#we owe ourselves and our allies a chance at conversation

[roseseafoam]

My final thoughts about the reporter:

I think it’s crazy to just pass judgment on that situation without looking at the context. I can understand why, but going so far as to read into what someone’s saying and suggesting that they believe their struggle (which, mind you, is also a genocide) is more important due to some inherent “Arab antiblackness”… Without any attempt to directly reach out for clarification. As they’re pointing out aid that should have gone to your country…

I’m going to trust the Sudanese woman who repeated the reporter’s words verbatim and explained exactly what he said. To me that’s a much better contextualization than “sksksk me and the girlies think what he said was super racist, he thinks his struggle is more important than ours, if you know you know!”

Especially given that he stands to materially gain… what, exactly, from the alleged antiblack sentiment? What does he stand to gain from demeaning the tragedy of another group of people in favor of his own? The answer is not hardly clear enough for me to levy that judgment against him, I’m sorry. Especially without at least trying to have a conversation about it first.

A lot of us are going to have to work harder to contextualize both what we see and what people are saying about what we see. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s necessary. We need to be able to think for ourselves. And we don’t have to agree on everything, nor will we. But being able to have these conversations (both among ourselves as to whether something really is antiblackness and with the people who we feel have hurt us) is necessary. If we can’t ask one another, “Do we really think this is the case? Is this indeed what’s going on?” then we’re just setting ourselves up for critical judgment errors in the future.

[phoenixglacier]

Archon Quest Chapter I: Rewritten

(Part of my Genshin Impact Headcanons (things that blatantly go against canon but I’m pretending at true) series.)

Hi guys I really hated the Liyue Archon quest, but I don’t want to because Liyue really doesn’t deserve that. So I mixed it up a little to fix the main problems I had with it.

In this post:

Ningguang is the Geo Archon and Liyue’s Archon. She is “Morax”, with “Ningguang” as her modern name. Details such as Morax being of the original Seven and writing contracts with all adepti applies to Ningguang.

Zhongli is only an adeptus, not the archon, at any point. His original and official name is “Rex Lapis”, with “Zhongli” as the name that he’s using as a mortal.

Mainly, I wanted to remove Zhongli from the position of Liyue’s Archon entirely, because I his character is much more likeable that way (to me).

I’ll be marking parts that are the same as the original version with a *.

So, here’s how I would have the storyline play out in the game with my version of the Liyue Archon quest:

Traveller goes to Liyue Harbour as instructed by Venti*. They aren’t told that there’s any time limit, Morax simply governs the people directly rather than descending once a year. However, few ever get the honour of seeing Lord Morax (Ningguang), and her decrees are mainly spread by her direct underlings and the Qixing (Keqing and others).

When Traveller arrives, they set to work asking the ordinary citizens about Lord Morax and how to meet her. The citizens tell her the same spiel* about how the Qixing control Liyue. Here, the conversation/argument between the citizens is brought up about whether the Qixing should be given any credit compared to the Adepti. They eventually direct Traveller to Yujin Terrace*, because they can pray to the Adepti there.

At Yujing Terrace, there are people milling about, but they have not gathered for a specific event. They walk around and pray and act like normal NPCs.

Traveller makes wishes at the altars as per in-game and talks to some people which gives her insight on what the Liyue people tend to wish for. As she heads to the last altar, the cutscene triggers.

In the cutscene, we see the body of the Dragon Rex Lapis fall from the sky*, but the crowd isn’t originally crowded around the body, rather they move towards the body after they see it fall.

(For this part, basically Rex Lapis is declared dead*, and I’ve chosen to introduce Ganyu here arbitrarily) Ganyu appears suddenly from the sky, attracting the camera view and the attention. She jumps towards the body, and declares that this is the Mighty Adeptus Rex Lapis, and that he has been murdered. She declares that “Lady Ningguang will not forgive the culprit.”

The millelith begin securing the area accordingly, and Paimon panics*. We could have the sneaking quest again, but alternatively we could just skip straight to the next cutscene: while Traveller tries to escape, Childe grabs their hand and tells them “Come with me.”

(Childe had been in the area of Yujing Terrace earlier, but Traveller didn’t have the chance to talk to him yet because he was near the last altar, where the cutscene would trigger when they got close.)

Once they’ve escaped, the same conversation* happens where Childe tells them he’s a Fatui, Traveller prepares to fight him, Childe convinces them that they need his help, gives them the Sigil of Permission for Jueyan Karst, etc. Childe has to convince them that they’re a suspect a little more compared to the original, and amps up the blame on the Qixing*.

Traveller’s Jueyan Karst journey is the same*. However, the dialogue is a little different: the Adepti question why Ningguang sent a mortal to deliver the message to them, then they ask why she didn’t send a message at all. They are more enraged than ever over the death of Rex Lapis, whom they consider to be a friend and ally rather than the one they owe loyalty to.

After that’s done, Traveller returns and Childe introduces them to Zhongli*. It’s similar, but Zhongli explains that he has been instructed with the honour of carrying out the funeral for Rex Lapis, and as such will get to meet Lady Ningguang. If Traveller helps him out, he’ll bring them with him to meet her. Traveller agrees*. Childe is still funding*.

While the whole shopping fiasco with Zhongli could go exactly the same*, I think it’s more fun to merge Yanfei’s quest into it. Yanfei offers her services after Zhongli has trouble obtaining specific materials, and throughout the quest they can run into similar legal/scammy/bargaining scenarios. When Yanfei parts ways with us, she admits that she’s an adeptus but points out that the city needs legal advisors like her more than they need adepti*.

(Adding Yanfei’s quest here would be great because we would be introduced to Liyue’s culture of contracts early on, helping us understand Liyue better and hitting all the significant people anyway. It would also make a nice contrast with Zhongli’s cluelessness, and show the difference between adepti who are stuck in traditional ways vs adepti who were able to adapt.)

Zhongli brings Traveller to dinner, where they’re finally personally approached by Ganyu and invited to the Jade Chamber*. Zhongli says that it seems we don’t need his help after all since we’ve gotten the invitation by ourselves, but asks us to come to the funeral later anyway. Paimon assumes we won’t see Zhongli again until the funeral.

