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aconflagrationofmyown · 2 years ago

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You go to my head, like a summer with a thousand Julys

A Sarge and lil Mama fic

Summary: THE BEGINNING of the Sarge and lil Mama universe

Warnings: fantasizing about breeding a young woman, masturbation with a stuffed animal, antiquated gender norms, slight grooming (I don’t know what else to call it even though it’s really not that and no one is under age) mentions of parental death, slightly manipulative Elvis, emotional infidelity on Elvis’ part towards his current girlfriends

Circa: 1954-57 due to playing fast and loose with the historical timeline of both Elvis’ basic training and Gladys’ death

Elvis Presley is an affectionate young man, he has a sweetness about him in all his interactions, and while he is famous and you don’t know him well he is devastatingly warm and you enjoy his attentions. He comes to your father’s studio often and he is affectionate when he does.

An affectionate acquaintance is what he is, he remains as such in a tidy little world where he hugs you during his visits and holds onto your waist as he chows down on the sandwiches you bring as refreshment for his Memphis Mafia. And there is nothing more to be said or thought. You learn to burn the bacon bound for his BLT because you like the way his eyes widen when it hits his tongue and how he groans around a bite:

“Honey, you shouldn’t’ve”.

In the coming months you learn to leave off the lettuce, too, once he’s back from touring again. Back to make another record, more juice for the machine and your father is gleeful at the unprecedented success of one of his artists. He took a chance on him and now Elvis’ life is fast, so very fast and the faces blur for him, blonde and brown and black and all of them want something he doesn’t quite feel like he can live up to.

It gets so bad he begs Wanda one night on tour just to sit with him, let him put his arm around her and just sit. When he walks back into the studio after months away and finds you there, it’s quieting. He hugs you and you smile and ask him how he is and it’s slow and steady and nice. He doesn’t have to manufacture calm with you, you are calm incarnate.

New songs mean new stages and life gets fast again. It happens like that more than a couple times. He feels older than twenty two when he’s blowing out as many candles atop a birthday cake on a movie set, his mother’s usual homemade creation missing and some fancy icinged concoction in its place. It doesn’t sit right in his belly and he tosses and turns that night wanting to be home.

Home is Memphis, the recording studio is there but he hasn’t gone yet, he takes a few days just to soak up Graceland and eat his mother’s food.

It doesn’t matter as you are not absent in his home, his mother speaks of you the first morning he is home. He shovels eggs into his mouth as she praises how you’ve grown up this summer, how you’ve been helping out at the church and took a part time job at the hospital. He’s not surprised, your father is a good fella, your mother of even better character and some kids are just born sweet -that’s how people like you get made, he figures. His mother assures him you’ve not grown into a career woman, she seems very insistent on how you’re just filling your time till you get married. She’s talked with you about it. And Elvis figures this is going down the road of how Billy and you would make a good match, and he wants to tell his mother you’re too much of a kid to be messed with by someone like Billy.

He doesn’t expect her to say, “She’s a good one Booby, the sort of girl who is bright and smart but would be happiest taking care of a man. Some gals are just built for that life, not that you’ll meet many on the road like that. But y/n? She’d make a good wife and even better mother, probably won’t really bloom until she’s had a baby. Some girls are just like that, kinda plain until they start opening up….”

The rest is lost in a blur. He is tired. It’s a perfect excuse considering he just came home. But when he goes to nap he cannot think of anything but you. You swollen and blooming with his child. You are younger in his memory, and it hits wrong. He gets angry at himself for thinking of you that way and ludicrously enraged at the suspicion anyone else might be, too.

Seeing you again will cure him, he knows that. He’ll hug you and you’ll ask him how he is and he’ll be reminded that you’re his old friend’s daughter and he’ll recall why he never bothered messing around with you. You’re steady and calm and nothing like this frantic emotion he suddenly feels at the thought of you opening up because of him… he stops trying to nap and goes to the shooting range instead.

Elvis Presley is reserved. The hug you anticipate never materializes as he steps through the door of the studio, and there is no cheeky grin when you ask him how touring was. He doesn’t smile or say much, he doesn't try to touch you at all, he is reserved. You feel cold.

But he watches. He watches you when he thinks you can’t see him, but the glass reflects and you notice his blazing eyes behind the microphone.

This has been happening to you more and more lately, men staring when they think you don’t see. Your mama says it’s because of your pretty smile. She has no answer when you tell her it happens even when you do not smile at all. You are not smiling now as you are confused, confused why he watches you like he wants to reach out to you and yet treats you like he does not, like the familiarity he usually wears like a second skin has been shed, lost somewhere on the road. Maybe he has a girl, you reason, and while that never affected his behavior before, maybe she’s a Hollywood one and a jealous type. Maybe he’s sad and tired like he says he is. He doesn’t eat the cookies you make. His voice breaks often and the session is scrapped early.

He hugs you sideways as he leaves and mumbles that he’s heard you’ve been keeping busy. You tell him you have and watch for some glimmer of approval. He stares at your lips and then flees outside to the sidewalk. Your father asks if you know what’s gotten into him. You do not.

That night, alone in his bed, he tosses and turns and refuses to touch the ache between his legs. You’d looked at him so earnestly that afternoon, trying to solve him and all he could think of was -you’re grown now. Bleeding every month, settling into a bra size, probably waking up with slick between your legs, your breasts getting sore and you don’t know why. Don’t know that all these things are happening to you so that a man can plough you open, pump you full and plant a garden inside you. He ought to be that man. He has the power to stop your bleeding, make your slick become a fountain and make you swell, filling the emptiness you register but do not understand.

He grabs the massive teddy bear sitting in the corner of his room. A fan gift, juvenile for a fellow well passed such toys, but he appreciates the thought. He appreciates the way the fur parts and rubs his weeping tip as he lays atop it and humps it miserably, pretending it’s you, pretending it’s somehow better to splatter all over synthetic fur at the thought of shocking you with his passion instead of touching himself to the thought of you swollen and dripping. He comes with a shout buried into the shoulder of the bear and registers in agony that his stiffness hasn’t gone down. He rolls over and calls up his costar. Tries to remind himself of that first, bubbly taste of a glamorous woman. She indulges him and he hates it, hates knowing what they both know: that he’s one of many, that she’d never in a million years risk her career to carry his child.

Thanksgiving morning you work alongside Gladys on the buffet line at the Methodist Children’s outreach and you ask her about her absent son. She worries for him, makes you worry in turn, is glad to have a companion in fretting, someone who understands why she can’t just “enjoy the ride.” You admit you’ve noticed a change in him. The buffet runs out of baked beans. Your mother says she’ll drive over and grab more from the market. It’s icy outside on the roads, your mother never comes back.

Your house is full to bursting that night, full of well meaning people who skip their Thanksgiving dinners to file past you and your father in a long line, awkwardly patting your arms and clasping his shoulder. They talk in subdued, measured tones about heaven and time and how they can’t imagine what you’re going through. Their restraint sets the tone for your grieving, you are subdued and rational until alone at dawn, clasping your pillow and sobbing, listening to your father do the same over the muffled noise of the TV.

When someone tells you that you’re the “woman of the house now” it feels like you’ve betrayed her again. It doesn’t sit right in your belly. You are sick with it, can’t eat from it churning in your gut, ironically you want mother to comfort you for her loss.

He comes back to Memphis in time for the funeral. He comes over to the house early, it doesn’t matter as neither you or your father sleep. Upon crossing the threshold, Elvis Presley does not awkwardly pat your father, clasp his hand or encourage him to be strong. He folds your father into a hug and doesn't let go for sometime, not until your father has wept for what he’s lost and Elvis meets your eyes over his shoulder, and he looks like he knows how this feels, like this is his worst nightmare you’re living. He is not removed from your pain, he dreads it and yet he partakes of it with you both. Gladys has brought a pot roast, she smoothes your hair back like she does her son’s before putting the meal in the oven, going back out to speak with your father.

Elvis’ eyes are watery when he approaches you, his freedom of emotion gives you courage to let loose, you sob, you wail and you babble and he cradles your head against his shoulder, swaying you in the middle of your mother’s kitchen as he mutters,

“that’s it, that’s it, you loved her didn’t ya?”

It’s the truest thing anyone has said all day.

He sits you down at the kitchen table and brushes your hair, powders your nose, brings you your black leather heels, holds out your coat for you to slip on. It’s not until years later you realize he must have taken the liberty of rummaging through your room to procure those items. It is odd that it was not his mother who took charge of such things.

At the graveside you are presentable in the manner in which he crafted you, your image is sad and tragic, but dignified and evocative.

Mother is buried in a coffin he bought, six feet under a plot of land he purchased, with a space next to it for your father when his time comes. There is no third space, and once the dirt is heaped over her you wonder where you’ll rest your bones, why he didn’t think to provide you a place in the earth, too. Your father calls him “a good boy” as the wind kicks up and the mourners disperse.

You ride back to the reception at your house, wedged snugly between Elvis and Anita. She hands you a monogrammed hanky in the back seat and it smells like rosewater. She sweetly lets you hold her hand and it’s icy from the cruel November wind while Elvis burns your right side, his arm thrown back behind your head and some thrumming turmoil roiling beneath his flushed skin. You can see the pulse thumping in his neck, above the fuzzy upturned collar of his coat and you instinctively press your free hand to it, trying to calm the flutter. He jolts at your touch and the vessel only pounds harder.

“You sick?” you ask him as your hand feels his sweaty skin. It’s wintertime and everybody at the hospital has come down with bugs and he feels like he’s raging with a fever. He doesn’t look like he’s been sleeping much either, he gets those same dark circles under his eyes as Gladys. They’ve both got them lately. Death has made you paranoid, you know.

“Nah, m’fine, it’s just from cryin.” he takes your hand down and holds it. Anita let’s go of yours, to open the car door as you arrive.

Whoever made it tradition for the bereaved family to have their house swamped by the community right after burying a loved one must've never known the bone deep desire to curl up and just process it all. Alone. So you stand again for hours and let them file past and it’s all very much the same as the other days and your stomach is in knots but you behave how your mother would’ve wanted, only occasionally sneaking off to the kitchen to load the emptying cheese trays and to just breathe. It goes on for hours, your feet ache and your throat is dry.

You escape back to the chilly sunroom to sit down for a minute and find him there, alone, sat on the wicker sofa and thumbing at one of your mother’s gardening books. If it were anyone else that would feel like a violation but since it’s him, it feels like he’s just trying to get to know her. And you appreciate that.

