#front organiziations

[whatisonthemoon]

Why was the U.S. government quietly investigating IRFF and Massimo Trombin?

The International Relief Friendship Foundation (IRFF) was a Moonie-associated relief-oriented NGO. Massimo Trombin was European IRFF's sub-director and Italy IRFF’s director in 1998, often working with and alongside another Moonie NGO, Religious Youth Service (RYS), spending much of his time planning and working at 4 West 43rd St.  

Massimo is an Italian national who, along with many other WANGO/IRFF/RYS leaders, joined the Hyun Jin / Preston schism, working now with the Global Peace Foundation. 

Why was the government quietly investigating IRFF and Massimo Trombin in 1998?

Source: https://vault.fbi.gov/sun-myung-moon/sun-myung-moon-part-04-of-15/view

[cutegirlmayra]

Larxene Music Prompt (Cupid)

I don’t know why, but this music video plays in my head everytime I hear Fifty Fifty’s Cupid song XD

Based on my prompt for Larxene/Elrena (x)

Based on this song: (x)

Prompt:

La, la, la, la-la-la La, la-la-la, la, la-la-la

A blurry vision then clears as though dreamy cream clouds, bursting as a girl with her arms up over her upperface then crosses them down, revealing Elrena.

A hopeless romantic all my life Surrounded by couples all the time

Leaning her back up in an arched stretch upwards, bending a knee up as well, Elrena is on the stony steps of the data world. She pushes her knees in and places her head in her hand, looking annoyed and bored by seeing cut-off forms of Skuld and Ephemer walking by, their faces out of shot except the smiles on their faces as Skuld skips a bit ahead but turns back to him with her hands behind her back. They continue to walk off the screen as Elrena falls back to the stony steps, having to arch her back due to their edges.

I guess I should take it as a sign (Oh why, oh why, oh why, oh why?)

Her Chirithy jumps down a step and sways it’s arms in a lower hula-like way to the ‘Oh why’ parts. It’s on each double beat that it it switches from left to right. Her Chirithy continues to sing the (parentheses) for these next scenes.

I'm feeling lonely (Lonely) Oh, I wish I'd find a lover that could hold me (Hold me)

Elrena wraps her arms around herself, before she realizes as she leans her head back that someone is at the top of the stairs, and leans up quickly to turn around and look at them in surprise.

The Camera pans up to Lauriam, who smiles charmingly down to her, hands in his pockets.

Now, I'm crying in my room So skeptical of love (Say what you say, but I want it more) But still, I want it more, more, more

The camera rolls with Elrena’s turn again to have her face plant with her arms over her pillow in her room. She turns again to run her hands from her shoulders, up her neck, to them twisting her body as she sings ‘more, more, more’~ till her hands are moving through her hair, gripping one of her antenna-like strands longingly, yearningly.

I gave a second chance to Cupid But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

There’s a split second frame of her charging into the abandoned house with her Chirithy, implying she was following Strelitzia’s image, before holding her Chirithy in front of her in a sharp cut to her horrified and scared face as the Union Leaders begin to talk, rotating the camera to them.

Lauriam looks away from the conversing others and steps forward and offers his hand to her, still a comforting, enchanting smile of reassurance.

Oh, the way he makes me feel That love isn't real Cupid is so dumb

She shakes out her hands, but he tilts his head affectionately and take her Chrithity out of her hands, placing him down quickly and scoops her up bridal style, lifting a leg up into the Lifeboat as she looks around confused, not sure why they’re insisting on saving her.

Once in, her Chirithy and his face come back into view, and she puts her hands on the shield, before the music naturally swells to make it sound like light particles are shooting up around her, taking her elsewhere as she squrims to the effect, turning her head away and lifting a knee again. (Flavors of drama lol) Chirithy no longer sings (parentheses), as he is no longer present.

I look for his arrows every day I guess he got lost or flew away

Larxene then enters as a mid-shot into the screen with bright white behind her, meaning to reflect the Organiziation’s homebase of void rooms. She does her iconic middle finger pressing up against her forehead before flicking it a few times at ‘flew away’.

Waiting around is a waste (Waste) Been counting the days since November Is loving as good as they say?

Fast zoom out to show she’s now in Castle Oblivion, talking very directly to Namine who, in her chair, is trying to lean away from her in flinches. Then it cuts to Larxene looking out the window and the camera rolling to a rotation of behind her having changed to transition to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. She looks pretty ticked, turning around to swipe the air in agrivation as the Camera pivots to the other direction and rolls in it’s rotation to show her back in the Organization base watching Roxas, Xion, and Axel walking along and conversing in the homebase as friends together.