We meet Keqing on our way to the Jade Chamber*. She doesn’t ask us not to side with the Adepti exactly, but instead scold us a little for getting the Adepti involed at all. She says that “The Adepti live so far away from Liyue Harbour that they would never have known if you hadn’t told them.” Traveller also asks her how she knows that the adepti know, since we haven’t seen them since, and Keqing responds that Ningguang must trust the Qixing with this information, since they run Liyue with her.

In the Jade Chamber: (I can’t actually remember much of the dialogue from the original version...) but it should be similar-ish. The scene would probably be extra flashy to emphasise that she’s an Archon at first, then as she insists on being casual the filtering gets casual too. Ningguang tells her how much she trusts her, some of the history of Liyue (them coming together to protect Liyue during the war), and how the Adepti are angry with her about Rex Lapis’ death. She talks about the Fatui and how they’ve been trying to get a foothold here. She notes that she admires how Mondstadt has prevented them from having a hand in their running, but having a Harbringer in their city makes it difficult to push back against them. Ningguang asks Traveller what they think about Keqing, then sighs and says that she is very capable but very young. She mentions Yanfei, and explains that she is unique because she is half-adeptus and also very young. Traveller asks whether she thinks there’s no way for the rest of the Adepti to adapt to modern Liyue, and about Rex Lapis, and Ningguang skirts around those topics.

Traveller gets the information of the second Fatui base from Ningguang’s wall*. After that, actually going to the location is probably in Part 4.

When Part 4 starts, Traveller goes to the base, raids it, and finds the Sigils of Permission*. They are then caught by Childe. In the dialogue that follows, Paimon and Traveller accuse Childe of several things, including goading him that his plan of using Zhongli didn’t work. Childe laughs and reveals what we think is his whole plan: summon an Ancient God to attack all of Liyue Harbour. He says that leaving Traveller to babysit Zhongli was just to distract them, since he knew they would meddle with him otherwise. He also says that Morax, the Qixing and the Adepti are fighting each other now, and don’t have time to do anything except argue.

Traveller fights him*. The fight is pretty much the same, with him triggering his delusion and using Foul Legacy and being introduced as Tartaglia*. After he finishes fighting Traveller in Foul Legacy, he regrets it a little and says that he got carried away, but since Traveller is on the ground (conscious but) he begins the summoning for Osial.

(All of that can still take place in the Golden House with just an extra “Follow Childe” quest or by placing the Fatui base nearby and having Traveller follow a trail to there. I did think it would be cool if the base was in the Guyun Stone Forest instead, exactly where Osial was summoned. So after the summoning, Paimon yells at Traveller to teleport a distance away)

Cutscene where Traveller meets up with Ningguang, the Qixing, and the Adepti*. Paimon expresses surprise that they’re not fighting each other, they say that they’ve put aside their argument until Osial has been stopped, so on*. The fight and strategy would be almost identical, with Ningguang creating the platform and ballistas, and Traveller fighting the Fatui with the blessings of the Adepti.

This next cutscene is crucial. Instead of one of Osial’s attacks destroying the platform, one of the Fatui’s portals opens up behind Ningguang. Childe launches out from it and takes her Gnosis out of her body the same as with Venti. Ningguang’s concentration is broken and she nearly faints, which causes the whole platform to start breaking. Then Zhongli crashes in, catching Ningguang from her fall and immediately attempting to fight Childe. Childe is confused (“Zhongli-xiansheng..?”) and shocked, but Zhongli doesn’t try reasoning with him or saying anything at all, instead trying to fight him immediately. Childe is excited to engage in the fight, while Zhongli gets hurt immediately and is confused at why he’s so weak. However, the fight doesn’t last more than a few seconds, as Childe starts to run and Ningguang (weak and collapsing) tells Zhongli that they have to focus on protecting Liyue first, and the other Adepti go “This aura... Rex Lapis?”

They drop the Jade Chamber on Osial to defeat him*. Now comes the part where they explain everything that has been going on. The Adepti and the Qixing alike demand answers, the Adepti especially expressing that Zhongli has to be Rex Lapis. Ningguang explains most of it:

Some time back, Rex Lapis came to her saying that he wants to die. He’s tired from losing all of his old friends and working endlessly. “While I understand that it is the terms of my contract to serve you and Liyue, is there any way for this contract to end?”

(Zhongli notes that his experience with Yanfei showed him that contracts are much more complicated than they used to be)

Ningguang had agreed, because she thinks that Liyue is much safer than it was when she had signed those contracts with them, and if that was what Rex Lapis wished then so be it. However, she also thought it was too big of a decision to just not make use of.

The plan was that Rex Lapis would fake a very public death. After doing so (killing his original body) the rest of him would go into a human body where he will die at whatever human lifespan he made it to. This would allow Rex Lapis to live as a mortal under the name Zhongli for what to him was a very short amount of time. But because most of him was killed, he lost almost all of his power, reducing him to really just a mortal (still really strong, just weak in comparison to how he used to be as a Dragon and an Adeptus), which he unfortunately only realised the implications of when he couldn’t protect Ningguang from Childe.

The Adepti get angry and teary at Zhongli, saying that they really thought he was dead and scolding both of them for keeping it a secret. We get a few more emotional lines.

The plan was that Rex Lapis would fake a very public death. Ningguang would use this to stir up the people and sow distrust towards the Fatui, using it to drive them out. From her reports of Zhongli, she eventually guessed that Childe was planning to attack her at some point of the funeral shenanigans, which she was prepared for and planning to make use of. In short, she was hoping to get rid of the Fatui by using Rex Lapis’ death as a cover/excuse/catalyst.

But the Osial situation was beyond her expectations, and she wasn’t prepared for that. She doesn’t explain exactly what the Gnosis is to the people present, merely saying that it is important, and Keqing quips that Ningguang looks like hell right now. This launches into the Adepti vs Qixing conversation*.

The Adepti accuse Ningguang of not trusting them and trying to cut them out in favour of these mortals. The Qixing retort that the Adepti were only useful today because they needed to fight, even arguing that Cloud Retainer’s technology could only be put to use in the form of weaponry and nothing else. Madame Ping mediates the most*. Ningguang tells the Adepti that it wasn’t that she doesn’t trust them, but that she didn’t want them to have to get involved when they had already distanced themselves and were living peaceful lives in seclusion. She takes the Qixing’s side, but tries to explain to the Adepti why. The scene ends similarly to the original*. As they leave, the Adepti tell the Qixing and other humans to call them whenever Liyue needs their help.