“Have you eaten, honey?” he asks you and nods at the apron you’ve donned as you just stand there and take him in.

“Uh, no, I’m not hungry.” you wave his frown away.

“Sit down honey, runnin’ yourself ragged like this.” and he pats the small space of cushion beside him as you think about your guests, think about how nice it would be to just relax with someone who values silence, but you can’t, you’ve gotta go back and host, it’s the right thing to do.

Except that his hand encircles your wrist and tugs and you go limply, folding into his side and he shouldn’t feel so warm, so safe, so right -you don’t know him that well. But he wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s bleeding for you and you suppose that puts you two ahead of a lot of so-called friends.

“They can eat sandwiches and make themselves feel compassionate without you hurtin those little feet any longer.” he declares and pulls you into his lap, tipping you back to cradle you like a baby, his hands running down your legs until they meet your ankles and he’s pulling off your heels with finality.

You’ve never had a boy touch you like this, you’ve never pressed your cheek against a hard chest and felt the thump, thump of a masculine heart radiate through your limbs. But he’s so final about it all, and so certain and so at ease you feel foolish for gasping and shuddering at the famillairties he takes as he rubs one hurting arch of your foot and then the other. He’s got an authority about him tonight you’d never noticed before, and you’d as soon question your pastor on a point of doctrine as question Elvis Presley on the propriety of rocking you to sleep, yards away from a substantial amount of Memphis’ most devout population.

Your last thought as you drift off is that you hope Anita understands you're just a kid to him, you hope you’re not shaming your mother on the very night of her funeral by tucking your head into his shoulder and sleeping for the first time since she died. Your stomach unwinds, your breathing evens out and your legs fall apart in your sleep, you dream of plush lips dragging along your forehead. You wake in the morning curled around a pillow, snug in your own bed, rested. Father tells you Elvis carried you up there himself before he left.

“He’s a good boy.” you agree with Father at breakfast.

He hadn’t felt boyish when he’d wrapped you in his arms. And you hadn’t felt girlish either, for all that you had been rocked and petted. Your stomach stays loose and molten for a few more hours before the grief catches up again and the newly empty house plagues you.

That’s why they invite the crowds in after a death, it takes half the city to make up for a single loved one’s absence.

You flee from the haunted space, longer shifts at the hospital and longer hours at the shelters. At night you sit and feed father your mother’s recipes, ask each other about the other’s day as if any of that matters now.

The Memphis division of the March of Dimes Charity approaches you to replace your mother on the board. Hustling you into your new position and entrusting you with the Christmas organizations all before the holiday itself is unheard of and rushed, but it all makes sense once you hear a doner put in a good word for you, requesting you be put in charge. There’s no bigger or quieter doner than Elvis Presley, so when he speaks up and asks for a thing -it happens.

Mere hours before catching a train to New York, he pops in to the event and makes the room shimmer with his presence, he kisses cheeks, chats with everyone and tosses kids who’ve been treated like glass up in the air, making them laugh for the first time in months. He signs ever so many posters and records and casts and he watches you all the while. The way you host and rustle about in your black heels and plaid taffeta crinoline as the function you put on runs like a well oiled machine. It doesn’t feel like a Christmas event without mistletoe or dancing, but it’s still a damn fine shindig, he’ll give ya that. And he notices what he suspected: when you’re busy working those grieving furrows of your brow clear and he finds he can breathe easier.

Before he leaves to catch his night train you get pulled into a photograph with him, poofy skirt crushed against his leg, arms helping balance a massive cake as he holds a kid who seems to think you want to eat globs of frosting off his fingers. You’re not about to deny a five year old boy in crutches so you slurp it off laughingly and the cameras capture Elvis watching that hungrily. The cake, not your pink tongue languorously licking white icing…

You walk him to the door and he leaves you in the warm glow of the charity function surrounded by children and folks you’re making feel welcome as only you can, and he boards the damn train that ships his ass to New York, calling Anita dutifully before slumping into the narrow bed and wringing his cock out to the thought of marrying you and keeping you full of him all your days.

You go on the date with Billy cause you figure it will get your mind off your grief and he tells you he wants one last happy memory before he leaves everything familiar and gets shipped across the world to get killed. Billy is being dramatic, as there’s no war on right now, but the draft is an atrocity all the same and you don’t mind giving Billy one last happy memory. Something in you has been curious about men since that night Elvis forced you to sleep on him by sheer masculine authority alone. You curl around your pillow at night and pretend it’s him, or someone, a man, you think. You pretend it’s a man.

You think it must be missing your mother that’s done this to you, she’d have kept you distracted but without her, and your father a reticent shell of himself, it makes sense you’re lonely and craving some stability, someone to tell you how it’s gonna be.

Billy isn’t exactly that, he can’t even decide on where to take you for this date, it’s up to you to suggest places, finally landing on the drive-in theater. It’s safe but mature enough to be a little thrilling. He doesn’t own a car so you drive in the car Elvis bought you when you became a March of Dimes board member. Father sets a curfew, and you try to soothe your nerves at the notion you might feel a man again tonight, your curiosity peaked and eager.

The theater lot is strangely empty when y’all arrive and you wonder if maybe Billy called in a favor. Halfway through the film you feel Billy’s hand on your thigh and you shudder and respond in kind, just a gentle resting on his own, but this spurs him on, soon he is ignoring the film altogether and fumbling to get under your velvet skirt and that’s a little surprising. You’re processing whether you like this or not when he leans over, pulls down your fur collar and glues his mouth to your neck like a pufferfish to the side of a tank. It’s not very romantic but it makes you flush and it shocks you and you like that. More shocking still is the blinding light that suddenly pierces the nighttime seclusion of your car cab, and there at your window is Elvis Presley wielding a police grade flashlight directly into your eyes, smiling like a shark against the glass.

“How’s it goin kids?” he grins, his breath frosting the frigid glass.

“Elvis, I-I- I’m on a date.” You laugh while stating the obvious.

“I know, I know,” he nods, opening your door and sliding in next to you, gently shoving you till he’s in front of the wheel and you're wedged in the middle, “Bill here told me you were handin out free dates to poor drafted boys, so I’m here for mine.”

“You’ve been drafted, too?” you cry out, Billy quite forgotten, “They’ll not make you with-“

-with his career you mean, but he gives you a pout and nod and that’s that. So is the way his arm slides around you and pulls you closer and you feel like you’re in the middle of a contest you didn’t sign up for. “I’ll miss you boys.” you sigh.

“Aww, you’re sweet honey, ain’t she sweet, Billy? She taste sweet, too?”

Billy mumbles something under his breath about not getting the chance and you realize Elvis has his hand gripping the poor kid’s neck.

“Elvis you're being rude.” you chide meekly.

“Nah, it’s rude to kiss a lady’s neck with so little finesse as Bill was yours, that’s what’s rude.” Elvis declares and you get that feeling again of being unable to question him. You just hush and stay put until the credits roll and he offers Billy a ride home which the kid accepts. He drives your car and you don’t bother protesting when he drops Billy off with a:

“See ya in the barracks, bucko!”

It’s rude and cocky and no one’s ever fought over you before and while you don’t appreciate him interrupting your exploration of a male specimen, it’s rather nice to matter a little to Elvis Presley. It’s heady and makes your heart thump and your legs feel heavy and you wipe your sweaty palms on the velvet of your skirt.

“How’d you know that, that I was there?” you ask him, timid now you’re alone with him and the gentleness he once showed you isn’t present, he is gnawing on his bottom lip, leg not pressing the gas is jiggling like it does before a performance and it attracts your eye by instinct.

He’s wound up and you feel a little suffocated from the warmth rolling off him as he drives you through the dark streets, back to your home. “He asked me to clear the lot out.” he confirms your suspicion, “Then your daddy asked me to look out for ya, make sure all was right and proper.”

You are surprised and a little hurt that your father wouldn’t trust his child who has been as unfailingly upright as yourself on a movie date, more strange still that he’d trust someone as, well -loose might be a unkind word- but someone as loose as Elvis Presley to enforce morality on such a night. “I don’t believe you.” you admit barely above a whisper.

Elvis’ foot slips at your little whisper and he revs over the curb outside your house with a thump, before he curses and backs up, head cranning to look out the rear window and you wanna touch his throat.

He kills the lights and turns to you and you're so ashamed by your craving thoughts you fear he can sniff them like blood in water, figure out that you wanna run your finger down his cheek, that you wanted to touch Billy cause you’ve been curious of him. “Now honey,” he admonishes you in the still dark and it’s all you can do not to shrink against the car door under the weight of his stare, “I don’t wanna have to report to your daddy what I saw in this here cab, so why don’t you tell me why it was you were lettin’ that boy touch on you so. You was leanin in, I saw ya, you was leanin in and you liked it.”

“Elvis,” you plead, face aflame and it makes him twitch in his seat to see you squirm so, “you, Elvis you know I haven’t -this was my first date! I didn’t do nothin wrong. It was exciting, that’s all.”

He looks at you sternly and it makes you angry, you're about to resume a defense when he takes his hand off the wheel to clasp your thigh, higher up than Billy ever dared. “This feel exciting, lil one?”

Your lungs feel crushed and your thigh trembles under his hot palm, “What’re you doin?” you gasp, feeling very, very wrong and near starving for it.

“This feel right to you?” he presses, unrelenting, hand rhythmically squeezing your soft flesh and you can see father’s silhouette in his usual chair by the window, reading and oblivious.

“I said exciting.” you cleared your throat, “And I said it was when Billy did it. And he never went that- that- that high up.”

“Oh nah? Hmm, well, now that I’m there, how’s it feel, honey? Hmm?”

You squeeze your eyes shut after a moment, watching his hand creep higher and nearer to where you feel your heart beat thudding between your legs proving to be a bit much.

“Ain’t right or fittin for Limp Dick Billy to be gettin a quality girl like you excited.” he shakes his head, “Save your bosom heavin for better stuff.”

“Limp Dick -what’s that mean?” you repeat him, bewildered as your world narrows to his lush lips and the searing heat of his hand near that place you’ve grown to notice more and more lately.

“Aww that’s just, that’s nothin, just a bad name we use for fellas whose uh, well, whose hair won’t uh, won’t stand up right.”

“Not everybody can have hair like you, E.” you mumble and watch the way the lamplight makes his rings glitters against the velvet of your skirt.

