and relief. No time passing will comfort that. You had no right to intervene with that tsaheylu, even as clan leader and as Tsahìk, I had every right to know what had happened to try and offer him and his mate ways to soothe that pain.>”

Eytukan’s head remained high though he had the decency to look ashamed at her berate. “<I’m sorry.>”

Mo’at touched his cheek fondly, though with some coolness “<I know you, husband, that you try and balance the wellbeing of our clan and to withhold tradition. I understand why my brother was banished which was why I’ve never questioned it. But I cannot understand your interference in his mating. Only the Great Mother should have approved their choice of pairing them after they bonded. She decides if the match is worthy or not, but they would have had to have gone through the process to find that out. To sleep and see if they had pleasant dreams of a sealed bond or a restless night of warning that they were not unified spiritually.>”

Eytukan stepped back, taking a steady breath. “” He reached for her hand on his cheek.

Mo’at nodded. “<That is certain, husband. N’deh certainly deserves such an apology. Be warned, Eytukan, the Dreamwalker camp consider him family. They know what you did and will protect him. Your actions against him speak volumes to them. It is why Kimgreene has found forgiveness of their banishment hard to accept. There must be some reconsideration on N’deh than simply pushing him away again.>”

Eytukan let out a tired sigh more at the latter of her words. “<I cannot simply allow his return to the clan as one of the people. It will undermine my authority as Olo'eyktan. Most know why he was banished as well. Families of those who were also banished may wish to see their outcasted family members to return>” He said uneasily. “<It is not simple.>”

“<It is, husband. He will not return as one of the people, he will visit as Jakesully or Nadinereza do; to aid with the clan every other day then return to the camp at a respectable distance. If you are worried about him running off to do something stupid, then simply assign a warrior to watch over him in Hometree as we have Neytiri watcher over the sky people.>” Mo’at proposed, “<his presence is…useful in the Dreamwalker camp. He had taught them much and they have learned how to respect the land they live on and the food that they consume. I expected far worse for their home. The mated couple could very well pass as one of the people.>”

Eytukan inhaled deeply, “”

“<Then that is all I ask. I would not undermine your duty to the people. I worry that if you banish him fully away, the Dreamwalkers and humans will go with him. We need Jakesully’s information and the other humans for their experience with sky-people technology and culture. We have much to learn still.>”

“”

Three of the longest days had followed since Mo’at had discovered her brother living with them before they heard any news; N’deh was permitted to stay with supervision and Kim had been nearly convinced that they were going to be moving in that waiting time. Jerome had to stop her from beginning to pack at least three times before distracting her with food to eat or getting her to hunt with him.

Neytiri had been far more relaxed though her language lessons were sharp and she had slapped him lightly on the top of the head lightly when he had gotten things wrong. He could piece together a few words, but he was struggling with context clues and the speed of how quickly Na’vi spoke. However, he had also asked the others at camp to help as well to speed up the process when not in his lessons.

N’deh went straight back to the weavers on his first day had happily reunited with some of his own teachers. Jake had spent the afternoon with N’deh there weaving, which he liked to do and liked to create, but he was more attracted to hunting; to be a hunter. To provide food, to know how to track and all the small details on such a task… but he could only learn that in his avatar. So, in his human days, he was between jewellery making or weaving since both required little movement.

Then, it was a few days further before things felt like they were getting back to normal. At least, a new normal with their arrangement.

Nadine was more comfortable in her leg again and had started to return to Hometree, at first with private time with Mo’at before she was put to small tasks. A young hunter also seemed to shadow the woman; possibly by Mo’at’s request to help or to talk to.

Nadine’s worry about her placement at Hometree had given some thought about what roles could apply that worked with her disability but Jake was glad to see her sitting with the cooks on the few times; her prosthetic gave her significantly more strength for a human and since she was left-handed, she naturally used her prosthetic’s abilities for cutting, or in some cases, crushing. The cook’s children had often been amazed at those displays which had warmed the adults up to the marine at their side to start teaching her a few recipes and also seemed to teach her how to speak the same language through their cooking as well.

Jake was glad to see it, just as he was relieved to walk beside N’deh through Hometree.

It was odd now.