That’s the end of the dramatic scene. At the funeral, things go pretty much the same*. Traveller hears people talking about the Fatui being the cause of everything* (Ningguang milked the Osial situation completely*). The Fatui are also blamed for Rex Lapis’ death. If the millelith still does make a speech, it would be that Lady Ningguang is cracking down on getting the Fatui out, which is met with positive reactions. Ningguang gives a speech at the funeral which honours Rex Lapis and reminds the people to work together for a new future of Liyue, but it would be less dramatic than the original.

When we talk to Zhongli, he explains some things: When he turned human, Ningguang gave him some money and a job and asked him to practice being human because she intended to give him an allowance to live on in the future. With the limited knowledge he had from never being a human before and the intense studying from a few books on funerals, Zhongli did his best. (He’d also accidentally fallen in love with a Fatui Harbringer oops). Traveller asks him what he’ll do now since he has some years left before his human body dies and he replies that he has absolutely no idea. After some thought, he mentions “I wonder whether Childe will forgive me...”

Traveller probably talks to Ganyu instead of Ningguang for the final ending (the part where they tell them about Inazuma*).

End.

Okay um so some notes about why I made Zhongli not-the-archon:

I was really frustrated that he seemed to not care about the mess he was making in Liyue at all. By making him a normal adeptus, it’s much more acceptable for him to walk away from all his duties because the responsibility doesn’t fall solely to him. Not only is Liyue not falling apart because their main Archon is still there, but he doesn’t bear the actual main responsibility at all.

Zhongli’s cluelessness when it comes to mora doesn’t make any sense if he was supposedly managing the whole country until last year. Plus, Liyue even trades with all other countries, so it’s not like he’s never had to be worried about losing money. By making this the first time he’s really experienced human society, his unbalanced knowledge and behaviour can seem more cute than incompetant. Even his rigidness towards his contracts and the details of the funeral can be explained because he’s probably also been living in seclusion like everyone else.

In the original story, Zhongli stood by while everyone else fought Osial, even though he still had his Gnosis, even though Liyue and all his Adepti’s lives were on the line. In this version, it was possible for Zhongli to interfere in the fight while still losing, because he was already a mortal. It makes him far more compelling because he actually tried to help.

The contract with Signora. We don’t know (yet) what the terms are, so for the the contract is just very annoying. It only serves to convince me that the Gnoses can’t actually be that important. Anyway, dramatic gnosis-stealing scene is what I prefer. At least we can have sympathy for the character - I can’t admire Zhongli for whatever smart decision he made because I don’t know what it is.

Overall, if you change Zhongli to a normal Adeptus, almost all of his existing dialogue reads much better without needing any changes, because the explanation is satisfactory.

Why make Ningguang Morax, then?

Ningguang is already introduced as if she is a god. People tell folktales of her, she displays complex high-level magic that we haven’t even seen Zhongli do (that platform and ballistas), she lives in a literal floating island in the sky that she built, etc. She’s also already running Liyue and doing well at it and has a strong sense of responsibility towards it. It makes sense for her to be the Archon.

Why not Keqing? First of all, Keqing’s elemental and physical abilities aren’t portrayed as particularly special (all of this is based on story bits, not the game mechanics). While she seems capable, the game doesn’t originally give her enough buildup and credit, and she’s portrayed as younger and more stubborn. But most importantly, Keqing is the key person on the Qixing side of the argument, so she needs to remain a Qixing.

Why add Yanfei’s quest in the middle:

The Liyue Archon quest went way too fast without getting us close to Liyue itself. Zhongli’s quest is meant to get us close to them, but he only brings us to people and spouts trivia. Yanfei’s quest embodies the “Contracts” aspect of Liyue so well and it would be really useful to go through that quest before we had to fight to defend Liyue.

If you compare Liyue to Mondstadt and Inazuma, you’ll see that you automatically get close to Mondstadt because it takes a long time to level in the early days of playing. Meanwhile, Inazuma requires you to complete Yoimiya’s quest (which shows the culture of “Eternity” in Inazuma) and Ayaka’s quest (which shows the people whp want to escape the “Eternity” in Inazuma, although Yoimiya’s quest is more important). Liyue doesn’t require any quests in between at all, yet players don’t neccessarily spend time there idly, so it’s hard to get to know Liyue.

Alternatively, Yanfei’s quest could just be a required quest between the parts instead of being integrated into the main Archon Quest itself.

Thanks for reading the Geo Archon Ningguang version of the Liyue Archon Quest.

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light Chapter 14: Crescent Lagoon

A/N: Chapter 14 is here, and fairly short, especially after chapter 13′s monster length. Might even post chapter 15 today. We’ll see. 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14

Chapter 14: Crescent Lagoon

           The sombrosa swords were apparently a type of dual swords whose handles were half of the other, kind of like cutting a curved sword down the middle lengthwise.

           No, Seth wasn’t allowed to touch them, yes they were magic. The wielder, with proper concentration, could make the swords sharp enough to cut through almost anything, even dragon hide, or sturdy enough to withstand tremendous pressure, though only one affect could be applied to each sword at one time. Apparently the Knights of the Dawn had had a combat tournament back in the day, and Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Stan had been the two finalists.

           Vanessa took over discussing what an umbraka was and why them running loose is the perfect reason to end a tournament, but kept referencing other animals that Seth didn’t know, and it was decided there wasn’t enough time to get into that. There was another sanctuary that needed saving.

           He was helped out of the Canoe by Warren, who had gone through before him. Instantly the humidity hit.

           “It feels like I’m trying to breath in the ocean,” Seth complained.

           “You’re welcome to compare a bit of humidity to the real experience,” Vanessa said, gesturing to the harbor. Tanu came through, then Grandma Gloria. Holding the canoe steady were short halflings. They were covered in black tattoos over their reddish skin and more of them were scattered between their spot and the treeline.

           Their group gathered around a tall islander woman. Her long, curly black hair had a couple of gray streaks, but her age didn’t show otherwise. Next to her was a red-headed surfer dude.