Now I'm so lonely (Lonely) Oh, I wish I'd find a lover that could hold me (Hold me)

She holds herself again, looking behind her to see Marluxia off and doing his own thing, standing around as she pouts and swipes her head away.

Now I'm crying in my room So skeptical of love (Say what you say, but I want it more) But still, I want it more, more, more

Once again a swinging cut on her head’s spinning about to show she’s fallen onto her Organization bed, mimicking the earlier scene as Elrena, but having her head to the side as she turns her body to lay her back against the whiteness of everything, looking defeated in her love-sickness. Giving up, she grins maliciously and lets her electricity shock around her on the bed, turning and twisting much like her earlier scene with her hands grabbing her head and then moving up to stretch. Symbolic of her dip into the insanity of working as a Nobody and losing her true self in it’s mayhem and mess. (More dramatic allure lol)

I gave a second chance to Cupid But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

A electric bolt transitions the screen as she’s now standing within the maze of of the Keyblade graveyard. She sees Mickey and leans forward, shoving her crossed arms with the electric nail daggers from being up across her to down as she charges him in zig-zagging electric charges. She looks up as Sora appears to swipe down his Keyblade from above at her. Marluxia intercedes with a clash of his scythe. She looks up, dumbfounded that he would rush in to ‘save’ her.

Oh, the way he makes me feel That love isn't real Cupid is so dumb

She is pushed back by Mickey in her astonishment at the kind deed, but as she rolls against the ground, Marluxia lands to stand protectively in front of her, taking the two on.

Coming up in front of the screen is another Larxene, who sings, ‘Cupid is so dumb’ as she does another iconic finger to her forehead before flicking her head back and motioning a ‘gag’ with her finger now pointing inside her mouth.

(Cupid is so dumb)

She falls to her knees, Sora walks over with his eyebrow raised, she smirks and puts her finger up in the ‘It’s a secret’ gesture line she does in the game, before disappearing to be recompleted after a smile back to his intuitive question.

Hopeless girl is seeking Someone who will share this feeling I'm a fool A fool for love, a fool for love

Now back as Elrena, and in the thundering rain of Dwarf’s Woodlands cliffside, she has her knees and hands holding her up off the soggy brown rocks as she shakes her head and cries with the rain, gripping the ground. She grips her heart, looking up a moment, before dipping it down as though thinking everything she did was pointless and didn’t help anything anyway.

I gave a second chance to Cupid But now, I'm left here feeling stupid Oh, the way he makes me feel

Her head swings up to look behind her, turning on the ground as though looking back at someone calling her.

Lauriam comes running up the cliff, heading straight for her.

That love isn't real Cupid is so dumb

He falls to his hands and knees, breathing harshly, before looking up at her with water droplets falling from his lumious hair.

I gave a second chance to Cupid (Hopeless girl is seeking someone) But now, I'm left here feeling stupid (Who will share this feeling)

The camera spins around them as he holds out a hand, as though to offer it to her again, but this time, places it to her cheek and smiles.

Oh, the way he makes me feel That love isn't real (I'm a fool) Cupid is so dumb (A fool for love, a fool for love)

The next shot is Elrena completely red in the cheeks, spreading across her nose as she looks up, the camera pulls out from the close-up to show the swaying, bouncing motion is because she is being carried Bridal-style away from the cliff, down it in Lauriam’s strong, protective arms... She has her hands and arms pulled in and bundled slightly, seeming smitten that love might not be out of the cards of fate just yet... or at all...

She closes her eyes and leans into him.

(thanks for read-watching lol XD It’s just something that inspired the prompt, I hope you enjoyed it!)