The news was out there and there were no more secrets. At least, mostly. Jake didn’t know why N’deh was banished still but frankly…it didn’t matter; it didn’t affect him in any way anymore. With everything otherwise in the air, it was light there was a small weight off his chest that he didn’t know was there. He could…relax with the people; he didn’t have to worry about mentioning something he wasn’t supposed to. No more lies, as small as they were.

He no longer felt like there was a crack of an eggshell between them, or him at least. Nadine was getting the care and attention she needed to get on the road of recovery, N’deh had some of his connections back between his own family, and Kim and Jerome were still a little chilly with Eytukan but they still worked well with the clans people. Kim looked to be talking with a lot of other expectant mothers for advice since it wasn’t a human baby with different needs and what to expect. Jake had listened a few times to hear about it out of interest.

“Morgan wants to show some of the young warriors how to work with a sling,” Jake was saying, “I know he’s taught you, it might be helpful for him to have your support.”

N’deh considered his words. “Have they made slings?”

“Morgan told them a warrior crafts his own weapon, so…I believe so. He also showed them how to make them and other styles of slings.” Jake explained, smiling as he sat Morgan standing with three other warriors with hand-crafted slings coming the man’s way, “He made it into a small ritual for them to properly understand it and... well scaling it to their size as well. He could do with you.”

“I suppose. I did want to get to Hometree’s mother loom today and aid with the new hammock.” N’deh pondered.

“You’ve got kids throwing rocks at death-speeds and their instructor is half their size.”

“Of course, the loom will be there tomorrow.” N’deh was quick to change his tune and hurried to catch up as Morgan began to head way from the root. Tsu’tey followed at a distance, eyeing Jake passively as he went but Jake gave him a cheeky wave which earned him a glower.

It made him grin a little to peeve Tsu’tey out a bit, turning towards the Pa’li’s stables to debate if it was worth trying to get a lesson from one of them before he heard his name.

“Jakesully,” Mo’at seemed to sweep down from the spiral, “if you’re not currently occupied, I wish to see you in my healing den.”

“Alright,” Jake agreed, “Saved me sneaking off from trying to learn how to ride a Pa’li. Probably would have ended up coming to you afterwards.” He didn’t need foresight to see but again, would that stop him? Nope. He was a volunteer idiot.

Mo’at let out a soft chuckle as she led the way up. “Indeed. You’re not yet graceful.”

Jake hummed, not in disagreement as he followed into the healing den. Very open and spacious this time but the Na’vi-sized mat laid out made him worry a little. “Am I sick and don’t know it?”

Mo’at clicked her tongue a little but gestured for him to sit down on it. “You’re in good health, Jake but since we have many Dreamwalkers around, I would like to study them. Our…differences and similarities. Kim allows me to check upon her developing babies but is very tense about being studied herself, she claims that her youth in her…Mars colony meant a lot of medical examinations which has made her uncomfortable.”

“Ah, yeah that doesn’t surprise me.” Jake sat down, “Mar’s has thirty-eight per cent less gravity than Earth, and eighteen per cent less gravity than Pandora. It’s mandatory for everyone to go through the exams to ensure they’re not losing muscle or skeletal mass and durability. Exercise and weight routines are also enforced for their well-being. Same on Pandora. It felt super weird when I first arrived.” Jake chuckled. “Felt like I was floating.” Now that he thought about it, his chair was far easier to push as well. Damn, he should probably put weights into it to keep his strength up.

Mo’at pondered this lightly. “I take it Na’vi would not tolerate your world’s pull to the centre if they were to arrive?”

“Oh, definitely not!” Jake shook his head, “Humans are short for a reason. You’d struggle to stand up straight…maybe walk on your knuckles like Gorillas or baboons?” At Mo’at’s quizzical look, Jake shifted his posture, knuckles down onto the floor then did a somewhat awkward baboon-walk. “You’d probably have to spread your weight, stay low to the ground. You’ll be top-heavy because of your sheer size and weight, but your internal organs will definitely suffer; they’re not evolved for heavy strain. Your heart still certainly be pressured to work in overtime to keep your blood pumping well.” Jake crawled back into the mat with a sigh. “Humans evolved on a hostile, unforgiving planet. That hasn’t changed.”