That’s an admission on your part that he drinks in like a dying man, happy to have some glimmer of superiority in your mind over his fellows, and he rubs his thumb soothingly over your twitching thigh as your skirt folds dip between your legs, highlighting them perfectly. He can see the outline of your little cunt between your pressed thighs and he feels rash, feels like spreading his hand a little further and brushing his pinky there against that place he’s imagined so many times.

“Elvis,” you whisper into the silent cab, “what’re you doing?”

That’s a question for the ages and one he hasn’t got a clean answer for. “Tryin to make you excited.” he admits.

“Why?” you puzzle and you’ve heard that this is why he’s called trouble. It isn’t fitting for the sexes to know too much about each other, and Elvis knows too much about women, that’s the talk anyways.

The motion of his thumb against your thigh makes you agree, he knows a little too much and you know too little.

“Tell me,” he leans in further and you feel trapped and your heart is bounding from being the object of his droopy eyed assessment, “does this feel like doin nothin?” he demands and then he’s pressing a fluttery kiss to your pulsing throat and the catch of your breath is audible in the small space.

“Don’t.” you beg, confused and wanting it to never end.

“Why not?” his breath chills the damp little spot where he pressed his kiss.

“You’ve got a girl.” you protest.

“Thought you said this weren’t nothin.” he growls.

“Alright maybe it is.” You squirm away from his touches until your back is pressed against the glovebox. “I-I don’t know. I just - I don’t think you should be doing this with me.”

“Alright then.” he smirks, “You'd best not give me reason to tell your father bout any future such nothin’s with boys, alright honey?”

“If you stop behavin in a way that would make Miss Gladys inclined to whoop you, then I will.” you fire back and he thinks he’s in love. Cause you’re right, his mama would be livid at him flustering you and trying you out without making it honest. Your supreme capabilities in social matters, mixed with your utter dumbness in regards to the slick sliding down your legs with each swipe of his thumb against velvet, makes him nearly primal in his wants.

“Deal.” he smiles, “I’ll be gone away to basic training soon, anyhow,” and he notices your little frown at that, “won’t be here to bother you or protect ya, either way. So you’d best just swear off men, ya hear me? Just for a little while till I can come back and vet ‘em.”

“You’ll be gone in the army for a couple years!” you protest his sentencing you to a nunnery.

“Yeah, yeah, and your eggs will keep a couple more years.” he laughs at what must’ve been a good joke that you missed while you were occupied trying to breathe after he patted your lower belly and got out of the car to hand you out by curfew.

On the front porch he tells your daddy a version of the truth. A version that paints you as quite blameless, himself in a starring role of protector and Billy as a no good kid who ain’t quality enough to be hanging out with nice girls like yourself. You are forbidden from seeing Billy again, Elvis is commended, your father goes upstairs to bed and leaves you alone with a young man whose lingering fingers and bitten lips make you lightheaded -you think maybe Elvis has the right idea, your father is blind as a bat when it comes to threats.

Not that Elvis is a threat, he just lounges against the kitchen counter and watches you put up dishes like it’s the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen.

“You don’t think Anita would mind you hanging around like this?” You ask him after his lip licking stare gets a little too heavy and you feel somewhat dizzy from being so closely watched by a guy who you know doesn't mean anything by it.

It’s just Elvis’ way of things, he makes people feel and it’s not his fault.

You’ve tried to not blame him for that building feeling you get when he’s around, the one like your lower belly is made of molten lead. That’s a physical abnormality, not his fault in the slightest.

You just do worry about how people might see this, seeing him walking home from your house late at night. You've heard the older ladies on the board whispering about you and how you haven’t got a protector, how your father can’t see what’s right in front of him. You presume they mean about Billy and his straying hands or the old donor who tried to tug you into a closet with him. Elvis is just trying to fill in the slack your father’s grief has left. Anyone with eyes could tell he’s just looking out for you. He had to be pulled off the old doner before he murdered him after he heard. It’s only that you notice Anita has turned a little cold towards you, and mama always said to be careful about letting a taken man take too much interest in ya. And Elvis does seem very interested in something about you, maybe just cause people stare and he thinks it’s rude, thinks getting pulled into closets is ungallant. He does plenty of his own staring, though.

“What about Anita?” his head snaps up and he takes his eyes off your shiny little leather belt to ask you to repeat yourself.

Something about having his focus back on your face makes you feel dumb about your worries and you change the question slightly. “Y’all gonna get married?” you ask instead.

“I dunno.”

“But with you going into the army, what’s gonna happen, what’ve you two sorted out?” you press, scooting him to the side so you can put a dish away behind him.

“She says she’ll wait for me.” he replies, sounding like her faithfulness is an imposition and you get a little mad for her, “she’s always tryin to nail things down I-I-I’ve told her, I just d-d-dunno.”

“She’s been very accommodating of you, Elvis.” you plead her case the way your mother used to plead yours to your father about dance lessons.

“Yeah, sure, sure.” he agrees dryly, leaning on the counter again and staring at his feet, “Gonna put a pause on her damn career and everything, least for a year or two. Big whoop. Who's gonna take care of the babies once she goes back to work, that’s what I wanna know. No children of mine’s gonna get raised by some passel ‘a mamies like a bunch of Wall Street brats while their mother is off kissin men for a living.`` By the end of this tirade his voice is close to a shout and you think he’s shockingly worked up over a rather hypocritical grievance.

But it makes sense, “Guess a career woman isn’t the best mother.” you agree tentatively and his eyes shoot up to your face. You’ve no more dishes to dry and your hands hang uselessly by your side.

“Oh hell, look at us ruinin our evening over her,” he shakes himself, “don’t mind her she’s just being an ole biddy about it all.”

“With some reason!” you laugh, “ And the point could be made that you’re actin a bit like an ass.”

“Oh hell not you, too!”

“It’s not nice to lead a gal on like that -or two in the case of Dixie and June- and then get mad at her when you decide she isn’t what you want after all!”

“Didn’t realize you were so invested in my private life.” he sneers.

“I’m not. But the Evening Herald is.”

“Don’t let the papers turn ya onto a nagging puss, lil girl, doesn't suit your sweet temper.”

“I’m not turnin into anything, just stating facts.” you murmur and clasp your hands before you anxiously. You swear you can feel the heat coming off of him, anger you presume, “And I’m a little tired.” you add sheepishly.

“Course you are.” he murmurs, visage smoothing like magic and he comes up to you, cradling your face in his hands as you back away and bump into the stove, “Been a big day and a lotta new feelin’s, hmm?”

“Yes.” you gasp, your chest hot and his hands are so large and warm and it’s like he blocks out the rest of the world full of his girls and your father and what’s right or wrong, cradling your cheeks with his thumbs running along your cheekbones, “You gonna be good and do what I asked ya?”

Your mind is so fixated on the plump curve of his bottom lip that you surface with a frantic splutter, trying to recall what he’s referencing.

“You gonna lay off the datin’ till I get back, yeah?” he reminds you helpfully as his fingers work the back of your neck to jello, your core pulsing in a strangely distracting response as he tells you how it’s gonna be, gives the very direction you’ve been craving.

“Yes, yeah.” you breathe and your voice sounds like those gals on the screen when they’re overcome by romance, but here is none that you can find, just Elvis looking out for you and patiently bearing with your stupid naïveté when it comes to boys. He’ll make sure you land the right one, start house with a fella who’ll give you security and direction. It’s just your loneliness with father being so mellow that has you going on stupid dates with boring boys. Elvis is right. You admit it to him.

He smiles in response and it looks like the kind he gives before he punches someone in his films. It’s a promise.

You shiver against the stove and grip the dish towel hanging from the handle.

“And you’ll let me know if anybody is botherin, ya while i'm gone, right?” he rewards your obedience with the promise of security, just like all those knights in fairytales.

Women obey and men provide, it’s the natural way of things and your heart swoops at the first taste of a married dynamic. You feel like you should offer him some favor, some reward for giving you his defense. You’ve heard stories about girls who feel the way you do, who get overcome by gratitude to a fella before getting married and they are ruined. You grip the dish towel harder, unsure of what motion you might make which would ruin you, what touch it is that seals your fate, puts a baby in a girl before it’s time. It can’t be a hug, surely not just a kiss, but you wouldn’t know as you’ve never dared. You’ll wait for Elvis to come back and make sure the fella you date and marry won’t get you in trouble in any of these ways. It’s complicated and confusing being a woman, and since that night of the funeral he seems to have taken the place of your mother, and you trust him in this.

“I’ll let you know.” you swear earnestly.

He kisses your cheek gently in response. Just a dry peck. That must not be the ruinous action in question, he wouldn’t do anything to tarnish you. It’s Elvis.

Elvis is a sullen but brave boy as he boards the army bus to ship him down south where it’s more Mexico than truly civilized but the world just calls it Texas. Or that’s what you hear from Gladys. You were not there to see him off, why should you be? You are busy and you have sworn off men and there’s a great deal to do in those dismal post holiday weeks. You do not pine for distractions, you don't have much energy to lie awake at night for long and rehearse the way his hand felt on your thigh, or his lips against your throat, or his fingers grazing the little swell of your belly where your womb is housed. These are passing, fitful and frantic thoughts, that pass through your mind before sleep takes you.

And Elvis is much the same, basic training is unkind, even to a man whose performances required much stamina. He crawls into his bunk and collapses most nights, staring with hooded eyes, at the newspaper clipping of you licking that damn icing, the picture he’s shown his new army buddies while announcing to them proudly “that’s ma girl, no, no, not the sort to fool with. The one I’m gonna have carrying my babies. Soon.”

Soon.

It’s a waste in the meantime, the way he spews his seed over the panties he stole from your room that morning he dressed you for the funeral, it’s a waste of precious fuel— fuel for his dream as it impotently coats and drips from the silk and makes him angry that he can’t find it in him to tamp down that restless heart of his, just settle down. Marry you already. Be a little respectable— sounds relaxing, sounds satisfactory. Sounds like something the Colonel would love for this whole “new image.”

That sours it all and he rolls over in his bunk with the sodden scrap of silk that no longer smells of you but of him and his wasted desire.

Soon, he tells himself, soon. After a little while.