           “Welcome to Crescent Lagoon,” the woman said, “I am the caretaker, and due to the assistance of Knights Warren and Vanessa, we were able secure this small area to be protected under treaty. Be aware that the boundaries cover the beach, the water inside the cove, and about ten meters out on either side of where the beach turns into forest. And of course, my home, which you are all welcome to.”

           Seth looked around, trying to make out houses around the enormous trees, but couldn’t see anything. Then a halfling came down an elevator from the big tree in the center, and Seth’s eyes went up. And up. Because this caretaker’s home made their old treehouse back at Fablehaven look like a doghouse.

           “Wow,” Seth said, looking over the rope system. “We sleep in hammocks, right?”

           “I’m sure we can string one up directly over the dragon-infested ocean for you, if you like,” Warren said with a grin.

           “There are plenty of dangers here already,” Tanu said, “I don’t believe we need to tempt more.”

           “Thank you for receiving us during these difficult times,” Grandma said, bowing to the caretaker, “I am Gloria Larsen, a knight of the dawn. Allow me to introduce my Grandson, Seth Sorenson, a shadow charmer, and Knight Tanu Dafu, an expert potion’s master. We will look forward to working together as we pursue our mutual goals.”

           “Well met,” the Caretaker responded. “I am Savani, and this is one of my assistants, Grady. We will speak of more sensitive issues inside, particularly our mutual goals.” Savani started leading them away from the beach.

           “Do we climb a rope latter to get up there?” Seth asked, looking at the interchanging platforms for a rope that hung all the way down.

           “Not quite,” Grady said, “The Maze keeps us on our toes, but we spare ourselves at least the effort of getting up there.”

           “It’s called the Monkey Maze?” Tanu asked, “Do the rooms shift?”

           “Against intruders,” Grady answered, “We work closely with Heliconia, the dryad of this grove, to keep them together for most uses. Certain parts are forbidden, of course.”

           “Is it required for all preserves to have dungeons for the horribly dangerous?” Seth asked, straining his ears to hear the sounds of the undead. There was a faint whispering, but it was slightly different than the Blackwell or even Fablehaven’s dungeon. He couldn’t make out anything but a low murmur, almost hidden by the sound of waves.

           “Yes,” Vanessa said, “it is part of the base foundational treaty that all the sanctuaries are copied after. The caretakers must remove those who threaten the integrity of the treaty, and the undead rarely agree to be bound while being attracted to the magical souls of those on a preserve. Or they do, then break their word, and wind up in jail.”

           “Noted,” Seth said.

           “I would tell you that you should disregard that information,” Grandma Larsen said, amused, “but I suppose you should take note.”

           “Here we are,” Savani said, bringing them to a platform that had a rope going up into the trees. “Please assemble on the platform.”

           “It’s easier if you hold onto the rope in the center,” Vanessa warned, and everyone but Warren grabbed on. Seth grinned and kept his hands off.

           “Brace yourself,” Warren said, crouching a little. The platform shot upwards, and Seth fell on his butt with a surprised laugh. He made it back to his feet before the platform stopped, and the adults were all chuckling at him.

           “Do we get everywhere in the treehouse with unbuckled rollercoaster elevators?” Seth asked, jumping onto the bigger room the platform had become a part of.

           Savani chuckled, “No, the rest is walking, I’m afraid. Come, the Menuhene have prepared refreshments to welcome you.”

           “Menuhene?” Seth asked.

           “Think of a breed of dwarves that hold agreements similar to brownies,” Tanu suggested, “Though their specialty if building, rather than maintaining households.”

           “Awesome,” Seth said.

           “Here we are,” Savani said, leading them to a different enclosed room via rope bridge. It had a couple of tables and wicker chairs. “Now, explain to me what brings a child to my nearly fallen preserve, former caretaker or not. Vanessa and Warren promised allies, not liabilities.”

           “Hey, I saved Wyrmroost, and I’ve handle more secret vaults than you would ever believe,” Seth said, “I thought we were past doubting me and Kendra.”

           “Be respectful Seth,” Grandma said gently, then turned to Savani, “It’s true, that Seth is young, and if it hadn’t been for the opening of the demon prison and the upcoming dragon war, we would have preferred him to grow up before venturing near any dragon sanctuary. He does have experience. Unfortunately, Seth is one of few true Dragon tamers in the world, able to move and converse with ease. Seth has also become a shadow charmer, and his skills are necessary for upcoming trials, one of which involves retrieving his sister from the Phantom Isle. One of our goals here is to find training for Seth from a demon whose interests are strongly aligned against dragons.”

           “A dragon sancturary is an odd place for a dragon hating demon to lair,” Savani said, “Who is it you seek?”

           “Talizar,” Grandma said.

           “I am familiar with him,” Savani nodded, “he’s one of the rare demons that invoke boundary magic as one of his tools, rather than relying on his own strength against dragon neighbors. Caretakers in the past have mentioned him activating Moai to more strictly enforce dragon boundaries. His lair is on the same island as the corrupted pool.”

           “Another of our goals,” Tanu said with a nod, “We have reason to believe that Ronodin kidnapped Seth’s sister and our dear friend, Kendra Sorenson. Any chance to capture and interrogate him needs to be investigated immediately.”

           “And, of course,” Warren added, “We want to help further restore the boundaries of Crescent Lagoon, prevent it from falling and all that jazz.”

           Savani nodded slowly, eyeing them. “I see where our interests align. I will lend you aid where I can, but my aid is further reduced by the fall of this preserve, though it improves with the aid of Warren and Vanessa, who were able to bring back the Moai that protects the Monkey Maze. As long as one Moai is active, the outer boundaries of this preserve are intact. Unfortunately, this is a temporary refuge.”

           “Why is it only temporary?” Grandma Gloria asked.

           “I see there was not time for complete explanations,” Savani said, going to a map on the wall, “We lost the Sunset Pearl, which was the magic source for all the Moai in the preserve. As a failsafe, individual moai can be activated independent of the sunset pearl, as the moai currently protecting here was by consuming a sacrifice of a person’s most treasured object. I will not be able to pay the debt I owe to Warren for being willing to sacrifice his.”