“I am curious to know more about your homeworld in more detail but…that is not today’s topic.” Mo’at gently reminded, “Would you remove your clothes and allow me to examine your Dreamwalker?”

Jake pondered a look down at his shirt and shorts for a moment. He didn’t take Mo’at as anything less than professional, though he had wondered why she hadn’t taken the time before to examine one. No time or…no good time to ask before now?

“Sure. But, I am keeping my briefs on for modesty reasons.” He decided. He shimmered out of his shirt, gently folding the fabric into a pile then his shorts then returned to the mat for her examination.

He was poked, and moved his limbs when asked, allowing her to test his reflexes or movements of his joints. His difference in foot and hand shape, coupled with the fact he had another digit in comparison to hers was more interesting with how their hands functioned differently, despite their similarities. His wound from the pecking needle was healed well and thread long since removed. She had been surprised to learn that humans don’t have a single dominant hand, as all Na’vi were left-handers by nature. Most humans were right-handed, like him or somewhere left-handed. Jake had to point out it was common for twins for one to be left and the other right-handed. Tommy had been left-handed.

Though his build was certainly sturdier in comparison to a Na’vi male, it wasn’t too noticeable until he had taken his shirt off and that she noted he had a lot more muscular structures on his top half. Mo’at’s intrigue grew when she had reached his tswin; having long since noticed it wasn’t starting from the top of their head as Na’vi but never asked.

He didn’t say no when she had asked to unbraid it; to examine the neuro-whip itself though he wasn’t fond of the experience, even as gentle and as careful as the braid was loosened and the hair was pulled away and he felt a little exposed. His ears pinned back uncomfortably as he felt her fingers press as the base around his neck; feeling the base of the tswin. It sent a shiver down his spine.

“You should get used to handling the tswin, Jakesully. It must be cared for and maintained.” Mo’at remarked, “Or at least have someone help you. I didn’t realise with your tswin’s placement behind and so low down on your head, catering to it would be harder. With ours starting upon our head, we can tend to it far easier as we won’t need to reach back and strain our arms.” Mo’at was swift to rebraid the tswin in a new, tight braid once she was done examining it from base to tendrils. “You plan for it to remain a simple braid? You could have a new hairstyle when the tswin needs to be redone next week.”

“I…haven’t given it much thought, so far it’s worked out for me and I don’t have to worry about it,” Jake admitted, pulling his tswin over his shoulder though admiring her work. “I’ll think about it.”

Mo’at simply nodded.

Jake was glad to be invited to dinner with the Omatikaya this time instead of being straight back, Nadine had been excited to hand over the food she had made with the cooks and glad to see people enjoy it. Jake complimented her well on it, watching her struggle with her mask between bites of her Niktsyeys and sweet broth and was very glad to be in his Dreamwalker for his first meal with the clan.

N’deh was allowed to stay, but at the outer rim which seemed to suit the man just fine. Jake didn’t try to convince the Na’vi either since it looked like N’deh liked to be more background. Morgan was with him as well to keep him company. He could hear the young warriors talk about their sling training with Morgan as they ate, with how far their rocks went and exchanging their tips and what had been taught to make sure they didn’t hit anyone.

Jake’s attention had been between eating and watching the people around him that he didn’t notice Neytiri until he reached down for the last part of his meal and she was suddenly there. His tail went straight up, clipping someone behind him though he turned a little pink, ears burning a little more with the thinner skin. He offered an apology though Neytiri was grinning in amusement as she ate.

“Thanks.” He remarked dryly, “If I was in an able, human body, I was have jumped straight up on my feet then fall on my ass.”

“If you were in your human body?”

Jake pondered for a second on what were the most likely outcomes for a started paraplegic. “Probably would have thrown stuff.”

“I look forward to that.” Neytiri promised, slyly. “Were you informed that we located another camp of sky people?”

Jake’s eyes widened, ears perking straight up. “Another camp?”

“Yes. Three sky people; two males, and one female. Two with Dreamwalkers. But… I suspect there may be more but we can’t find the other one just yet. This first group may know more. I wish to speak to them tomorrow.”

“Are you sure they’re just…gone? Like me and Nadine? They could be sent out to...look for us? ” Jake asked, his heart picking up in concern.