It’s tragic really, the way we postpone snagging those things we know we want, the ones our gut lurches for, our soul craves as our conscience whispers “just do it.” Put off because life is too exciting to tone down, fun and girls are in abundance, and time seems very plentiful until it runs out in a great big whoosh of sand from the hour glass, taking with it those steady, stable, sure things we’ve counted on being there for an endless little while. Like your Mother. Just gone, and the universe doesn't pause to acknowledge your world is fractured, for everyone else it’s just tomorrow. Tomorrow is here and they’re not.

The shock of it jolts you, the regret nags you, the grief strips you back down to the bare bones of what you want and need. Elvis only knows one other person who he thinks gets how this feels as his train hurdles homeward to a coffin and a future that doesn't make any sense. Mama should have gotten to see him out of the army, gotten to see him do more, hit thirty, marry. Mama shoulda been able to meet those grandbabies she’d pestered him about but he put off for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a bitter pill and he wants to spit it out, start over, refashion it just so. No more regrets, no more fighting his gut. He’d like to dig a shallow grave for a little while, fold himself into it and just rest a minute, learn to forgive his stupid ambition, catch a break. Wake up some thawed spring morning to the sight of you beside him in the daffodil covered earth, find the reason in your eyes that makes him choose to live again.

Still, he finds it in a little fur trimmed peacoat standing and waiting forlornly for him at the station.

You’re not a girlfriend, you’re not a fan, you’re just someone who lost their mama too, somebody who knows there’s not much to say, just a hug there on the crowded platform and “she was the reason for everything you ever did, wasn’t she?”

Was. She was. Now is about what is.

#reposting for masterlist purposes #since the other links are deactivated #cheers #elvis fanfiction #sarge and lil mama #the beginning #elvis imagine #elvis fanfic #elvis x reader #elvis x you #austin elvis imagine #elvis presley #Elvis x Elaine

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sumire-no-nikki · 7 months ago

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Restoring a 1930s Typewriter + Some Scattered Thoughts

There’s something so magical about holding something this old in one’s hands. Who used it before? What feelings had it translated into words? How many families did it watch grow and scatter? How many houses has it survived?

A couple of months ago I set out to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine to have a vintage typewriter. One evening, I found a listing for this gorgeous piece for relatively cheap. I didn’t know much about the world of manual typewriters but I was eager to learn. And just like that, I was knee deep in a new hobby.

As soon as I got the machine, I went to work. I used cheap toothbrushes and Waschbenzin to clean the slugs. As it is really quite old, some gunk in between the characters were not lifting. I had to improvise and use a sewing needle to scrape the caked ink. I then removed the tattered old ribbon and replaced it with a new one.

I still have the task of cleaning and doing some small repairs on its leather case. And while the platen itself is still in really good condition the feed rollers have flat spots making it a bit temperamental when advancing the paper. I will have to find a specialty store that can replace them in the future. There are areas of chipped paint which should be quick enough to address with some black nail polish. And then for a final touch, it needs to be polished with car wax. But these tasks are secondary. The typewriter is fully working despite its age. It was incredible seeing it come to life the first time I used it. It felt like a fantasy, like time travel.

Throughout the whole process of cleaning and repairing my typewriter, I was constantly reminded that this machine is 87 years old. The curved cover, the font on the decal and the simplicity encapsulates the art deco style from that era. WWII was just starting when this was manufactured. My grandfather wasn’t even born yet. Working with this typewriter was a meditative experience but it also brought on a lot of melancholy thoughts on existence, technology, consumerism.

You can just tell how much thought and care was put into building this typewriter. It’s innovation with purpose, not solely for profit. This machine’s ribbons feed from right to left. Once it is completely wound to one side, there is a button that reverses the gears and the ribbon will then feed from left to right, ensuring that the ink in the ribbon is used up without any waste. There is a button that allows you to type beyond your set margins in case it’s necessary. There is a lever that centers the platen and disengages the margin bell in order to prevent it from jiggling around and breaking while in transport. There is a self-starter key which is practically a tab button. The case comes with clamps that keep the typewriter from moving around. It also allows you to type with the case attached.

The manufacturers and innovators of that time thought about everything. Technology is meant to last. It is meant to address as many problems as possible, and meant to stand alone without needing more attachments. Back in the day, when you purchase something, it’s meant to last your lifetime, if not beyond. Just the fact that it still works after all this time is a testament to the integrity of its creation.

87 years from now, what will our era have left for the future? What will be left of our time when iPhones self destruct every two years to force purchase of the newest model? What will the future generation seek out to repair and refurbish from our time that isn’t made of plastic? What would be “vintage” to them when everything is made to break?

#diary #sumire-no-nikki

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aranarumei · 1 year ago

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the anomalous agate (part one) *updated

hey guys. some of you probably wanted to see "two" written there! that'll take a little more time.

for those of you who don't know what the title's about at all, this is my crossover fic for the case files of jeweler richard and sasaki to miyano. specifically, this asks the question of "what if hanzawa masato visited jewelry étranger?"

i wrote the original version of this chapter in like, four days, and this is me doing an actual editing pass. it's not required to read it, as I don't actually add any new information, but I would recommend it. this fic is also posted on ao3, so you can read the updated chapter there, as well

edit: part two | part three | part four | epilogue

without further ado, I'll leave the fic under the cut!

case 2-x: the anomalous agate (part 1)

The longer I worked for the shop, the fewer days arrived when there were no appointments scheduled. As always, Richard seemed unfazed by the lack of customers. I supposed it made sense—this was a shop that only existed on the weekends, after all. He had hired me, but had the two of us not met by chance, it was likely he wouldn’t have hired anyone at all.

Perhaps the reason my employer seemed so content was the fact that he was currently cutting into a delicate slice of tiramisu crepe cake. He ate with almost ethereal grace, and as I somehow hadn’t thought to grab a slice for myself, my mind wandered to the circumstances that had led me to the purchase.

The week before, I had been making Richard’s royal milk tea as usual—I felt somewhat confident in my skills at this point, but there really was no matching a master—and asked him if there was a reason we didn’t serve coffee to customers. It was a common feature of many cafés, after all, and though this place was no longer a café, we still offered things like tea and snacks to customers.

Richard had stared at me like he was waiting for me to figure something out on my own, and after wracking my brain for possibilities, I tried, “We have barley tea and green tea, so it can’t be because you think anything except for royal milk tea won’t do…”

I received a deep sigh for my efforts. Richard arched an eyebrow. “Do you know how much is involved in the process of making coffee?” he asked.

As the coffee I most regularly consumed came from a can, there wasn’t a single response I could give.

That night, I searched up the process of manufacturing and brewing coffee, and quickly found myself beginning to develop a headache. Not only were there many places where coffee beans were grown, the different ways in which coffee was then brewed and what it was paired with felt almost limitless. Searching for espresso machines brought prices well over 15,000 yen, and it was at that point that I began to understand what Richard had conveyed in a single sentence.

Instant coffee could be made without any sense of technique or equipment, but the kind of coffee that set one’s mind at ease was probably the kind that only a real café was capable of. Or a coffee enthusiast, and I was neither. I tried to conjure the image of being offered canned or instant coffee at Jewelry Étranger, and immediately wrinkled my nose. Coffee at a café was meant to be pleasant; I had no desire to remind myself of what it felt like to work night shift after night shift as a security guard. Any comfort the scent had brought was overwhelmed by its bitter necessity. The caffeine might have kept me awake, but it had worsened the quality of my sleep.

Still, though I had given up the idea of introducing coffee to our drink selection, I must not have completely forgotten about it, because the next time I stepped into a bakery, their offering of a tiramisu crepe cake caught my immediate attention.

I’d had tiramisu only once during a birthday in junior high. Birthdays when I was younger were a melancholy affair—they were small, intimate celebrations that reminded me of the insignificance of my life. It was the same feeling as lighting a candle in pure dark—loneliness shined more under small points of light. But my mother had always remembered to buy a cake year after year, no matter the circumstances. While she had already developed a taste for coffee, I still considered it something that was a bitter, awful drink that adults actually enjoyed. But after some firm persuasion from my mother, I reluctantly dug in.

Add enough sugar, and bitter mellows into sweet. I knew that now, but as a child I had been given an experience akin to magic. Even years after the fact, I could still recall the light and sweet taste accompanied by the delicate hints of coffee and chocolate.

Remembering it now, it was hard to explain why I hadn’t had one in such a long time, but I hadn’t developed the habit of searching out cafés, bakeries, and sweet shops until I started working at Jewelry Étranger, either. Food simply tasted better as of late.

This bakery in particular was a favorite of mine—it felt like every time I entered, there was still some sweet I had yet to try. And encounters like these, where it felt like little parts of my life were slotting together in serendipitous fashions, were becoming far more common. It was obvious in the way I’d found out about Tanimoto-san’s love for rocks and minerals, as well as her friend Shinkai-san’s dance company, or, in a more negative light, Hase-san visiting at the exact time I happened to be in the back of the shop, but when I told Richard this, he simply brushed it off.

“The more knowledge and experience you acquire, the more the world reveals itself to you,” he said. “Department stores existed before you began working here, but only once you took an interest in diamonds did you notice the kinds of jewels they sold. The girl you wish was your girlfriend had an interest in minerals long before you began to. That was not fate—it was the fact that the more you learned, the more you could find commonalities or points of connection in the world around you.” He paused. “You, in particular… I would guess that you run into so many coincidences because you’re unable to turn your back.”

He was correct. The more people that visited Richard’s store, the more that I came to knew about the world. I had liked Tanimoto-san before I had met Richard, and she had loved rocks and minerals for far longer. But because I had been able to meet with Richard—and that was an encounter that could have only been fate—I’d gained awareness of a part of the world that had always existed, just not in my eyes. The more I learned about jewels, the more I treasured various things.

So that Saturday, I entered the bakery again, bought a slice, and arrived at Jewelry Étranger with an offering.

“…I still won’t give you a raise, you know,” Richard said.

As always, he looked beautiful. I had the feeling that he’d be annoyed if I told him the purchase was due to a bottomless kind of gratitude.

“I know.” At this point, I wondered if I needed to directly tell him how he paid far more than what I earned as a security guard. But I’d already turned down a job offer to stay here, so he must have known that I felt as if the work I was doing here was infinitely more valuable.

Since we’d had this kind of exchange quite a few times before, Richard tried the tiramisu crepe cake without much fuss. It was obvious he was enjoying it—perhaps his face hadn’t cracked out into a smile or anything of the sort, but there was always a serene look on his face when he was enjoying sweets.

As he ate, a question popped to mind: “Say, Richard, have you had real tiramisu in Italy before?”