           “What was it?” Seth asked.

           Warren was looking at the floor, “A limited print baseball card I always carry with me. The player was my dad’s best friend, an Uncle to me, close as family can be. He died of cancer years ago, and it was all I had left of him.”

           “Warren’s sacrifice was accepted,” Savani said, “As was my sacrifice of my family’s ancestral tablets. I can read the Moai, and we have two weeks of protection before another sacrifice is required by someone else.”

           “It’s harder than you think,” Vanessa said, “Deciding on a most important object. I couldn’t think of anything then, and still can’t think of anything that the Moai would have accepted. Obviously the goal is to restore the Sunset Pearl before our current sacrifice runs out.”

           “Any idea where the Sunset Pearl was taken?” Tanu asked.

           “None,” Savani sighed, “I’ve lost many allies in the process of looking, but nothing has come from those sacrifices.”

           “They also need to know about the Triclops,” Vanessa said.

           Savani nodded, “Mombatu the Triclops is the designated dragon slayer of this sanctuary. He became active when the sanctuary fell, and he is savage. He will slay a dragon before a human, but he has lost his faculties over time. He is so ancient, my people supposed him dead, and now he is a danger to anyone who comes near him, including me. He has driven the dragons away from this particular island, and is therefore the current greatest threat to our borders.”

           “Really, there is no way to talk to him?” Grandma Gloria asked, “Seems a poor choice for a dragon slayer allied with the treaty makers.”

           Savani shrugged, “Our legends say the original caretaker could soothe him to peace with a flute song, but the song and the flute have been lost to legend.”

           “Shame we didn’t bring Newel and Doren with us this time,” Seth said, giving a little grin. The cowards would absolutely refuse to play their panflutes for the triclops unless the only other choice was to be eaten.

           “As Savani suggested,” Vanessa said, a wry grin on her lips, “The magic was in the flute, rather than being a fan of the instrument. We’ll let our satyr friends recover another day in Fablehaven before testing their bravery once again.”

           “Have you seen the site where the Sunset Pearl was kept?” Tanu asked.

           “I saw it with Hako,” Warren said, “We didn’t find much. Ten really big moai in a ring facing inwards. An altar of piled stones at the center with a bowl on top. Supposedly three guardians protected the pearl, but there was no sign of them. There were tracks from the triclops though.”

           “No sign of the three guardians and triclops tracks,” Grandma Larsen mused, “Were they dependent on the Pearl for existence?”

           “I believe so,” Savani said, “and the triclops tracks are likely from it’s rampaging, rather than having to do with the theft. The triclops appeared long after the pearl had vanished.”

           “Okay, so we need a pearl, would like a flute, have to watch out for a rampaging triclops, Ronodin was spotted lurking around a corrupted pool, and we need to locate a demon to negotiate some training with him. Anything else we should discuss before planning?” Seth asked.

           “What remains of your staff?” Tanu asked.

           “Grady here,” Savani said, “Hako, our gamekeeper. And Uma. Uma is frail and in a wheelchair, but she will likely interest you, Potion Master.”

           Tanu blinked, and his took on a bit of awestruck, “Not Uma Stormbrewer.”

           “The same. She joined our staff after her legs gave out, but she and her skills remain sharp,” Savani said.

           “That’s…she’s a legend,” Tanu said, “She’s a grand master of potion making, I hardly deserve the title compared to her.”

           “Good thing you got courage potions in abundance,” Seth said, slapping him on the shoulder, “And I suppose you two should know about another ally we brought. Calvin, say hi.”

           Calvin peeked out of his pocket, “Hello,” he waved. “I wasn’t sure to introduce myself or not, I’m one of those assets best left hidden. I’m Calvin the Nipsie.”

           “You are welcome here, small ally,” Savani said, bowing her head in a nod of recognition. She waited a moment, then said, “I believe we have reached a summation of our assets and current goals. Onto planning. Hako was planning on investigating the corrupted pool alone today, since we had no timeframe for how long it would take Warren and Vanessa to find allies, even with the small dragon’s help.”

           “I want to go with and help with the investigation,” Seth said.

           “I go where Seth goes,” Grandma Gloria said. “Depending on what we can locate at the corrupted spring, it would also be foolish to not to greet Talizar and open negotiations for training while we are already outside the protections granted. Just as it would be foolish to delay, if our time limit is really only two weeks.

            “I believe I will skip this venture in order to consult longer with Uma,” Tanu decided, “I have many fresh ingredient from dragons that I hope she will be interested in.”

           “I believe she will be,” Savani said with a smile. Everyone turned to Vanessa and Warren.

           “Well, what do you say?” Warren asked Vanessa with a smile, “It’s been, what, almost twenty whole hours since our last near death experience? I think we’re up for another round.”

           “Right, practically a vacation,” she said drily. “Wouldn’t want to become bored with existing.”

           “Count us in for one trip to the corrupted spring,” Warren said.

           Finally, he could start following a lead on Kendra. She just had to keep Ronodin’s slimy hands and stupid words away from her for a little bit longer.

[whydoiwrite]

The shitstorm of Kelley stuff I’m getting right now, my god will it ever end? Kidding I really don’t care, I know how to delete things.

Do you know what causes anger, disappointment, sadness, etc, etc, etc? The dissonance or gap between expectations and reality. You expected your spouse to take out the trash. They didn’t. Now you’re mad, they don’t love you because you’ve mentioned in the past that it bothers you when they don’t, whatever. So I get it. You expected something out of Kelley. She fell far below your expectations. Now you’re disappointed, and some of you are apparently livid.

But, we might want to check our expectations, in all areas of conflict, not just this. Because I feel if you’re this definitive in your opinions of Kelley, you’re probably not very open to differences in your own life, which really matters more than this, right?

Are those fair expectations? My coworkers stand for the brainwashy pledge everyday. Are they racist? Well 2 of them probably are, but the rest aren’t, I wholeheartedly believe that. Why hold Kelley to higher expectations than your own family, friends, coworkers, and so forth? Because she’s visible? Whatever. It takes every single one of us to change the fucked up shit that is America. And like, I don’t know y’all, but I just have to wonder what anti-racist work your doing in your own lives. Is it out there in public for at a minimum, your own circle to see? Is it loud? Is it actually effective or is it performative? And... are you just an ally or an accomplice, because if you’re not at accomplice level why are you questioning Kelley’s allyship. (FYI, I pretty much risk my career on the daily to keep calling out white privilege, so yes, I feel I can speak on this. And for the record, I had quite the visceral reaction when I saw her stand the first time, but then I, you know, got off my high horse and stopped judging her.)