Neytiri remained quiet for a moment though there was a little colour purpling her cheeks. “Given how deep they are in our land, I would say so but also…my mother mentioned you said mating was forbidden with your Dreamwalkers from the sky people village?”

Jake nodded slowly though he could pick up what she was putting down. “You saw them having sex?” he grinned, enjoying her blush.

“Not…tsaheylu but…yes.” Neytiri said, “I don’t know why but…why are our first sighting with people at a distance seeing them in such positions? First the Cold Ones, now these two…”

“Just wait till you come across an orgy happening. Human sex habits are wild.” He grinned.

“Orgy?”

“Group sex, a minimum of four people all having a…good time. There’s a lot to it but not for dinner discussions. ” Jake clarified, keeping it brief to get back to the topic. “That said, you’ll be meeting them tomorrow if you’re telling us now?”

“Yes. I want you to come, but remain at a distance should we be wrong. You can…read them better to see.”

Jake nodded. “I see, also it’ll be easier to root them out if they react badly.”

“Indeed.”

Jake swallowed down this broth thoughtfully though remained quiet as they finished and headed back to camp.

He did tell the others though which had been an interesting array of reactions aside from N’deh who had gone straight to bed exhusted. Nadine was more interested, as well as Morgan who were debating what the new group may bring if they were really gone from the RDA. Jerome and Kim wondered if they were anyone they knew but weren’t too fussed beyond interested.

In the clear night, the alarms of Hell’s Gate echoed. Warning lights flashed. A once solid fence was now burning a new hole from the remnants of an explosive that tore through it.

Running steps hurried through the darkened hallways. Many feet. Too many feet. Too easy to be unnoticed through the chaos.

The girl slipped to the brig doors but thankfully the doors seemed to open by her proximity as planned; taking the guard by surprise as it opened before she pulled her stolen gun out, forcing the man to surrender before he could reach his own or hit an alarm himself.

“Bree?” Her woman’s voice was surprised, muffled if a little by the glass door between them in her cell.

“Open the cell,” Bree said sharply, forcing confidence into her posture as she kicked the safety latch off.

“Look, young lady. Let’s not do—“

She fired once, into the second cell door beside him, which cracked but the bullet didn’t pierce and thankfully, didn’t rebound into her or the guard but it shut the man up real good.

“Door. Now.” Thankfully, he wasn’t for dawdling before he pulled out the security card from his neck chain and slowly made his way to the cell door and opened it. The single occupant immediately reached out the snatched the gun from the man’s holstered leg and the chain from his hands then shoved the guy straight into the cell, shutting it after him. The woman dropped the key chain in front of the door just to be an ass.

“We gotta go,” Bree said, nodding the way out. “I have a sidewinder loaded and ready. A route planned. I stole your stuff already. They had a really shitting passcode. 2-0-7-7. Really?”

“Now is not the time for complaining.” The woman said, clipping the gun into the back of her pants to hide as they entered a busier corridor, keeping their heads down to not be noticed in the masses of chaos.

“I paid off Shen to wipe the cameras using Duncan’s clearance,” Bree added with a grin. “He’ll get the heat.”

“Good girl.”

Jake woke early and spent the morning getting his human body cared for, going through his PT exercises with Nadine so they both held each other accountable for their care which was working out for them.

“What’s this, Yoga?” Morgan asked, coming in with the human portions of breakfast.

Nadine snorted a little, a little tired from a nightmare but more chipper as she slipped out of her routine then into splits, then leant forwards a little to expose a little more of her cleavage. “Wanna join?”

“Are you asking or teasing, sarge?” Morgan swallowed.

Jake coughed before this could go anywhere. “If you’re gonna flirt, I’ll link up.”

Both of them rolled their eyes at him but before Jake clambered back to his chair and ate his meal.

It wasn’t until Neytiri arrived did he linked up with his avatar and hopped out of his mauri to greet her. He had already eaten in avatar body so he simply hopped onto the back of Seze when offered and hooked his arms around her.

The trip was long. Far longer, he realised than it was to Hometree to his camp; passing over Hometree as well on onwards in an almost straight line.

He almost didn’t see where they were going when they began to descend before they seemed to reach a forking river and there was a flash of white.