[blazevillains]

i wasn't referring to christians as a whole, just the one anon you were talking about. i realized i worded it vaguely but I meant that anon is not forcing anyone else to be christian and therefore it is not your place nor is it "protecting them" to crit post about their personal feelings about religion just because they don't align with yours. if someone finds comfort in christianity, no matter how they found that comfort, if they aren't being harmful (and they arent, theyre a dream smp fan on a tumblr confessions blog) then you are the cruel one trying to act like you have the high ground, even though you are supposedly preaching against that sort of behavior. but being loudly anti-religious to a religious so much more supportive and better than the other way around, right?

hi anon, you must have sent this before i made my other posts as well, because we have some miscommunications on both sides.

as i already said and apologized for, i agree with you! its not my place and i cant tell someone off for finding personal fulfillment in christianity if that is where they find it! and it was wrong of me to be invasive. i misplaced my emotions where they should not have been and thats on me.

and thank you for clairifying on the personal front not as an organiziation! i have aknowledged that as well.

and i never said i was anti religious! i am anti christian. sorry for the miscommunication there.

also im very sorry if my behavior came off as if i thought i have a moral high ground, as thats not what i wanted to reflect

and although this was SPARKED by the anon, this conversation im having is now largely detatched from that. sorry!

[fantastic-nonsense]

I'm aware this sounded less than encouraging (even for us that are actively involved in politics, it's...often pretty hard to stay optimistic), so here are some concrete steps you can take right now if you're discouraged about the state of affairs:

To advocate for new leadership:

Call Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin's offices and ask them to step down

Call, email, and mail your Senators and demand that they support a leadership change. Tell them that the Majority Leader needs to be someone who's not afraid to use the procedural power they're given to get things done, & the Whip needs to be someone unafraid to corral reluctant Senators to vote for Democratic priority legislation. You can take your personal pick of who you might think would be a good choice (mine are Klobuchar and/or Warren...possibly Baldwin).

Start the process of organizing cohesive grassroots advocacy campaigns and protests demanding new leadership via sending asks to the DNC, DCCC, and DSCC

Other tactics include a bit more front-level organizing, like getting any national-level organiziations you donate to or are part of to pass resolutions and publish statements calling for leadership changes (for example, sending a letter signed by a constituency to an advocacy organization, a church body, or a university requesting that they publicly advocate for and support a new Senate Majority Leader)

In the meantime, politically:

Call, email, and snail mail your House Rep's and Senators' offices. Speak politely to their staff and give them concrete policy asks (like supporting the Build Back Better 2.0 framework that Senator Wyden just published); the dirty secret of Congress-level politics is that congressional staff personally write and negotiate about 95% of legislation. Some electeds are more active in the process than others (Warren, for example, writes a lot of her own bills; former staff-turned-electeds like Chris Van Hollen also tend to be pretty active in crafting legislation), but generally...the staff are the ones writing the bills.

Focus your attention on local and state-level legislators and elections. A big part of the problem is that Democratic voters largely only ever show up every four years to vote for President and then check out of politics the rest of the time. Every election matters. School boards matter. Your local sheriff, county judge, and DA elections matter (a lot). City council matters. Your state house and state senate elections matter. If movement is stalled on the federal level, work to move policy at the state and local level.

Start attending your local city council and/or school board meetings. You'd be surprised how few people show up and how much input you can have into the process when you do.

Donate to and/or join activist organizations! Take your pick of policy issues (gun violence, reproductive rights, health care, civil rights, voting rights, anti-corruption, etc), but do some research and start donating and volunteering!

Engage in some direct action! Get involved with your local/state chapter of the Democratic Party and start attending their events. Structural change starts from the bottom, and the necessity for a leadership change inherently means the necessity for better rank-and-file members of the party who advocate for and vote on those leaders.

Go to r/VoteDEM and check their volunteer and training tabs

And electorally:

VOTE IN THE 2022 PRIMARIES! I cannot stress enough that primaries are where you have the greatest chance of making a substantive difference in the quality of Democratic legislators that get elected. Look up your state to see when your primaries are and who the candidates are now!

VOTE IN THE 2022 MIDTERMS! Ultimately the remedy here is to vote enough (quality) Dems into office that Joe Manchin's opposition to priority legislation is made irrelevant. So vote in the primaries, and vote in the midterms. Please don't hand control of Congress over to Republicans just because you're disaffected with the current crop of Dems. Vote for better Democratic candidates in the primaries, and then vote them into Congress in the general.

Do you have any optimism to offer regarding the senate and voting rights/the economic bill?

I waited to answer this because I was watching the Senate to see how they'd react to the inevitable failure of Biden to move Manchin to support the current iteration of the BBB bill. At this point, all I can offer is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, because they're still acting like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football.

Dem leadership wasting 7 months pretending like Manchin was ever actually going to support the BBB bill while progressives and every reasonably sane activist ever was shouting "he's stringing you along, and without the infrastructure bill there's no leverage" was the final nail in the coffin on that front.