Richard paused between bites. “Do you mean to ask if I’ve had authentic tiramisu?”

“Well, you just seem as if you’ve been everywhere in the world…”

Rather than tell me if he’d spent time in Italy or not, Richard began to speak about the conflicted meaning of the word ‘authentic.’

“Tiramisu is Italian in origin, but the exact nature of how it was first produced is still up for debate. As we recognize it today, it certainly does not come in the nature of a crepe cake, but—” He paused again. “Grab yourself a fork, would you?”

I stared at him blankly as he deliberately placed his fork down on his plate. The last few bites of the tiramisu crepe cake remained untouched, and only when he tilted his head in confusion did I rush to the kitchen in realization.

When I returned, Richard continued speaking without commenting on my lack of wits. “Something being authentic indeed means it is the real thing—a genuine article. Authenticity is also related to truth—in art, the style of realism is grounded in an attempt to depict life authentically, without alterations or embellishments. For gemstones this is a fairly simple thing to classify—jewels are mined from specific places, so we designate that which is naturally-occurring as authentic. This runs in opposition as to imitation jewels, which are made from a different material, and approximate the look of a jewel without matching its innate qualities. The question of authenticity also is relevant when looking at heat treatment—pigeon blood rubies that haven’t undergone heat treatment are more valuable, because they have acquired the color naturally, yes?”

I nodded in agreement, reminded of Tanimoto-san’s opinion on heat treatment. She probably prized the authenticity of a gem—the one-of-a-kind nature each jewel had. I understood her feelings, but I also thought there was some kind of wonder in the process of polishing and cutting and heat treatment—each step gave a jewel a special kind of shine. But beauty was the kind of thing where opinions differed often.

I couldn’t imagine anyone disagreeing about Richard’s beauty. “You’ve forgotten to actually put your fork to use,” he said, and I startled out of my daze to hurriedly take a bite.

As expected, the tiramisu crepe cake was both light and sweet. The texture of crepes was certainly different from what I’d eaten as a child, but both carried that sense of pure delicacy—each layer felt like cotton-candied air. Though it didn’t smell like coffee, there was indeed the warm, rich undertone of what I’d come to understand as coffee’s flavor. If I could spend a birthday just like this… it would be a treasure of a memory.

Richard’s lips curled. “How is it?”

I made sure to properly swallow before I replied. “It’s delicious,” I marveled. “I don’t know why I’d forgotten the taste.”

“When you make rice at home, would you consider that rice real or authentic?” Richard asked. When I nodded, still chewing on my final bite of cake, he then asked, “Why?”

Maybe I would buy tiramisu on the way home. Or gift some to Hiromi—I could only assume that my birthday all those years ago was the last time she’d had tiramisu, too. “Well, because it’s rice,” I said. “I bought the rice grains, didn’t I? They were grown naturally. And then I cooked them.”

“If you acquired the exact ingredients required for tiramisu, and followed the same exact process as the original—though there are debates at to what the original is—would you still say that was authentic?”

I frowned. “I… suppose I would? Since everything is exact.” Was there a loophole I was missing?

“Perhaps,” Richard said. “Because it is hard to pinpoint its specific origins, what tiramisu qualifies as authentic can be hard to judge. Though the base components and methods are the same, the exact specifics differ—some may consider any tiramisu that follows the general process to be authentic, while others may not. In the case of champagne, unless what you think of champagne is made in the Champagne region of France, it cannot legally be called by that name. Even if the sparkling wine that is created is similar in taste, or uses the same process and ingredients, if the grapes are not sourced from that region, it will not be champagne.”

“Even though it’s possible to make an equivalent product?”

“You could, indeed, make a very close match,” Richard said. “But it would legally not be authentic. Can you think of a reason why someone might want a name of a food protected?”

When phrased like that, the answer arrived to me immediately. “Brand protection,” I said. “Because the idea of champagne is precious, if other winemakers started selling something labelled as champagne, it would lose some of its prestige. By controlling what can be called champagne, they retain control over the production and image of champagne.”

“Good for you,” Richard said, and I bit down a smile. “Authenticity holds a different value for many people and many things. All that aside… this tiramisu crepe cake remains delicious.”

“It is,” I agreed, and then began to make him tea.

The rest of the day passed by in peace. Richard read from his collection of books, blond hair glittering under the sharp sun. I busied myself by cleaning the kitchen and running out to complete a few errands. The movement was helpful; the chill of autumn had settled in, and I had made the mistake of dressing far more lightly than Richard. His choice of wear likely made it easy for him to sit still, but I thought that even if he was wearing his suit in a blizzard or a tropical summer, he would seem as even-keeled as ever. That was the beauty of jewels—they were something that was gorgeous from all angles.

Around a half hour before closing time, the intercom buzzed.

Richard set down his book, and I went to let in our surprise customer.

Accompanied by a brush of cold wind, a young man stepped into the shop. He had a slim frame, but despite being dressed as lightly as I was, showed no signs of being sensitive to the cold. His hair was slightly long in the front, bangs barely cropped above his eyes, but it was trimmed evenly. He was dressed casually yet neatly in a simple powder-blue sweater, gray slacks, and loafers.

The door closed behind him, and he glanced around the room once before asking, “This is a jeweler’s store, correct?”

“You’d be right,” I said, guiding him to sit in one of the red armchairs.

His hesitant expression curved into a full-faced smile. As he sat down, the awkward lines of his body began to bleed away, and he relaxed into the chair with an air of steady self-assurance. His pose remained polite, though—he kept his hands carefully folded over his lap, and his ankles were loosely crossed.

Originally, I had wanted to give him something to soothe his nerves, but it looked like that was unneeded. Still, I asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Ah… that milk tea would be nice, if you don’t mind,” the man said, gesturing to Richard’s teacup.

Richard returned from the bookshelf, taking over the process of greeting our newest customer, and I headed back to the kitchen. Both men spoke in clear tones, so even though they spoke at a medium volume, their voices carried well enough.

“…Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian? Is it alright to call you Richard-san, then?” He spoke the name slowly, but he pronounced Richard’s full name without fumbling.

“Yes, that’s alright. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Richard-san. I’m Hanzawa Masato. Apart from gemstones, do you also sell jewelry at this place?”

“Indeed, we do. Is there something in particular you’re looking for?”

I returned to see Hanzawa-san wearing a thoughtful expression on his face. His gaze flickered towards me as I reentered the room. “I was hoping to look at stud earrings… and I’d prefer if they weren’t prohibitively expensive, I suppose. Is there anything else I should specify?”

“Are there any kinds of stones you’re interested in looking at? Or a particular occasion or style this is meant for?”

When I drew close enough, Hanzawa-san turned to face me and accepted my tea, eyes still curved in a pleasant smile. “It’s something like a birthday gift, I suppose. As for stones… I’m not too knowledgeable regarding them.” He paused in contemplation.

Choosing a gift was always a complicated thing, in my opinion. For a gift, the trouble never ended at the purchase—it was always at the gifting that the issues arose. Would they understand the gift with the same meaning that I had in mind when I picked it? I thought about my grandmother and mother choosing my name. Was I the type of person they’d had in mind? I could only hope that was the case.

“I guess… something neutral would be best? The kind of earring fit for daily work wear.”

“Are you interested in looking at birthstones?”

Hanzawa-san sipped his tea, eyes fluttering shut in thought. “Not particularly.”

I had spent enough time with Richard to catch the traces of concern on his face, but not enough to understand the reason. “It will take some time for me to bring my selections out. Please enjoy your tea while you wait,” he said, and then he was off, a determined crease to his brows.

Though I didn’t know exactly what was troubling him, I could learn. Surely Richard wouldn’t mind if I made some small talk?

“Might you also be a university student, Hanzawa-san?”

Hanzawa-san waved dismissively. “It’s only my first year, so I think I’m younger than you. I know I’m a customer, but there’s no need to be formal. Your name is…?”

“Nakata Seigi,” I said. “I’m in my second year.”

“I was right, then,” Hanzawa said. He’d passed over both Richard and my name without comment. I’d expected him to end the conversation there, staying as restrained as he had with Richard, but he spoke to me freely. “Would I be right in saying you seem more interested in jewels as compared to jewelry?” At my confusion, he gestured to my neck, ears, and hands, which were bare of any accessories. “You don’t seem to wear any, so I’d wondered…”

“I suppose it’s the jewel itself that interests me,” I admitted. “Is it the opposite thing for you?”

“Most likely,” Hanzawa said. “It’s what I have experience in, anyways.”

At my once-again befuddled expression, Hanzawa brushed back his hair, and I caught sight of six piercing holes in his left ear.

“I see…” I replied, a little stunned. Now that I knew what to look for, it was easy to spot a few of his piercing holes even when his hair wasn’t brushed back.

Richard had probably noticed them from the moment he’d walked in.

Now that I thought about it clearly, a birthday gift could be presented to oneself, couldn’t it? Just like Yamamoto-san trying to buy herself a garnet. Guys with piercings weren’t all that uncommon in my university, too, but none of them seemed like the type to buy jewels in Richard’s store. Then again, Hanzawa looked so mild-mannered that the existence of his piercings alone was a surprise, so I took this fact in stride.

In the same way that I’d only noticed the tiramisu in that bakery after asking Richard about coffee, it was only now that I realized the reason for Richard’s concern. If it was a present for himself, the uncertainty to Hanzawa’s answers was troublesome.

“If I could ask…” I prompted as Richard returned to the table.

Richard set down his tamatebako with a harder than usual thud. He was still frowning, though maybe more obviously than before.

“Sure.”

“Is there a reason a guy as young as you has so many piercings?”

Before I could get a response, I jumped at the sharp click that sounded at my side. Richard had opened up his tamatebako.

Hanzawa kept smiling up at me. He took a long sip of his tea, and then directed his attention towards what Richard had selected.

I leaned over to take a look. As I did, Richard shot a pointed glare towards me. What? I mouthed back, but he ignored me.

The stones Richard had picked were split between gemstones with faceted cuts and cabochons. The studs themselves were made of a simple silver backing, with the stone fitted on top in a rounded or squared shape. The exceptions to this were the studs fitted with lapis lazuli, which were backed with gold. While I recognized the diamond and amethyst, there were a few colored stones in faceted cuts that I wasn’t certain I could identify. But the ones that caught my attention were the larger stud earrings, which were fitted with polished stones that didn’t sparkle but had bands of red, terracotta, and peach striped across its surface. Others had the same banding pattern but in soft grays and whites.