Neytiri landed some distance away before they both got off. She led the way before he began to pick out the sight of…a sheer damn lab with a metal shack that looked to be…very well decorated. The top roof was covered in moss, dirt and grass, covered with a fallen tree to look blended into the floor from above. From the side, the angle they were approaching; the sides looked to have been hand-painted a mixture of brown and greys with a real, natural stone texturing. The white looked to be from the inside rim; the windows hadn’t yet been touched, but it was clear to see leaf screens went up manually; solar panels were laying on the window sills.

Someone there had art skills.

He was downright fucking impressed. He was jealous even of their creativity. Morgan was gonna be happy for sure to have a fellow human with talent.

Jake hung back in the treeline as Neytiri made way and knocked on the window and stood back.

It took a minute before a nerdy-looking man seemed to appear in the window and then move very quickly out, no doubt calling for his buddies. Jake was too far to hear anything more than noise though he was surprised to hear an echo. The man had a set of lungs on him.

Within a minute, two avatars seemed to appear from behind the lab space, though unarmed, their ears were pinned up and alarmed. The guy inside did leave, wearing a mask though very cautious.

Neytiri though greeted them politely, just as weary. “I am Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Daughter of the Olo'eyktan. You are on Omatikaya land and too deep to be sanctioned by the Olo'eyktan unless you…provide a good reason for your presence. Are you lost? Researching away from your village? I’ve noticed you’ve decorated it differently to the others.”

The three looked at each other though the woman stepped forward. In her Avatar, she was shorter but she held a very strong energy around her with her posture. Her back was straight, though her tail was raised; clearly their leader of the trio.

“We are not lost. We…left the sky people village.” The woman spoke carefully. “We’re…hiding from them. This was our best option. Far enough away….from the RDA and we hoped…from you Na’vi as well. We didn’t want to interfere with you. We just…want to live in peace. Away from the RDA’s bullshit and policies and just…live. ”

Neytiri pondered their words, stepping side to examine the lab. “It took some time to see you. You hid very well. But…this does not provide as much as the Sky People village. Why leave such a place that could provide far more safety than this metal home?”

The woman shrugged, “We have our reasons.”

Neytiri gave the woman a pointed look. “What are they?”

The male avatar moved forward, putting a hand on the woman’s shoulder with a soft whisper. The woman’s ears fluttered a little, tail lashing irritably.

“Earth is not safe.” The woman said sharply. “For me, personally. I can’t go back. I don’t want to go back. My contract with the RDA—a set of agreements, such as how long we’re here for—was running out and I couldn’t extend it for longer to match my boyfriend’s remaining time. He’s here because of me. Hodge here was too restricted in his interest in science since the death of his avatar. No longer able to do science for the fun of it. He was going to be put into the mining efforts for the remainder of his time and he didn’t want to spend all day every day in a hole for someone else’s paycheck. He was very…moved by Sully’s speech before that guy dipped. You might have come across him?”

“In passing.” Neytiri’s head twitched a little, eyeing each of the three. “Can I see your sky-people forms, please? I would like to See you.” She set the bow down. “I will talk honesty with your true self and be assured I have no ill intention to inform the sky people village of your presence here.”

The two avatars looked at each other though Neytiri was presenting as non-threatening and it was a simple request.

The only human looked up to the two and then shrugged. “Quicker you two pop out, the quicker we can get to what she has to say, guy.” Perhaps it was the distance away, though Jake found himself…amused a little at the guy’s voice. It was…lower than expected and though his face didn’t look at all moody, his voice sounded a tad mad or had as much enthusiasm as an excited sports commentator. Jake wondered how good the guy’s scream was if he got surprised…

The avatars pondered a moment but decided to comply. The woman disappeared while the other avatar sat down and leaned against the lab then went still. Twenty seconds later, two people came out.

The woman was white with a freckled face, strikingly blue round eyes, a strawberry blonde with a lot of hair, four feet of it even in a long but loose braid to keep it from getting in the way and reached just below her ass, she was short in her normal body as well and very thin.

The man behind her was dark-skinned, his hair buzz cut close to his head under a cowboy hat with a thin moustache across his top lip. His jaw was sharp, with intelligent eyes as he tilted his hat to look up at Neytiri.