Manchin is a multi-millionaire who owns a yacht & Maserati, gets his money from coal & oil barons, and has a son who runs a coal company and a daughter who maliciously hiked the price of Epi-Pens hundreds of dollars for profit. He doesn't care and he's been riding on an egotistical power trip because Dem leadership has let him completely drive the agenda since March, and the sooner everyone gets this through their head, the better off they'll be. Unless leadership actually punishes him in some way (stripping his committee power, censuring him, etc), he's going to continue doing what he's doing, and that includes blocking voting rights legislation too.

The only answer I can give at this point is "demand new internal leadership." In literally any other country, a failure of this nature would have prompted immediate resignations and triggered new internal leadership elections. In this case, at the very LEAST Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin need to answer wtf they're doing about this nonsense. Schumer is actively afraid to exercise the procedural and political power he has as Senate Majority Leader to make it painful for Republicans to play obstructive opposition (not forcing votes, not threatening to hold the Senate back from recess until demands are met, etc); meanwhile, Durbin's too busy playing nice with his colleagues to bully them into voting for priority legislation and corral unruly senators like Manchin into line. Neither is conducive to achieving 100% party voting compliance (which Dems need in a 50-50 Senate) or for achieving legislative priorities.

Dems need a) new leadership that's willing to actually use the procedural and political power that's given to them to fight for progress and b) a larger Congressional majority, so they can make the Joe Manchins and Kyrsten Sinemas of the party irrelevant; that's realistically the only way to actually achieve progress right now. My note of optimism is that both things are absolutely 100% achievable goals if voters decide to care enough about them and act on those priorities during the 2022 midterms.

[phinniasart]

Denna and Frey- Backstory and Supports

Finally got around to start translating Frey and Denna’s backstory! However, for now it will only be part 1 of the backstory. I will slowly start adding links to the next parts as time passes! Frey by me, Denna by @soundlessroom !

Backstory:

| Part 1 | | Part 2 | | Part 3 |

“At evenings like this, the hands of husbands and wives often missed their rings. Dancing steps echoed all over the hall, and laughing followed every now and then. Which laugh was fake and which one was not was not intelligable over the sounds created by the talented players of the orchestra.“

Only lately had the steady flow of invitations adressed to Denna started. Invitations to various masquerades, dances. Not because she was of noble blood, but rather because her song and dance were a welcome opening to the party- soon the trend to invite this beautiful yet young woman as a guest would come to an end. Because soon she would celebrate her 18th day of birth. And that would mark the beginning of her mission to engage, marry, and gift the world with children. No thank you. She shook her head at the thought of it, took another sip out of her glass of champaign and nervously tucked at the collar of her dress. Only waiting for said married men – who, all of a sudden, were single for a couple of hours – to start courting her. Even worse than being forced to decline politely every single time one insisted on another dance was the thick mist of oils and parfumes that the higher class seemed to drench and drown themselves in that stimulated her sensitive nose until she got a headache.

Frey despised the festivities of the noble men. Lies, gossip, the foul scent of alcohol and the fake grins. For the boy that watched over the heads of the guests despite his young age these type of parties were nothing he enjoyed. Despite that, the house of his Lady organizied them over and over again. And this was the first time that he had been allowed to accompany her. It was an honor to a humble servant to be able to step upon the mirror clean floor of the dancing hall outside of cleaning duty. But as he followed his Mastress, eyes batted to the ground, there was nothing beautiful about it. The butler knew very well that what he had carefully polished all day would be drenched in blood at the end of the night. So many nobles at once- it was her perfect chance to get rid of anyone who's sight she didn't approve of. And especially while she was drunk she gave commands at thoughtless will. But this time, something was different. Unexpectedly different. As the head of the house had already gulped down a couple glasses, and Frey had went through the masses of people to get her another bottle of wine several times, she pulled him down and, with a babbling tone demanded him to enjoy himself. For a short moment he just stared at her in disbelief. But then she shooed him away with a flick of her wrist and went ahead to converse with a small group of visitors. Irritated and confused by the sudden change of mind of his Lady he hurried down the stairs of the box and gazed over the hall that was filled to the brim.