“These are beautiful,” Hanzawa said, smile fading into a look of deep consideration. He leaned forward to study each one. “Diamonds are a classic choice,” he mused.

“You mentioned that you might prefer a neutral color,” Richard explained, “The clear color of a diamond is well-suited to that purpose. They might be a little above your price point, but if you enjoy the look of them, there are various alternatives you can seek out.”

“I see,” Hanzawa said. He gestured to the rest of the jewels. “I recognize the amethyst. And the… lapis lazuli, yes? Seeing it in person, it certainly is a vivid kind of blue,” he commented. “But I’m a little unfamiliar with the rest of these gems. Would you mind explaining them?”

“Of course,” Richard said. “The green stone you see here is peridot, and the stones in yellow and orange shades here are citrine. Like amethyst, it is a type of quartz. This”—he pointed to a deep orange stone— “is heat-treated amethyst, which looks quite similar. The banded stones are agate. They are a mix of quartz and moganite—both have an equivalent chemical composition, but different crystal structures.”

I hadn’t heard of moganite until now—unless I was mishearing morganite, but Richard had such wonderful pronunciation I thought that was impossible.

Despite the overload of information, all Hanzawa did was nod in understanding. “Peridot,” he repeated to himself, a curious look in his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve seen any before.”

The stone he was looking at was a sparkling kind of lime green. “It’s like the color of spring,” I said.

“Yes,” Hanzawa agreed, and bowed his head, suddenly bashful. “It’s… well, it’s a color I’m fond of,” he admitted.

“Spring is a wonderful descriptor,” Richard said. “Peridot tends to come in lighter shades than most emeralds, and it far more affordable. Would you like to see more?”

Hanzawa shook his head. “…No, it’s not really… well-suited for me.” After considering the other stones before him, he pointed to the lapis lazuli. “What does this get its gold flecks from?”

“Lapis lazuli is composed of several different minerals, and a common one happens to be pyrite, which is what creates that gold color. As you mentioned, the blue of lapis lazuli is quite vivid, which is why, historically, it was ground to create ultramarine. Before a synthetic alternative was created, it was an extremely expensive and prized paint.”

Hanzawa smiled down at the stones. “I’ve heard of ultramarine. Isn't it what provides the blue shades in many of Johannes Vermeer’s works?”

I made a note to ask Richard who Johannes Vermeer was later. Richard’s clients often spoke of things I wasn’t knowledgeable about, but this was the first time it had happened with someone so close to my age—though it wasn’t like people my age often visited this shop in the first place.

“You would be correct. Blue pigments were otherwise hard to come by, so his work is well-known for his use of ultramarine.” After a pause, Richard added, “If you are looking for something neutral, blue tends to be a color that pairs well with others.”

“Oh, that’s—I’ll keep it in mind,” Hanzawa said. Haltingly, he asked, “Is jewelry made of lapis lazuli—is it quite common?”

“Compared to the rest of these stones, it’s a bit of a more delicate material,” Richard allowed, “so it has to be carefully looked after. But historically, lapis lazuli has been used in all kinds of jewelry.”

“…Is that so.”

Silence dragged on between them. Hanzawa seemed unbothered by it, though it was hard to see much of his expression from above. Even face to face, his bangs and lashes expertly obscured his eyes without actually hiding them.

“…This agate. I feel like I’ve seen stones with this banding before.”

“Banding is characteristic but not exclusive to agate,” Richard said. “It has been used for carvings as well as jewelry and remains popular today. Each piece of agate has differences in how exactly the banding occurs, so one could say that each piece is truly unique.”

“Unique…” A ghost of uncertainty appeared on Hanzawa’s face, but it was gone in a flash. “Does it come in any other colors?”

“Oftentimes agate will be dyed into various colors, but there are some other colors present in naturally occurring agates. Would you like to see them?”

“Surely that dyed agate is prettier, huh?” Hanzawa murmured, so low I barely heard him. Apropos of nothing, he then straightened up, looking flustered. “Sorry,” he said. “I think—I think I’m a little in over my head.” He drank the last of his tea in disconcerting silence. “And it’s near closing, anyways,” he added.

“If you’d like to come back, we take appointments,” I said.

“…Right,” Hanzawa said, eyes still fixed on the sets of earrings before him. He set his teacup down on the table. “What would be a good time?”

“Sunday, 4PM?” Richard suggested, and Hanzawa agreed.

With that settled, Hanzawa thanked me for the tea, bid a polite goodbye to us both, and exited the shop, leaving another gust of crisp air in his wake.

Hanzawa had been right—it was now closing time. I went to collect the now empty teacups, only to find Richard looking up at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked.

He sighed. “Nothing that concerns you, I suppose.”

“By the way, who’s Johannes Vermeer?” I asked, ignoring the faint irritation in his voice.

“Have you ever seen a picture of Girl with a Pearl Earring?” Richard asked.

A vague portrait sprang to mind. “He was the artist?” I confirmed, and then went to wash the teacups.

When I returned, Richard hadn’t moved from his seat. Rather than close it and return to his room of jewels, he was staring at his open tamatebako.

I took a seat next to him. “Thinking about our client?”

“…Jewels reflect the inner feelings of a person,” he said after a long silence. “I wonder how to convey that truth to a person like him.”

“Is it harder because he’s young?” I asked, unsure what Richard thought Hanzawa was like. I didn’t even have enough information to describe Hanzawa as like anything. “Well, Hajime-kun was much younger, but his circumstances were different…”

“You’re quite young yourself,” Richard commented dryly. “Aren’t you two the same age?”

“If we went to the same university, I’d be his senpai,” I said. “Still. It’s rare. I thought he’d be more nervous.”

“…I don’t think he wasn’t nervous,” Richard said, but when I prodded him for an explanation, he didn’t elaborate.

“Well,” I said, wondering how I could clear those worry lines from his face, “we’ll see him next week.”

“Maybe,” Richard said, and this, I didn’t need him to explain.

If Hanzawa Masato came in next week at the appointed time, or if he had disappeared out that door for forever, it was impossible to know.

#my writing #kiri.txt #cfojr #hanzawa to tashiro #hanzawa masato #the case files of jeweler richard #i just KNOW i'm going to post this and find some grammar or spelling mistake i didn't catch and. I'm just going to have to live with that #jeweler richard

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mariacallous · 17 days ago

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The Kremlin continued its elections interference campaign in the US until the final moments, utilising the same playbook we have repeatedly uncovered.

This week, in a striking demonstration of reality denial, we have witnessed pro-Kremlin sources pushing two contradictory narratives about North Korean troops in Kursk region(opens in a new tab): claiming they do not exist at all, while simultaneously arguing their presence is merely a Western fabrication to justify NATO involvement.

Tuesday, 5 November, marked the end of the US presidential elections cycle with the Republican candidate Donald J. Trump winning the election(opens in a new tab). As we have reported before, Russian state-controlled outlets and other pro-Kremlin disinformation actors attempted to interfere with the elections with multi-pronged influence attempts – a pro-Kremlin tactic that we have come to know far too well.

Reject the reality and substitute it with your own

The Kremlin mental gymnastics about North Korea are a response to mounting evidence from multiple intelligence services confirming that the DPRK has sent around 10-12,000 troops to support Russia’s war effort.

The deployment has been independently verified by Ukrainian intelligence(opens in a new tab), the European Intelligence Centre (INTCEN)(opens in a new tab), the US Department of Defense(opens in a new tab), and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service(opens in a new tab), with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirming(opens in a new tab) earlier that some North Korean forces have already moved closer to Ukraine’s borders.

To have a cake and eat it too

What makes this disinformation effort particularly noteworthy is how it reveals the Kremlin’s propaganda machine trying to have it both ways.

On one hand, pro-Kremlin sources dismiss reports of North Korean troops as a CIA manipulation and claim foreign troops would only hinder Russia’s ‘perfectly coordinated fighting machine’. On the other hand, they are simultaneously pushing a narrative that claims Western statements about North Korean support are merely attempts to retroactively justify NATO troops’ presence in Ukraine – despite there being no NATO troops on the frontline.

This contradiction exposes a key feature in Russian information warfare: when reality becomes impossible to deny, they often resort to throwing multiple contradictory narratives at the wall, hoping at least one will stick with their target audiences.

Of course, it also looks a bit odd when ‘the greatest military in the world’, as the pro-Kremlin outlets like to hyperbolise the Russian army, needs to plead for help from an international pariah and one of the most impoverished nations(opens in a new tab) on the planet. Hence, Moscow also deployed an inverted reality to explain this conundrum by simply claiming that Russia is helping the DPRK(opens in a new tab), not the other way around.

Caught with their hands in the cookie jar

Russian state-controlled and other pro-Kremlin outlets deployed multi-pronged influence attempts targeting the 2024 US presidential election through FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) activities.

According to official US sources, these attempts involved, for example, manufactured videos falsely depicting voter fraud(opens in a new tab), bomb threats(opens in a new tab) that temporarily disrupted voting at twelve Georgia polling places in predominantly African-American neighbourhoods, and a ‘Doppelganger’ campaign(opens in a new tab) which created sophisticated clone websites impersonating legitimate US media outlets.

It sounds all too familiar

The tactics included, among others, AI-generated content, coordinated inauthentic social media accounts, and multi-stage URL redirections to evade platform restrictions. Russian influence actors also exploited US domestic issues like Hurricane Helene to sow division, claiming that aid to Ukraine displaced hurricane relief efforts. These attempts relied heavily on ‘flooding’ tactics to push particular narratives, including deep state conspiracy theories, into the information space while attempting to erode public trust in US democratic institutions and candidates.

The Russian interference in the 2024 US presidential election follows a pattern observed earlier in the European Parliament elections, and votes in Moldova and Georgia. Similar tactics were used across these elections: smearing the candidates, flooding the information space with falsehoods, exploiting existing societal divisions, orchestrating coordinated inauthentic behaviour on social media, and attempting to erode trust in democratic institutions.