And while we’re on the topic of visibility, and here I go pissing off all of hell’s half acre again, I just don’t think athletes should be required to use their voices for change if they’re not comfortable with it. It’s fucking amazing when they do, but is that expectation a fair one? I think not. Everyone’s personality is different. Five years ago there is not a chance in hell I would have said something aloud and I would have been content to do the internal work needed. What if she’s not comfortable speaking about it (because the way she struggled over using a word to address her own sexuality in the Finding Mastery pod tells me she’s not comfortable even with herself)? What if she can’t articulate what she’s feeling (because that’s what the pod sounded like)? What if she just doesn’t want to be in the public eye re: THIS? None of us have to... why do athletes? Where did the expectation that fame = you owe us something come from? I don’t think everyone realizes the pressure cooker they live in so yeah, I get, for their own mental health, blocking, turning off comments, etc. They’re not going to learn from any of that; let them have those hard conversations with their teammates.

Anyway, you’re free to feel whatever anger and disappointment you want, all I’ll say is look inward. Often, what we judge others so harshly for is really just a referendum on ourselves, deep down.

[xxisxxisxxis]

Gateway Drug | Part Thirty-Three

Table of Content or Part Thirty-Two

Word Count: 3.4K

Warning(s): Explicit language, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Minor sexual situations

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-------------------------------------------------------

I stare at Nikki, the breath knocked out of my body.

"Wh-What?" I ask, but there's no use in lying, he can read me like a book.

His hand, slightly shaking with anger, slides along the kitchen counter, picking up an envelope that's been torn open.

He picks the folded piece of paper out of it, and waves it at me before unfolding it.

"Viv, happy birthday. It's been damn near killing me to keep this from you. I hope you had a good day. Duff." He quotes the letter and then pulls out a second piece of paper, handing it to me.

It's proof of payment for that ticket I got.

He must have mailed it in.

"So not only did you lie to me about that fucking tail light, you also let another man pay for it!" Nikki's throwing at me and I keep myself calm.

"Nikki, why're you mad? That's just $350.00 you didn't have to pay—"

"Because you're my wife! You're my responsibility! You could have told me the truth and just let me handle it, but instead, you looked me in the eye and lied to my fuckin' face!"

Glass slashes at my skin when he throws his whiskey bottle against the wall, blood rolling down my leg to my foot as a hiss of pain cuts through my teeth.

"Yeah. I could have told the truth so you could have blown up on me then like you're doing now!" I fight back.

"I would've been irritated, Vivian, but I would have gotten over it! It's gonna take me a while get over this bullshit, though!" He points at me, letting a beat pass between us before he rubs his forehead. "I-I don't even wanna know who this dude is, right now, I just am too pissed off—"

"Nikki—"

"Don't, Viv!" He spits out, harshly. "I-I can't even be around you right now." His voice cracks a little, and I rub my lips together as he pushes past me to grab his keys and jacket.

"Just talk to me about this instead of running off and getting messed up, Nikki!" I follow him to the door.

"Fuck you!" He shoots, seething. "That's about all the fucking talking you're gonna get from me right now."

He slams the door, leaving me to myself, and I take several deep breaths to convince myself not to wreck our new house.

He didn't come back for a couple of days, and the only reason he did come back was because Robbin made him.

"All he's doing is moping around and shooting up and talking about how he misses you but refuses to call you when I tell him to, so here." Robbin says, trying to keep a nodding-off-Nikki up as he walks him to the couch and drops him on the cushions.

"Thank you." I say to him.

"Whatever you did, whoever that dude is, he had a right to know, Viv." Robbin tells me.

"It's completely innocent, Robbin. I swear. I didn't tell him because I knew he'd want to make a big deal about him and meet him so he could size him up." I roll my eyes and he raises his brows.

"If Nikki had a girl friend that he hid from you, you would claw his eyes out, and her's. I know you don't think he's overreacting. Just talk to him and own up to it." He advises and I nod a little. "I love you. Good luck." He pats my head.

"I love you, too." I reply as he steps to his car, and I shut the door and walk to the living room to wait for Nikki to sleep off his high.

The next several days are spent with him attempting to ignore me, but doing a shitty job of it when he sees me fresh out of the shower or changing clothes or coming back inside from the hot tub.

This time, I'm coming back inside from laying by the pool for a few minutes, and the sunscreen I slathered all over my body before going out, has created a light glisten over my skin and he's looking up from his bass, eyes rolling down my body and back up, lingering on my chest for a few seconds before pretending he wasn't just checking me out.

I just step to the kitchen and get some water before deciding to attempt a conversation.

"So, what do you wanna do for New Years?" I ask Nikki.

No response.

"I was thinking maybe we could call the guys and hang out with them since we haven't seen them in a few weeks and we can all go out or something." I suggest. "Or Tommy and Mick ateast...I don't think Vince feels like it."

Nothing.

"I could invite Duff so you can meet him." I offer and he stops writing, his jaw rolling.

It's ironic he was so pissed off at me when the first time I found out he and Vanity even knew each other it was because I walked in our house to see her on our couch, dressed for a night out with all of us, Tansy and Sparkie.

I never asked him then how they met because the chances I wouldn't like the answer were pretty high.

I leave him to be pissed, taking a shower and dressing in a t-shirt and panties before he comes in to get ready to go out.

"I won't be back tonight." He tells me blankly and I raise a brow.

"May I ask 'why'?" I ask.

"You can ask. Doesn't mean I owe you a fucking explanation." He snaps, and grabs his keys.

"I'm your wife so you kind of do when you tell me you won't be back tonight." I argue, losing my patience.

He ignores me, leaving the room and I follow him.

"I'm speaking to you, Nikki!" I hiss.

"Trust me, I know, I'm just hoping you'll shut the fuck up and hop the fuck off." He coldly cuts and my hand is grabbing at his arm, roughly, pulling him to a halt.