Neytiri crouched in front. “You are not the first we have come across living in our territory, if you are not of the Sky People village any longer, then I hope to offer you the same agreement we have with the Dreamwalkers and human.”

“Agreement?” the woman spoke, “You talking about Sully?”

“As I said, we noticed him, I refer to an older camp. Two dreamwalkers we know are thought dead by your kind, a human soldier who was abandoned by your people many years ago. They hold a piece of our land for their own to live off of but they come to us a few times during the week and provide for the clan be it creating tools, hunting or assisting with general chores. In return, we offer you our silence, our education and our protection from the sky people.”

“What happens if we say no? You sell us out to the RDA?” The woman asked. “Make us leave?”

“No. We will tell no one but we leave you to fend for yourself, do nothing if you are found by either sky people or predators and if you cannot survive, will not aid you or bury your bodies. Nature will take you as you fall.” Neytiri spoke, sharply and cut with facts. “I will leave the choice to you.”

The woman stared at the Na’vi for a moment, then two the other two. Hodge looked more nervous but the woman nodded the two inside. “Let us talk. Privately.”

The three went inside following Neytiri’s nod.

Jake waited, sitting down as Neytiri returned to his side as well.

“They are worried.”

“You’re unexpected,” Jake reasoned a little. “They left not thinking they were gonna run into anyone. You show up, out of nowhere then offer this deal and change how their future looks and expectations.”

“You believe their honesty? It sounds very basic and yet…I don’t understand fully.”

“I do. I think the male avatar guy, he’s there for his girlfriend. If they’re a known couple in the RDA then the chances are he’d be punished for her escape or if he could be used to find her. So coming with her avoids emotional baiting. I don’t know what happened to the woman but…” Jake heisted, “something must have happened if she escaped to this planet in the first place. Trauma, maybe. She must have wanted a permanent position like Augustine or Quaritch but couldn’t get it.”

“The other male?”

Jake mulled for a long moment. “Scientists like to study. He’s probably from Botany. Plants and stuff. Dead avatar…that’s rough on him.” Jake winced sympathetically. “His...entire career was plants. Maybe they were moving him to another area as punishment if the death of the avatar was his fault. Like putting a weaver into a hunting position with no training.”

Neytiri pulled a face. “That is not… how could anyone adapt to a new way of life with no education? You were mentioned?”

Ah. Jake sheepishly winced. “Yeah… before I left I sort of left a goodbye note on their systems. I explained why I left and set a few questions about why they were there and what they were doing. Who were they doing shit for. Basically, I wanted to put a message for people to try and think for themselves; for what they wanted in their lives rather than breaking their own spine for the money of the guy who runs the base who would walk over their own bodies for a small piece of metal.”

Neytiri stared at him for a moment, then back to the lab. “They do not want to die for metal?”

“No one does, but sometimes the payout on the returns means some people can find some comfort on Earth. People take the risk. It seems these three aren’t testing those waters on their luck to see if it was worth it. They must assume that if I’ve survived a month and not been found, then they have a better chance.”

Neytiri nodded. After a moment, the door opened and Jake shrunk back as the three made their way back out. Neytiri moved back to greet them.

“We’ve...decided to accept the deal but...” The woman hesitated, “There is another group that…should be consulted. They need more protection as well. We left first, but got them a place a few miles away in advance.”

“Another group?”

“They cannot go back.” The woman’s tone was final, “You will see.”

Neytiri’s head tilted. “What are your names? So I may assure them we are…allies?”

“I’m Ruby. Zane and Zeke.” Guesting to her boyfriend first, then Hodge. “Corporal Harper runs the other group with Officer Midori. Three other women are with them.”

Harper. Jake recognised the last name. Jerome and Kim had mentioned him a lot and were part of that dead guy’s team. Were they related? Neytiri’s tail flickered a little with recognition at the name as well but didn’t announce it.

“Alright, direct me and I shall see them and offer the same deal.”

“We’ll let them know you’re on your way?”

“You have….devices to talk over long distances?” Neytiri sounded worried. “Can the sky people not find this?”