Barons, Countesses, the full mid-high range of nobles was represented, and all of them enjoyed themselves that night as if their lives outside the halls wouldn't even exist. Frey let his gaze wander. The object of a ballroom party was the dancing- but a dance without a partner would be misplaced in a scenery like this. His eyes stopped as they spotted a young woman standing a little further away from the common masses. They lingered a little longer. He hoped she wouldn't notice. And he seemed to be lucky. He inched closer. How was he supposed to adress her? She didn't fit any of the descriptions he had received beforehand. Did she wear a title? Would he be rude to start a conversation with her just like that? He gulped down any doubt and nervousness, kept his smile up and moved his legs to walk over to her, bowing in front of her in a polite gesture. “Milady.” Careful, waiting for any type of reaction, he took her hand and placed a short kiss on its back before letting go again. He looked up at her – a discourtesy. You shall never look up at someone of higher degree during a bow, but he couldn't help himself with his curiousity and looked at her for just a little longer. As he saw her from up close his breath hitched. Light hair, nearly white and still not yet, shimmered in the light of the chandelier and framed a face of beauty he couldn't describe. He gulped once more. Why would she stand apart? Wouldn't everyone want to dance with a woman like her? It took Denna a minute to notice that she was being talked to. A low voice that nearly vibrated in the ribcage and made her cheeks flush a soft shade of red. No pungent smell, bowed a little too often, kneeled even more, gloves that prevented direct contact of skin on skin and no stubbles she could fell during the kiss placed on her hand. A servant? “Good evening.” She cursed internally. How did one behave amongst nobles again? The correct manner of speech was something her stephmother condemned her for quite often. Should she try again? “What beautiful music that is being played today.” No, instead her tongue decided to change the topic. To her advantage it weren't the heads of the house, and so her embarassing behaviour wouldn't cause trouble. She had answered him. He had never thought that the words falling off the lips of a woman would ever grant him such relief. “You are right indeed.” He rose again, stretched his back a little in the hope to look a little taller than he already was. His height was the only thing that granted him ny type of respect amongst the servants. That, and his “side job”. But that was something he prefered not to think about at the moment. He cleared his throat before he reached her his hand. “Given the beautiful music,” gods, had his pulse always been this fast? “,Would you grant me the honor of a dance with you?” Was he doing it right? Or was he being too pushy? Oh god, hopefully he didn't repel her. It was already quite borderline that a servant was near the banquet, and on top of that he was possibly asking a noble for a dance? He could feel the gazes of the others burning at the back of his head. The next morning would mean living hell. But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was her.

“I would be honored.” Denna couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her. The first time this evening that she meant it, too. As much she hated those nobles, this farce, finally she would be able to dance to those charming melodies and enjoy it for once. “My name is Denna Dalleysen. May I ask for yours?” Was she too outspoken? Too bold? She wished she would have been able to see the face of her partner to know if he was about to bring her out of the hall and place her in between the dump. “My name is not of important matter for I am but a simple servant.” Frey's heart was beating faster, thumped against his ribcage and he thought it would burst as she bestowed him with the honor. But keeping his name to himself would be imprudent. A few seconds passed and he took her hands into his to slowly lead her onto the banquet. “If you are interested in it,” Another deep breath “, my name is Frey.” He apologized over and over again whenever he accidently bumped against someone as they searched for bit of free space to dance on.

One of the couples they bumped against gave an annoyed groan, and before Denna knew what she was doing she showed them her tongue. “Alright, Frey, You are free to call me Denna then.” She squeezed his hands a little to give him some courage and continued the dance. “I have to admit something to you though. As you might have noticed, manners are a riddle to me. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me.” Frey was a little sloppy regarding dancing. With his old teacher it was no problem, but with a woman that enchanted him just like she did, so much that he couldn't pay attention to his own steps, it was thousandfolds more difficult. “As you wish, Denna.” Her name melted like warm caramel on his tongue. There was something about it. “Don't worry about it. I too am but a boy that has to learn a lot regarding manners and nobility.” A soft smile graced his lips. It was still difficult to comprehend that he was allowed to dance with her. Her movements were so fluent, so elegant. He felt like a plank of wood in comparison.

A huff from his nose assured her that he was smiling and took any pressure off of her. “Maybe we could test this on each other then?” Once more she laughed honestly at the thought. Frey smelled like freshly mowed lawn, roses and a bit of a pleasant own scent. A welcome change – it felt a little as fi they were dancing outside instead of in this stuffy hall. “Concentrate on the music. Blind out anything around you. It's only the two of us.” She started explaining and pulled him a little closer at his hips to reduce that large distant between each other that was probably created by the fact that Frey was absolutely stiff. Her hand rested there for just a little too long. How tall might he be? How high would she have to look up to create “eye contact” , as her mother had told her, to charm someone? Would she only look at his chin? Or his forehead maybe? He nodded, quite excited, but also curious what she could teach him. As she looked up at him again he felt warmth raise into his face. What might she be thinking of him? Frey looked into her eyes and smiled before he closed his own to concentrate on his movements and her lead. Blind it all out. It wasn't as difficult as he has first thought it would be. A calm three-fourth timing. A traditional waltz. “Just the two of us.” He mumbled, barely audible.