More instances of pro-Kremlin disinformation making us shake our heads this week:

In a bizarre and twisted pro-Kremlin fantasy, a Russian military priest made an outlandish claim that Ukrainian ‘neo-Nazi and Pagan battalions’ have been conducting human sacrifices in the Kursk region. This out-of-this-world disinformation narrative, emerging amid Ukraine’s advance into the Kursk region in August 2024, attempts, yet again, to frame Russia’s invasion as some kind of holy war against ‘godless’ Ukraine. The reality check is stark: journalists from the Washington Post who visited the town of Sudzha(opens in a new tab) found no evidence of Ukrainian military misconduct against civilians. Meanwhile, there is substantial documented evidence of actual Russian war crimes(opens in a new tab), including the targeting of civilian infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and churches – with the March 2022 airstrike on a Mariupol maternity hospital(opens in a new tab) standing as one of the most notorious examples together with the Bucha massacre(opens in a new tab). This latest attempt to paint Ukrainian armed forces as ‘evil pagans’ is just another variation on the Kremlin’s obsessive ‘Nazi Ukraine’ narrative, which it has been pushing since 2014. By combining religious fearmongering with false accusations of atrocities, such disinformation attempts to both demonise Ukraine and distract from Russia’s own documented war crimes.

The Kremlin’s propaganda machine churned out yet another absurd allegation on Poland. This time a well-known pro-Kremlin mouthpiece, Pravda-pl, claimed that Poland is ‘about to enter the war with Russia,’ baselessly spinning Poland’s discussions about missile defence capabilities into predictions of impending full-scale war. This disinformation narrative surfaced after Poland and Ukraine signed a security agreement in July 2024 that simply allows Polish air defence to intercept Russian missiles headed toward Polish territory(opens in a new tab). While Poland has indeed stepped up its support for Ukraine, including providing MiG-29s, this is a far cry from entering the war. This disinformation narrative fits into Russia’s broader pattern of portraying Poland and other NATO allies as aggressors, while conveniently ignoring that it was Russia that launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This information manipulation also seeks to paint legitimate defensive cooperation between democratic neighbours as warmongering, while attempting to intimidate Poland and other allies from supporting Ukraine.

Another ‘classic’ from the Kremlin’s anti-EU playbook claims that an ‘out-of-control elite class’ in Brussels is stripping member states of their sovereignty while imposing ‘cultural-Marxist values’. This recurring piece of conspiratorial disinformation attempts to paint the EU as an undemocratic behemoth run by shadowy elites. The reality of EU governance is far more mundane and democratic: citizens directly elect their European Parliament representatives, while the European Council consists of democratically elected national leaders. The European Commission itself undergoes multiple layers of democratic oversight, and the principle of subsidiarity(opens in a new tab) ensures decisions are taken as close to citizens as possible. This pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative is part of a long-running Kremlin strategy to attempt to portray the EU as undemocratic – a truly ironic claim coming from a source that consistently works to undermine democratic processes both home and abroad. By pushing emotional triggers like ‘out-of-control elite’ and fabricating false tensions between EU institutions and national sovereignty, this disinformation attempt aims to sow distrust and push political fragmentation within the European Union.

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historyhermann · 1 year ago

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Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Spoiler-Filled Review

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a mature animated series developed by Adam Muto. It is a spinoff of the well-known Adventure Time series. Unlike the original, it is aimed at a young adult audience. Muto, Fred Seibert, and Sam Register are executive producers. Debora Arroyo is another producer. Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios produced the series. This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without labor of the actors currently on strike, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, being reviewed here, wouldn't exist.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the fifty-second article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on October 9, 2023.

Unlike the original series or the Adventure Time: Distant Lands specials, this series focuses on alternate versions of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog: Fionna Campbell (voiced by Madeleine Martin) and Cake (voiced by Roz Ryan). Character designer Natasha Allegri created them years ago. These characters debuted in the season 3 Adventure Time episode "Fionna and Cake." They made additional appearances in Seasons 5, 6, 8, and 9 of that series. In that series, they are part of Ice King's Finn and Jake fan fiction. Also, the characters appeared in comic books which Allegri co-created with other comic book artists.

This series brings Fionna and Cake beyond their depictions in Adventure Time. In this series, Fionna works as bus tour guide, but struggles to find her place. The fact that her apartment is a mess, with uncleanliness and dirty dishes, is symbolic. It shows that her life is disorderly. In many ways, her character is relatable. She stands up for herself and is on the edge between having work (and not). The latter is not unique. Protagonists of Magical Girl Friendship Squad, The Great Jahy, and The Devil is a Part-Timer! are impoverished and live in similar circumstances. The difference is that Fionna actively does not want to go to work. Instead, she likes to hang out with street musicians like Marshall Lee (voiced by Donald Glover).

Everything goes off the rails when Cake runs away, through a portal, and ends up in the land of Ooo. This terrifies Fionna, who desperately looks for Cake. In her search, she meets Hunter (voiced by Vico Ortiz), a woman who is planting weeds rather than picking them up, Ellis P (voiced by Pendleton Ward), who is her world's version of Lumpy Space Princess, and owner of a bakery where her friend Gary (voiced by Andrew Rannells) works: BB. The latter is her world's version of Princess Bubblegum. Gary is called Prince Gumball in Adventure Time.

As you can tell, there is a barrier to entry when watching this series. This series is made for Adventure Time fans. Those who aren't fans of that series can watch this series. However, they may miss something. Savvy fans may see comparisons to series such as The Legend of Korra, Bee and Puppycat, and Steven Universe Future. Others may recognize the anime references, either to Sailor Moon or My Neighbor Totoro, in the first episode.

This series may excite those who enjoy multiverses and alternate realities. In the first episode, Fionna believes she is chasing a rat bus which somewhat resembles the cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro, while wearing a Sailor Scout costume. At the last second, the mysterious Ice Prince saves her. Her alarm clock wakes her before she can learn more. This dream's importance is clear later in the series. Also, the fact that everything on TV is Cheers is significant not only because it was Simon Petrikov's favorite shows, but the show's tagline: "filmed in front of a live studio audience." It implies that Fionna's world is manufactured.

In Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Donald Glover, Tom Kenny, Sean Rohani, Roz Ryan, Madeleine Martin, James Kyson, Andy Daly, and Pendleton Ward reprise their roles as Marshall Lee, Simon Petrikov, Prismo, Cake, Fionna, Big Destiny, Wyatt, and Lumpy Space Princess (in the form of Ellis P.). Jeremy Shada, Hynden Walch, Olivia Olson, Ron Perlman, and Felicia Day voice the supporting characters Finn the Human, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen, The Litch, and Betty Grof, as they do in the original series. Kayleigh McKee, Cree Summer, Jinkx Monsoon, Andrey Bennett, and Brian David Gilbert join these voice actors.

These voice actors lend their voices as the Scarab, the Lemoncarbs, Astrid, and the Winter King. Summer and Monsoon are known for their voice and live-action roles. This series is McKee's first lead role. This is significant because McKee is a trans woman and due to the fact that her only voice roles before there were anime dubs for series such as Kageki Shojo!!, Sasaki and Miyano, and Lycoris Recoil. As for Bennett, this is one of her first voice roles, apart from work on Not Quite Narwhal, Ada Twist, Scientist, and City of Ghosts. This series is also the first major voice role for Gilbert as well.

Like Bennett and Gilbert, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is one of the first voice roles for Vico Ortiz. He voices Fern in this series. Previously, Ortiz voiced Tefé Holland in Harley Quinn. Ortiz is non-binary and genderfluid, and a Puerto Rican actor, activist, and drag king. Andrew Rannells, another voice actor for this series, is a White gay man. He voiced gay characters like King Barton in Princess Power, Matthew MacDell in Big Mouth, and William Clockwell in Invincible.

The wonderful thing about this series is how easily it meshes with the existing Adventure Time universe. There is little retroactive continuity. Extraordinarily little of previously established narratives are changed. Unpopular elements don't return nor are dead characters revived or reality disregarded. The series plotlines easily fit with plots in the original show. It is set after Adventure Time and Adventure Time: Distant Lands.

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The second episode of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake makes this clearer. There is an interesting contrast between Simon's messy problems, which he hides away, and his attempt to keep his 20th-century antiquarian house clean, as an exhibit. It is revealed that Cake and Fionna were his creations. He dismisses them as "old stuff." This comes to a head when he talks to Finn in a bar, saying he can't relate to this alternate world, the Land of Ooo anymore, and admits he missed Ice King.

He goes on a quest led by Finn to an ancient part of Ooo. Simon reminisces about his "good memories" with Betty. However, so much is going through his head that he's unsure what to do. A song by non-binary screenwriter Rebecca Sugar, best known as the creator of Steven Universe, clearly and eloquently explains to the viewer what he is going through. Sugar has an upcoming personal album Spiral Bound released in November.

This comes with a fun moment between two queer characters known by Adventure Time and Adventure Time: Distant Lands fans: Princess Bubblegum (PB) and Marceline. Simon tries to talk about his struggles, after he admits that he made a little girl cry. Unfortunately, Marceline can't hear him since she, and her girlfriend, PB, are trying to get matching tattoos, but the artist is having trouble. On the one hand, this scene shows how Simon is holding back his true feelings by claiming "everything's fine" and there are no issues. On the other, it is a representation of queer representation in the series. Those who like the Bubbline pairing of Marceline and PB may be overjoyed by this short funny scene.

That scene is one example of representation in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. The series intercuts the growing relationship between Marshall Lee and Gary to that of Marceline and PB. This includes a world where PB and Star (a version of Marceline) are locked in combat. This could be an indication that PB and Marceline, in whatever form they take, have intertwined romantic destinies. Such storylines gave this queer couple "multiversal staying power."

The queerness of Gary and Marshall is shown unabashedly and openly, without anyone bating an eye. This contrasts the heterosexual themes in Adventure Time and previous fights by the crew of that series to have queer inclusion. Series creator Adam Muto said that LGBTQ+ representation in this series came from show writers and artists, who wanted their identities portrayed and expressed. Hopefully, other shows follow suit, even as animation industry is in crisis. As Raye Rodriguez, showrunner of High Guardian Spice, recently put it, "there are some companies that...have decided that they are like protectors of the gays...but that’s only as long as those companies decide to be that kind of brand." This was the case for The Owl House. Disney cancelled the series, and gave it a shortened third season, after executives declared that the show didn't fit the company's brand.