“We didn’t wanna leave our camps without the ability to talk to each other. If they need something from this neck of the woods or vice versa it’s far easier to get it to them rather than a back-and-fourth with hours of walking. The RDA can’t trace our channels. Harper made sure. Plus, the bonus is we can tap into their signals and listen in and get a lot of Intel in advance.”

Jake pondered this though the risks didn’t out way the payout in that regard, it certainly would be…useful for the camps to have a connection outside of Hometree if both agreed.

“Very well, but…what if you are not true and are with the sky people village to seek any who do leave?”

“I don’t know how else to assure you but we have no interest in the RDA. We want to live and thrive. Not to be sent back home and turned into no one among the trash heap of Earth” Ruby spoke, “But these women need the warning. They are scared. They have suffered dearly because of the RDA and what they went through living with them.”

Neytiri eyed the woman and then nodded. “Okay. I will talk to them. I can return later today to go over the proper details and return to my father to get arrangements sorted. Tomorrow will be the day the other Dreamwalker camp will come to Hometree; they can teach you as well.”

“Okay.”

Neytiri nodded before turning tail and headed back towards the treeline. Jake moved deeper away towards Seze though he contemplated the woman’s words with a growing heavy heart.

There was a lot not said, at least to those who had no context. Jake wasn’t stupid, or foolish to think the paranoia was unwarranted. A group of women, or mostly women? Leaving to live in the woods on an alien world, paranoid and scared of being found or worse going back. Needing forewarning. Suffered because of the RDA.

All too familiar if this painted an unpleasant implication. He’d need to hear what they truly said but… shit on earth was repeating on Pandora. If the implication were correct then… the second group was not to go back.

“Are you alright?” Neytiri asked, “You comfortable with their devices?”

“Huh, oh yeah. That’s…not the worry I have.” Jake settled behind Neytiri as they climbed back onto the Ikran. “I…have a hunch of what’s happened with the second group. If it’s right then…they cannot go back to the RDA.”

Neytiri frowned but took off into the sky again, staying low to the treetops as they went. “How so?”

“I can’t know until we see but… if the group are entirely female, that shows me they’ve been targets of…abuse at the hands of mostly male staff. Assault. Of which kind…can vary. I’m not sure I’m the right guy to explain but if they’ve been abused, they’ll be weary of new faces. ” Might explain why Zeke is with the couple and not with the group.

“Assault, Abuse?”

“Harm. Someone purposely inflicting hurt either emotionally, physically, mentally or….sexually onto another.” He said, “It’s a broad spectrum but harm and hurt all the same. I could be wrong so I won’t make any more assumptions. If they are angry, or hostile, it’s out of fear. Let them understand that they have nothing to fear from the Omatikaya, but do not pity them or treat them like they’re about to break.”

“I understand.” Neytiri nodded. “Will you see these women with me?”

“No. I’ll meet them at Hometree tomorrow in my human body. I’d rather minimise the feeling of pressure to decide on their heads. I’ll listen nonetheless.”

Once again, they descended down. Jake took himself into the tree's canopy as he saw the metal shacks set into the roots of two large trees. Mud was covered the metal silver and shine but it was still a work in progress. The foliage above was dense; thick leaves and giant mushrooms seemed to help in hiding them from above. A dormant female avatar was set outside on a basic avatar fold-up fabric and metal framed bed, under a leaf-like tent with a distinct smell coming from a bowl underneath; familiarly an insect repellent to protect the avatar.

Neytiri approached the camp though five masked faces were quick to make their appearance outside. Cautious, but clearly coming from one shack where they heard the news from Ruby. A few hung back by the doors to watch and listen but not to interfere.

“I see you.” Neytiri greeted politely. “I assume your friend has told you why I am here?”

One woman moved forward, her posture firm and ridged. SecOps, by the tank top and camo pants and boots she wore if her attitude didn’t give it away.

“I’m Corporal Harper, and yes.” Her tone was sharp. “I’m surprised how fast you got here. I thought we had more time to discuss it before you arrived.”

Neytiri hummed, “I was on my Ikran. She is a mighty flyer.”

“Clearly,” Harper spoke.

“If I may, why did you leave the sky people base?” Neytiri asked, “Your friends said they were going to be sent back to your world or to be put into untrained areas. Is your tale similar, or different? I wish to understand what could push sky people out of their own village.”