Like a lever that had been flicked Frey started to move more naturally. And a little too fast, no, far too fast, the dance was at its end. His body close to her own, her fingers still resting on his broad shoulders. She should let go, it would only mean trouble to show the nobles that she prefered a servant over them, that her shyness had only been an act. Denna caressed down his shoulder, over his chest and pulled her fingers back. “Do we want to go ahead with the next dance?” She doubted that anyone had not seen this gesture. And when it had already happened she could at least enjoy the rest of the evening. “Or maybe … There is other women you would like to court?” “No, no, I never intended something like that, to … to court, I meant. I just wanted to-” Frey tried to argue a little, but jumped as he felt an elbow in his back. He turned around in an blink of an eye, his hand in his vest ready to draw the dagger until he saw that it was one of the maids looking at him with serious eyes. Her words made a shudder run down his spine. “She wants to speak to you.” He sensed that something bad might happen. Of course nothing could be as happy as it was for long. He looked up to the box. His mistress staring at him. Piercing. Furious. She was unpredictable, and it only got worse the more she drank. “Forgive me, I'll have to say good by-” “FREY!” His body went rigid as his Lady shouted his name. The whole hall fell silent for a moment. And the orchestra stopped playing in shock. “We- We'll meet again.” Hopefully. Oh, he hoped for it so very much as he squished through the masses to follow the orders of his Mastress. As soon as he reached the box, he fell to his knees in front of her. It took only seconds until her heel dug deep into his shoulders to press him to the ground. But he had to stay up, despite the force and pain. “What do you think you are doing, dirty abortion? Seducing girls, and that as a servant! You are a shame for the name of our whole domestics!” A stomp against the back of his head. Unexpected. He smiled on. It didn't take long until she had him brought away. At least he had been able to enjoy the ballroom dance. And he wouldn't forget her all too soon. Once more he let her name melt on his tongue. “Denna...”

Her shocked eyes were still fixed towards the box as the musik resumed playing. Did she cause him trouble? Only as one of the maids told her to go out of the way did her thoughts return to her. At least she was taken from the dance floor- she was far too distracted to listen where and who she would have to dodge as to not bump into every single guest.