"Nikki, can we just talk about this?!"

He snaps around to face me, shaking my hand off of him like I've got a contagious disease.

"Talk about you lying to me or talk about you hiding an entirely different dude from me, because both make me want to set you pretty fuckin' straight, Vivian!" He bites and I shake my head.

"Of all the things you've lied to me about and hid from me?! For Christ's sake, Nikki, I had to find your used needle-farm before you admitted to shooting heroin for eight months!"

"I can't fuck heroin, Vivian!" He barks, balling his fists up, getting in my face.

"You think I'm sleeping with this guy?!" I scream, completely engulfed with outrage.

"Why the fuck else would you not tell me about him?!" He's got tears in his eyes, despite his loud, graveling tone.

Hurt roots itself in my chest, the fact that he thinks I would do that to him making me nearly see red.

"Careful, Nikki, your abandonment issues are showing!" I throw out, cruelly, regretting it the second it leaves my mouth, just before his fist is connecting with the wall inches away from my face, leaving a hole.

His hand is around my throat before I can say anything else.

"I want you out of my house by the time I get back. Or I'll kick you out myself." He puts it as calmly as he possibly can, anger seeping from every pore as he shakes, tense from probably keeping himself from strangling me.

I know, I know. "How do you come back from that?" The answer is simply, "the only way we knew how."

I stumble to the bathroom, cum and traces of blood running down my legs, my scalp sore from the tension of my hair being yanked around and my bottom lip is busted where Nikki bit in to it.

Some of Nikki's skin and blood is under my nails and when I look in the mirror, my face is tear stained and flushed from crying through indescribable ecstasy.

We would get into explosive fights, then screw the hell out of each other in the most aggressive and degrading ways.

Our eventual marriage counselor later explained to us it was because we felt we had no control over ourselves, the things around us, and each other, but one thing we did have control over, and the only time we felt we had control over each other, was sex.

If it was a decently mild fight—well, mild for us—Nikki would just storm out and stay gone for a while.

If it involved enough screaming, me hitting him, him calling me offensive names, me pouring out liquor, flushing his drugs, the both of us threatening divorce or packing our shit to leave the other person, it would come to a halt just for us to start ripping at clothes, scratching and biting at each other, him putting his prick wherever he could get it in the fastest, and me accepting every inch at the inevitable barbaric rhythm we fell in to that would always result in me having some internal bruising in some form or fashion.

By the time New Year's rolled around, it was like we never fought to begin with, which would have been great if we actually talked about the fight and genuinely resolved it instead of pretending it never happend.

Nikki grasps my hand as he helps me out of his car, whistling when I get out and I roll my eyes with a shy grin and nudge him with my elbow before he's pressing his lips to mine for a second. When we pull away we head to the Rainbow to meet Tommy and Duff.

When we're inside, I see Tommy at our usual booth, chatting away with Duff, who has newly bleached hair, as the two of them drink a beer, despite Duff being underage until next month.

I can already sense Nikki sizing him up before we even get to the table.

"There they are." Tommy tells him, motioning to us and I smile hesitantly while a smug, shit eating smirk adorns Nikki's face.

"Hey." Duff greets me, not even noticing Nikki yet, dopey smile on his face.

"Hey." I reply as Nikki clears his throat.

Duff takes notice and respectfully stands up and extends his hand.

"Nikki Sixx." Nikki introduces himself. "Vivian's husband." He emphasizes.

It doesn't phase Duff a bit.

"Oh, I know, dude. It's an honor." Duff replies. "Duff McKagan." He adds and I look between the two of them before we sit down in the booth, Nikki still studying Duff to decide how threatened he should be.

He eases up when he learns Duff is from Seattle, he plays bass, and has the same music taste as him.

Dear God did I have a type or what?

"Did you know," Duff starts, blowing cigarette smoke through his lips. "That your wife is a disgrace to punk?" Duff asks and I raise my brows.

"Man, I know, she doesn't like the Sex Pistols." Nikki tells him.

"I never said I didn't necessarily like them, I just think Sid killed Nancy." I argue and Duff and Nikki look at me with the same expression because this argument has been had plenty of times.

"He did not!" They simultaneously tell me.

"Why would he kill her? That would be like me killing you." Nikki states.

"I've told you he probably didn't intentionally do it." I reply. "They were both fucked up and he more than likely was hallucinating and did it on accident."

He just looks at me and shakes his head.

Sid was one of Nikki's heroes. So of course he didn't even entertain the idea of him killing the woman he was in love with...until Nikki tried to kill me two different times, both times when he was tripping after days of freebasing.

It's not fun waking up to your husband strangling you in a panic, or shooting at you.

"And she likes Bon Jovi." Nikki adds.

"Because they make good music." I say.

"They go with the grain." Duff tells me, shaking his head.

"Exactly!" Nikki enthusiastically agrees.

"Tommy, tell them Bon Jovi is good." I look to Tommy and he just opens his mouth to speak only to close it again.

"They're kinda..." Tommy starts after a moment and I look at him.

"...They suck." Nikki finishes his sentence.

"Oh, like Mötley Crüe can do any better." I smart off and Nikki and Tommy are looking at me with cut eyes.

"We are, actually." Tommy tells me. "Me and Nikki are currently working on a fucking masterpiece."

"You haven't talked to each other in weeks. How collaborative can you be when you haven't been talking? Communicate via carrier pigeon?" I ask them and a little tension settles around us.

I realize I've unintentionally brought up the accident and how it effected the band, and Duff's painting over my screw up in no time.

"What kind of masterpiece, if it's okay for me to ask." Duff seems interested and even excited to hear about it and Nikki and Tommy light up like Christmas trees as they explain a song called "Home Sweet Home" that is slowly coming to life off a random piano melody that's been in Tommy's mind for some time that he showed Nikki about a month ago and they've both been writing lyrics for it seperately.

By the time 10:58pm hits, we've migrated to a strip joint called the Seventh Veil, and Tommy and Duff are practically joined at the hip in terms of how well they get along.

I suppose it's because they're both easy going and just go with the flow of things and have really good senses of humor.

Nikki, however, is too busy trying to drunkenly get me in the mood.