A few of them stiffened up. Harper’s eye twitched a little, though not as tense but she waited until she got some sort of head shake or nod from the other few. Some didn’t look ready to talk about it. Fair enough.

The woman with the neck brace just snorted hoarsely into her mask, She was taller than the others, slim but athletically built woman with dark hair but what stood out was the fact the woman had a neck brace on. Her mask was a simple cover over her nose and mouth and for that reason that the full face mask would hurt to seal around her. Her face was heavily bruised along the left side, lighter and yellow in some areas but still purple and red in others and looked to be healing though her neck was also bandaged up as well. “To keep it brief; they don’t punish criminals, or someone lets them get away with their crimes even with the evidence we give them of what they did to us. We were all hurt for one thing or another and survived.” She scoffed with a horse voice, “I took a knife to the neck and the guy didn’t get charged or locked up for good. I couldn’t stay and face the possibility he would kill me in my sleep.”

Neytiri looked at the injured woman and nodded gravely. “It is wrong to not punish those who commit such wrongdoings. I am sorry such actions were done to you. Be assured that the Omatikaya present no threat to you. We are not sky people, our ways are different but we understand and hope to…see.”

“So, we takin’ the offer?” Another voice asked, her voice careful. “I kinda don’t wanna die out here either, Harper.”

Neytiri’s head cocked as she finally seemed to address the wonder. “Your last name, Harper. Are you related to Reneharper?”

Harper blinked in surprise at the question. “I am. He was my uncle.” her answer was slow, her suspicion though was laced with confusion. “Why?”

Neytiri nodded. “We told your friends that we are in contact with a Dreamwalker camp. The Dreamwalkers, are Jeromeepstein and Kimgreene, they worked with Reneharper prior to his death.”

It was a gamble to mention though Jake could see it was a wise choice if the woman knew the science couple. It gave them an opening; friends or familiar faces opened up more trust.

“Bullshit. They all died three years ago.” Harper spoke sharply. “I saw the DNA testing of the bones the Tipani people brought back.”

“Their Human bones. They are one with their Dreamwalkers through Eywa’s embrace. Kimgreene and Jeromeepstein are a mated couple now and are expecting their first children. They work with the Omatikaya now with the same agreement we’re offering you and your first group. If you are undecided or troubled, I could bring either one to you?”

“Who’s the other man that lives with them?” Another woman asks instead of answering the question, Japanese with dark straight hair that was cut in a sloped but stylishly choppy bob-cut. “A scientist or a soldier?

“A warrior. Morganlangley. Dark skinned, an earth animal tattoo on his arm and long coiled hair.”

“Wait, Langley’s alive?” Harper straightened up at that, seemingly recognising the description “I thought he was dead. His ship crashed.”

“No, he survived with minimal injuries. But no humans came for him. A Na’vi warrior found him and brought him to the Dreamwalker camp. He’s been living with them for some years.” Neytiri said.

“You know him?” The neckbrace woman was looking at Harper.

“We worked briefly at Blue Lagoon,” The Japanese woman spoke instead, pulling the attention to her as she spoke with sharp interest to her companions “I know Harper here met him a few times but I worked with the guy. He was MIA and assumed KIA shortly after Blue Lagoon was officially abandoned. The black box couldn’t be traced and died eventually. Fuckin…I really owe that guy an apology there.”

The tenseness in a few of their postures seemed to melt away, not all of them and not entirely but Jake could see that a few familiar faces would be welcomed for sure. A good start.

“Alright. We’ll give it a go.” Harper decided. “It’ll…be nice to see a few familiar faces.”

“I shall tell you on what we currently have going in terms of our arrangement, what people do and are expected to do and…” Neytiri started, though Jake moved back away to find Seze and her voice fading off into the background.

Eight more humans.

Things were certainly going to get more interesting at Hometree now, wasn’t it?

Masterlist

#avatar #avatar james cameron #grace augustine #avatar the way of water #jake sully #neytiri #avatar rda #norm spellman #neytiri te tskaha mo'at'ite #eytukan #avatar way of water #tsu'tey #vampire #vampire au #vampire grace #mo'at

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