How would she ever atone for this? Maybe a friend of hers could write a letter? No, that would take far too long, she had to apologize for her behaviour on her own accord. “Excuse me, Miss?,” she tugged at the apron of the woman who was about to leave: “Could you request an audience with the Master in my name?” Frey had gotten rigid at the floor, she had been able to nearly grasp his fear. Hopefully she would be able to lessen his punishment, if just a little bit. “Run. Run, girl. I'm not worth the effort!” That's what he wanted to tell her as he stood besides the head of the house. Pain. Kicks, strokes, boiling hot water. His back hurt. His collar bone might have been broken. The severe singe crawling down from his shoulder all the way to the hips made it difficult to keep his back straight as opposed to crooking and budging to it. But it was his duty to keep calm and smile quietly. He looked up as the older man started to talk- elbows on the desk, hands folded in front of his bearded mouth, surrounded by long folds that framed a wide grin. “Alright, child. What lead you to dare to ask for a personal audience with me?” “Today, on this party, no one passed upon the word that it was me who is at fault for what happened in the ball room. Your servant denied my overtures in an instant. He is not guilty of any wrong and I would like to apologize highly for my behaviour.” Denna bowed in front of him, hands folded in front of her. For a moment, she was grateful for her missing eyelight. Because the voice of that man had this cadence that her mother had warned her of so, so often. I'm sorry, Mother, despite your warning never to be alone in a room with a noble that day, I have not listened in the end. How long was she supposed to stay like this? How did you even do it? Did those nervous gasps of air she heard the servant's, or the elderly Head? Maybe her own? Second after second passed, and she got more and more uncomfortable with every single on. She hated herself a little- for not thinking about Frey's situation before she invited him to a second round. “My servant bears the lone fault for what happened.” The man straightened his back slightly, let his gaze wander to Frey, then back to her. “You may raise your head. You do not need to apologize. This boy knows very well how a servant should behave on a festivity like this, and nevertheless he abandoned the norms. He already received part of his proper punishment.” Frey gulped, nearly yelled in pain as the Master rose off his chair and brought down his hand on his shoulders with quite some force. Exactly onto the area where the wound was at its largest and gravest. But he bit his teeth and only jumped a little instead. “Unless you, of course, insist on lessening his punishment a little.” If it had been within his boundaries, Frey would have loved to shut his Master up. She didn't have anything to do with this. No reason to be here. And the cadence of the old man didn't help with it. The grin had grown bigger, and a golden teeth shone bright under his upper lip. “Excuse me?!” Her voice sounded far more upset than she had intended, and Denna could literally feel how any of her bravery ran down the stairs and got itself some drinks. “It has only been 30 minutes, not more since the events!” Denna stood up, moved one step forward. “Did you only wait to punish him?!” BE QUIET BE QUIET BE QUIET RUN AWAY, HAVE YOU LOST ANY COMMON SENSE?! “He didn't deserve anything better. He's a bastard that was sold to us. It doesn't matter when or how I punish him. When he does a mistake, he has to pay for it the way I tell.” The gaze of the man darkened significantly. “As long as you don't have the money to buy him off us, you should learn to keep your mouth shurt, little miss. Or it will be much, much worse for him very soon.” “... Run ...” “Did the small murderer say something?” “... Denna, run! Akh-” Frey was shake by another heavy hit onto his injured back and went to his knees as the pain worsened. Dumb girl. Run. Hurry, before it's too late …! “STOP!” Denna threw herself in front Frey, one arm held up in a mean to guard herself. “Forgive me! Please forgive me! I am sure I can be of any help? How about a couple more performances? For a generous and benevolent man like you they would be complimentary, of course.” This was it. This was the world she had been hidden away and protected from. The world her mother and father had to walk upon. Maybe it were the memories of the stories about her father that made her become so emotional. She wouldn't turn her eyes away like everyone else did. The peerage consisted of disgusting swines. And if no faced the injustice at reign, then it was her task to do so. Denna. Oh god, Denna, what are you doing … “Oh, I see, now the naughtly lass crawls on the ground to guard that bastard of a boy? But fine. In exchange for free performances on festvities as well as personal disposal, I will think about minimizing his punishment. Well, of course only if the customers are satisfied.” His grin was wide as ever once more as he kicked Frey into the back one last time before he sat down again. Please. Please don't do this … His thoughts turned and twisted, about how he just wanted her to get out of this stituation. His Master was a dirty liar. He wouldn't change. He would continue and enjoy the show. Oh Denna, please run as long as you still can … “Personal … Disposal?” The kick that she hadn't been able to prevent made Frey tremble in pain. What would happen if she denied it? Would he be killed? Did she make it even worse than it already was? She probably had. “I am so sorry, Frey … I thought I could change something.” She whispered into his ear before she rose off the ground. “I'm an adult woman, Lord Silberhain. Define your words.”

“It's already as defined as could be.” Alden kept his mischievous expression and knocked against the ground with his foot in a slow beat. But a little exited nevertheless. It was clear what he had in mind. And Frey shuddered at the thought of it. He wasn't worth something like this. His Master was right: He was nothing but a bastard without any worth that had been raised to murder anything him and his wife wanted dead. So many lifes were lost at his hands- and he didn't intend to ruin another. “However. What I am thinking of are personal performances at the wish of our nobles that are in the need of some amusement.” A talk from long, long ago returned to Denna. Possibly the worst of all moments that her mind had picked: “Your father was the strongest of them all.” “He was? Why?” “He put everyone else's wellbeing over his own. Always.” “Why did no one help him?” “Because us humans are weak. We are weak, and our own safety stands above anything and anyone else. But Wunibald was different. He was something special.” “I don't want father to be something special! I want to him to be with me!” “I am so sorry Denna, but some heroes need to be alone.” “I don't want a hero! I want my DAD!”

Denna pulled a sharp breath through gritted teeth. “For how long?”