The second episode hints at what is to come: inter-dimensional travel of Cake and Fionna to the Land of Ooo. Simon uses an evil Choose Goose (voiced by Jeff Bennett), that taunts him, to open such a passage. Cake comes through, surprising Simon. To make matters worse, Prismo ignores a blinking light on his universal remote-control, indicating a new portal. In the third episode, Fionna follows a sparkly blue light and appears in Ooo. Simon determines that she isn't "real" and blames the goose. Thanks to help from a big Fionna and Cake fan, Astrid (voiced by Andrey Bennett), she saves Cake after she is kidnapped following an encounter with a talking squirrel. Soon enough, Prismo realizes this is a major issue which could get him in trouble. It would reveal his unauthorized world, where Fionna and Cake live. So, he teleports Cake, Fionna, and Simon to his headquarters-of-sorts.

The stakes of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake are raised when Scarab (voiced by Kayleigh McKee) enters the scene. They are an auditor tasked with tracking down violators. They set their sights on Prismo for letting an item on his remote-control blink for too long. It is possible that Scarab may have had a previous bone to pick with Prismo and is using this as an excuse to get back at him. The entire universe of Fionna and Cake's universe (called "Fionna World" for short) is at stake. Prismo made it in an unauthorized fashion and stored it within Simon's head. The world changed after Simon was no longer Ice King. Prismo warns that the fact that the universe exists at all could result in unintended consequences for other realities.

Before Scarab catches them, Simon, Fionna, and Cake escape the Time Room and appear in another world. Thus begins their trip through the multiverse to find a crown. The plan is for Simon to become Ice King again and bring back magic to Fionna World. They first arrive in Farmworld. Simon hopes they can get clues about the crown's location in the library, but this is soon dashed. Library books are stolen so they can be burned and used for a funeral. In the process, they meet Jay Mertens (voiced by Tiffany Wu). He has a crush on Little Destiny (voiced by Mickey Zacchilli) of the Destiny Gang. Fionna is scammed by the world's version of the Choose Goose, who gives them a fake crown. In response, Cake beats them up.

This world involves Finn leading a family with several children and a traitorous Choose Goose. Scarab follows them, thinking he can chase them down. Unfortunately, they can't find a magic crown, as it was annihilated. Furthermore, a version of PB tattles about where Jay, Simon, Fionna, and Cake went. Scarab, after capturing Prismo, catches up with them, following them to the next world: the Winter Kingdom. In that world, Fionna develops a crush on the Winter King.

The Winter King acts suave, which pulls in Fionna. He claims that he created his own winter wonderland by sheer "force of will." He also declares that he is making Simon a duplicate crown. In some ways, he resembles the Diamonds in Steven Universe. He has servants called ice scouts, which somewhat resembles pearls, and he sings a song to explain his story. Fionna even slays citizens of the Candy Kingdom to rescue Simon and Winter King from Candy Queen. She is a version of PB, a cross between Spinel and Harley Quinn. As it turns out, the world falls apart when Fionna kisses the Winter King. PB reforms into her usual form. She kisses Fionna on the cheek as a thank you. Fionna lifted the "curse": negative energy from the crown changed the Candy Kingdom's citizens into monsters.

In Fionna World, the romance between Gary and Marshall, as mentioned earlier, develops. Gary is worried about Fionna's whereabouts. He plans to start his own business. He even goes to a local fair with Marshall. Later, in an attempt to help Gary's recipes gain traction, Marshall brings in the Lemon Carbs. In their typical fashion, the Lemon Carbs, which have a sour personality by their very nature, hate the snacks. Even so, Marshall and Gary get closer. They go to a gothic-style church where Marshall's parents live, where Gary pitches his pastry idea. He ends up calling out Marshall's mom. Although hesitant at first, Marshall ends up leaving with him. Both kiss in an elevator as they leave the building, infuriating everyone, especially Marshall's mom.

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Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake has a serialized storyline. This is clear from the fact that Fionna reflects on her actions, like hurting innocent candy people in the sixth episode to make her "dream" true. Although Simon claims that the next world will have a Simon cursed in the "right way," she isn't sure. Her suspicion is correct. In the next world, a non-magical Simon was killed. Then, the Vampire King adopted Marceline (called Star in this world). As a result, she became a vampire princess.

This world is one of the more interesting. Bonnie heads up a tank, with Martin Mertens and Huntress, to settle a score with Star. However, Star messes with/flirts with Bonnie, saying she will "have her heart." Although Simon says that in his world Marcy and Bonnie fell in love, the Bonnie of this world pushes this idea away. The attack on the "hive" of vampires seems to be successful. Star ensures that the battle is far from over. She and Bonnie fight, with queer tension between them, as much is present in the fights between Catra and Adora throughout all five seasons of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

Fionna cares about Cake, and Cake cares for Fionna. This dynamic is fraught with tension. For one, Cake is angry that she was pulled to a terrible wasteland world since their dimensional remote control is malfunctioning. She was prevented from grabbing the Vampire King's magic crown. Fionna and Cake seem at odds with one another. After watching disturbing videotapes from Ice King, thanks to BMO, both realize that the crown caused Simon to lose his mind, and this tension ends.

All of this happens while Simon is struggling to realize what his identity is in the world, and what Betty means to him. He often reminisces about his "fond memories" of Betty, including how they met and went on adventures together. Fionna and Cake return to their world. He is forced to confront this when he meets Golb. The Lich, which destroyed everything in an entire world, is a being which now feels empty and worthless. Golb easily turns the Lich into a block without much effort.

This results in a journey in the last two episodes. Simon attempts to look, in the form of Shermy, for a book about a magic crown. He wants to return magic to Fionna World. He follows the story of Nova and Casper, which parallels his relationship with Betty. As a result, he comes to realization that he caused Betty to subordinate her desires to his. At the same time, Fionna and Cake come back to their world and fight off the Scarabs with help from Gary and Marshall. This is unsuccessful. Scarab reforms, due to Ellis P.'s cluelessness.

The final episode of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake ends with a bang. Simon realizes that he doesn't need to be Ice King. He only wanted that so his life would matter. As a result, he gives Fionna control of her world. She brings it back into existence while Scarab is trying to destroy everything. Scarab remains determined to destroy it piece by piece, even after it becomes a canonized universe. Prismo deems Scarab "not cool" for their destructive actions. Fionna ends up winning the battle against Scarab, who is now weaker. In a huge form, she crushes him, thanks to Cake becoming a hammer. This allows him to be captured.

The series finale implies that it will be self-contained and not have a season 2. The world continues to be rebuilt. Gary's business is booming. Marshall protests his mom. Gary and Marshall remain a couple. In addition, Simon enjoys himself, even talking to Finn's mom about the experience of Fionna and Cake on his life. Prismo collaborates with Scarab, who can't harm anyone anymore. They create a medieval mystery drama world together.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake could be an effective way to wrap up the Adventure Time franchise, which began in 2007 with a pilot for Nicktoons. Later, that pilot was adapted into an animated series. It premiered in April 2010 on Cartoon Network. As noted before, this series includes more queerness than before. Fionna might be queer. She is attracted to Winter King, and likes being around Hunter, as shown in a final scene.

Additionally, this series has racial diversity. It is the first time that Marshall Lee is a visibly Black character. Muto said that “it would have felt harder to rationalize not showing [Marshall Lee] that way.” Some fans have questioned whether Marshall's more well-known female version, Marceline, was Black, even though she was an established character of color with a Black or Brown mother. It ignores the fact that Olson, who voices Marceline, is of Afro-Jamaican descent. Muto added that they tried to make sure that the show's cast had "representation that better reflects the world we live in." Show writer Kate Tsang helped them in this task.

Whether Marshall or Marceline, there are Black vampires across media. This includes characters in a mature action and dark fantasy series, Castlevania: Nocturne, like Drolta Tzuentes. This representation comes at a time that the number of Black animated series are increasing. This year, alone, there have been series such as My Dad the Bounty Hunter, Supa Team 4, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. A recent addition, Young Love, joined this list, based on Matthew Cherry's 2019 short animated film, Hair Love. It is also airing on Max. However, it aired four episodes a week rather than two episodes a week for some reason.

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There are other praiseworthy elements in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. Melissa Villaseñor, Cristina Valenzuela (also known as Cristina Vee), Phil LaMarr, Chelsea Peretti, Robbie Daymond, and Ellie Newlands guest voice characters. These people are known for their voice work on Amphibia, Primos (upcoming), RWBY, Helluva Boss, Futurama, Samurai Jack, Static Shock, My Dad the Bounty Hunter, The Legend of Vox Machina, and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.

There are six people who wrote on, or storyboarded five or more episodes of this series: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Jacob Winkler, Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, and Jim Campbell. Most of them had previously worked on Adventure Time: Distant Lands, and four of them worked on Adventure Time. Also, Winkler storyboarded for Infinity Train. Craig wrote and did prop design on the same series. Falk, Nyström, and Campbell storyboarded on Summer Camp Island. Adding to this, Craig was a character designer for Craig of the Creek. Campbell storyboarded and wrote episodes of Over the Garden Wall.

Other storyboarders and writers worked on two or more episodes. They include Lucyola Langi, Sonja von Marensdorff, Nicole Rodriguez, Haewon Lee, and Jackie Files. Two worked on the aforementioned Distant Lands. Others worked on Summer Camp Island, Infinity Train, or OK K.O.: Let's Be Heroes!. Langi and Rodriguez worked on series within the Steven Universe franchise. Langi designed characters for Steven Universe. Rodriguez storyboarded on Steven Universe Future and Steven Universe: The Movie.

Langi storyboarded for We Bare Bears. Rodriguez storyboarded on The Owl House, Central Park, The Great North, Hazbin Hotel, and Helluva Boss. She also animated Obituary: A Grave Beginning, later turned into a webcomic. von Marensdorff previously storyboarded episodes of The Jellies. She also animated the animated short, entitled Crow. The supervising directors for this series, Ryann Shannon and Steve Wolfhard, are well-known for their work in the animation industry. This includes OK K.O.!, for Shannon, and Bravest Warriors, Amphibia, and Big City Greens, among others, for Wolfhard.

Overall, this series avoids inconsistencies and focus on all-ages in Adventure Time. It is more of a united story than Adventure Time: Distant Lands, a limited series with four loosely connected vignettes. Furthermore, there is no wasted space in this series. No part feels like "filler." Instead, everything fits well together. The characters, animation, and voice acting mix with a strong story. With the animation industry in turmoil at the moment, and Warner Bros. Discovery purging Max of animated series deemed as "low rated," a second season seems unlikely. If so, this season easily wraps up the plot, like My Dad the Bounty Hunter does in its second season. An additional season could be weaker than the first one.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake can be streamed on Max. In Australia, it can be watched on Binge and Fox8.

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