Frey didn't want to hear it anymore. This just wasn't right. He groaned as he got up and started to talk to the head of the house. It was clear that standing upright was taking its toll on him. “Milor, it's not of any neccessity. I am responsible and I will accept any punishement needed. Let her go, she is only an innocent that has been pulled into this due to my inability.” He gulped heavily. As long as his Master and Mastress were busy torturing him, they wouldn't be able to let it out on anyone else. He was used to it. And until his 18th birthday, when he might be able to leave the servantship and house, he would bear with it somehow. “Lady Denna does not have to stand up for me.” He already readied himself to get hit again. But it never happened. He only felt a cold, unwavering gaze. “Stop playing the hero!” Denna's experession was furious as she faced Frey: “This world doesn't need heroes! She needs people!” This would have been her chance to run away. A better one she would never get. Restless voices from outside started to redirect the attention of all three. Her name was called every now and then, and Denna became more irritated with every passing moment. “My Lord, the guests would like to hear Denna's voice once more.” The familiar voice of the woman that had been with Denna several times already echoed. Was ist possible? Had that maid organized this? In this rotten world... were there still people that reached out their hand to another? “Milady, please follow my lead. Frey, we need any helping hand we can find, so you will come along too.” She was taken outside before she could speak one more word to the man that would later show to be their worst enemy.

Frey was quite out of it as he followed the other servants all of a sudden. His Master did not come after them, but he had been able to overhear that he would attent the performance as soon as the time came. Nevertheless, he was quite relieved that Denna would be out of danger for a moment. Thank the gods that his collegues spared some sympathy for him. When he helped with the preaprations, the pain was still burdening him. Shouldn't he have gotten used to it by now? They slowly but surely started to get more and more cruel with their penalties. He just hoped that they would never get any thunder magic into their cruel hands. But he had to smile. Tonight, he wouldn't be able to sleep anyways. It was the first time that an encord had been requested on a private party, even if it was only thanks to the friendly maid. Her song and dance seemed to raise the mood in the room again, and it granted her the possibility to forget the deal for the time being. “Frey.” After the show had ended, Denna walked ahead and stopped behind the butler that was filling up the alcohol. “I am so sorry … for everything ...” Surely she would be hated for it. In the end she had not changed a thing. “I am so sorry for everything … I will correct it, somehow. I will buy you free. Wait for me.” Before he would be able to answer – or, as she expected, object – she turned around and walked away so no one would see them together again. This country didn't need heroes. No one would need heroes if people would just face each other with equal respect. Surely she was far to naiv to- Still lost in thoughts she stumbled over the foot of a noble and landed on the marble ground, blood dripping down her lip that she had bitten at the impact. Frey followed her with his gaze as she just so disappeared again. Buy him free? Oh gods, something like that wasn't necessary. He wasn't worth all the money that his Master would unrightfully demand, and-- His train of thoughts cut off as he saw her fall, and within few momentens he was back at her side. He didn't care how hard he would be punished for this. But he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. “Denna, are you alright?” He tried to help her up and pulled a handkerchief out of the inside of his vest as he noticed that her lip was bleeding. “Lady Denna, you don't have to step in for me like this.” He spoke up again as he started to dap the blood off her lips – Gentle, careful. “I am worth neither your attention nor your money … you do not want to buy someone like me. Please. After this performance, leave. I will take care of everything.” He didn't care what th others thought. It couldn't get much worse. His back was numb from the scar tissue covering it anyways.

“I wanted to be gone before you could start to discuss it … you don't have a choice … I wouldn't know what to do with all this money anyways … I have a roof over my head and a mother that loves me, I live a good life.” She got back onto her feet. “And you can't buy the eye's light, so … stay alive.” “As long as I serve this house my life lies within in the hands of the Head-- Wait … Eye's light?” His body got stiff. A few seconds of thinking before he waved his hand back and forth in fron of her face. He placed it on her cheek afterwards, brushed a strand of hair aside. “... you … Are blind?” He hadn't noticed all the way until now. How ignorant could he be? “... I'm sorry, I didn't know, that ...” He sighed. His smiled started to fade away, but as his fellow servant placed a hand on his shoulder, he jumped and it returned soon after. “Leave your fingers out of the troubles of others, Lady Denna. You will only cut yourself.” With those word on his lips, he stood up. But he gentle placed the tissue in her hand so she could stop the bleeding before getting back to work. Denna began to sulk. But she didn't want to force himself onto him either. Maybe they would never meet again anyways? Her fall had made her realize. Frey wasn't her father. He was a stranger. And she was a stranger, too. As soon as she would leave this hall, they would never see each other ever again. If she was honest she hoped that she could blame her awkward behaviour this evening on the alcohol if they  should ever meet once more.