I step out of the bathroom stall to wash my hands in the the sink, Nikki stays against the wall behind me until I'm done, then he's running his hand over my ass that's being contained by tight jeans.

"Baby, quit." I laugh out, trying to shrug him off before his hand is pulling at the top of my tank crop top, getting a grab at my boob. "Stop trying to feel me up." I scold him lightheartedly, even though I enjoy his unfiltered want for me.

"I wanna fill you up, though." He snickers against my neck, turning me around and putting me on the sink.

"I said 'feel' not 'fill'." I correct him, trying not to chuckle, my hands resting on his arms as he nestles himself between my legs.

"Well, I wanna do both." He says, nipping the skin of my neck between his teeth lightly, causing a breath to catch in my throat.

"When we get home." I assure him, using all of my will power not to take him up on his offer now.

"Fuck it, let's go home, then." He smiles, reaching in his pocket for his keys.

"We can't, baby, we're with Tommy and Duff remember? We can't just ditch them." I remind him.

"I like your him." He tells me out of nowhere and I furrow my brows a little.

"What?"

"Duff. He's cool."

"Really?"

"He doesn't wanna fuck you." He tells me. "Guys know when a dude wants to fuck their girl. Vince and Sparklette do. Robbin use to. But he doesn't wanna fuck you." He motions to the door as he refers to Duff.

He was right.

A few years ago Duff was asked what he meant about a comment he made about me being "in a whole other league" than most women he knew way back then, he answered: "I never looked at her and thought 'Oh my God, I've gotta sleep with her.' Sex was never the focus, even when our relationship became physical. I mean yeah she was beautiful but it was hard to think about her in the typical-rockstar debauched way because she wasn't a shallow groupie with a hot body and hungry for attention anyway she could get it. Like, she was just Viv and she's still Viv. That's what I meant. She's always been in a different league. We've been friends for, what, like, thirty-one years now, and I felt lucky to just know her, then, of course now I feel even more lucky because I've had the privilege of raising a son with her."

It explained a lot for how he treated me.

In a few hours, long after the New Year is rung in, I'm attempting to get a nearly passed out Nikki into the passenger seat of his corvette, with Duff's help, being that Nikki could barely walk after a few minutes in the bathroom which I know were spent shooting up.

I carefully shut the passenger side door, Nikki unconscious and Duff about to head to his car.

"Thanks for inviting me out, tonight. I had a lot of fun." He says, resting against the hood of the car and I do the same, rubbing my lips together.

"I'm sorry if Nikki was a little stand-offish to begin with." I tell him.

"No, no, don't worry about it. I get it." He assures me. "It was really cool to meet him and Tommy, though. Maybe some other time I can meet Mick and Vince."

"Absolutely. After Vince's trial and everything goes back to normal they'll be inseperable again and can get you into whatever trouble you want." I chuckle out and he laughs.

"I hope by then I'll have my own gang of trouble makers." He admits.

"Me too." I agree, exhaling.

A minute of silence passes by before I'm looking at him.

"You paid for that damn ticket anyway." I state, and he nods.

"I paid for that damn ticket anyway." He repeats smugly.

"I'll pay you back." I promise and he shakes his head.

"It was an early birthday present. You can't owe someone when they give you a present."

"You paid it in October and 'gave' it to me as a present last week." I point out. "That doesn't count."

"It does if your birthday is the only loophole I could come up with to avoid you insisting on paying it back." He argues and I just look at him, still feeling a little bad that he paid it. "Viv. I just met Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee and they might even consider me one of their buddies." He tells me. "That in itself is payment back."

"Thank you." I say in reference to my birthday present from him.

He nudges me with his elbow and smiles.

"Anytime."

It wasn't long after that, that I realized I had an angel bassist on one shoulder, and a fucking demon bassist on the other.

1985 tore around the corner and by the time May was in tow, Vince had been 30 days in rehab (the label gave him a Rolex if he agreed to stay sober for at least three months), Mötley Crüe were regularly in the studio recording "Entertainment or Death", and Duff had found his band, and Tansy...well...

Screams sound through the house, causing me to startle out of my nap.

I rush to the bedroom door and swing it open to see Tansy standing at our phone in the living room, tears streaming down her face, Nikki and Tommy looking at each other, worried.

"Wh-what did they say?!" Tansy asks, frantically, rubbing her forehead, and we all look at each other as anxiousness starts up within me.

A few moments pass as whoever she's on the phone with speaks.

"Oh, God, mama, I can't..." She sobs softly. "...I can't believe this."

I step to her, my brows furrowing.

"Alright, I gotta tell Viv and the guys before they think something's wrong." She laughs out through her tears and I let out a sigh of relief. "I love you, too. I'll call you later tonight. Bye."

She hangs up and immediately and starts crying again, gripping my hand.

"Tans, what's up?" Tommy asks, coming to us and she looks up at him and starts smiling, shock washing over her face.

"I got it." She tells us.

Everything she had worked her ass off for, took her clothes of for, got taken advantage of for, got abused for, got high for, hid her truth for, grinned and beared it for, entertained for, for years, had finally paid off.

Tansy Lyn was Playmate of The Year: Miss 1985.

[imagine-loki]

Pride and Prejudice

TITLE: Pride and Prejudice CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 23 AUTHOR: wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths.     RATING: Mature   NOTES/WARNINGS: Forced Marriage, not all fun and games. My first real step back into the Loki scene in over a year.

toga-honk was Norse tug-of-war.

Tags - @skulliebythesea @asimovethroughthisworld @blackcherry26-blog @we-shadowhunter2901

Loki could hardly grasp the landscape around him. They entered the realm via woodland and walked through it for a time, when the trees became sparse, he was shocked to see that replaced them.

This was not like Jotunheim, and he did not feel the least bit comfortable in the environs. He looked first to Helbindi, who seemed to mirror his thoughts. Then he looked to Arden, who seemed to be studying his surrounds, then finally, he looked to Ella, who seemed entirely unbothered by the situation. He found himself wondering if Asgard was similar to Vanaheim and if this how she had lived before coming to Jotunheim or if she had been there enough to simply not be bothered by it. He hoped to remember to ask her later.

People stared at the Jotunn group as they made their way through the streets of the Vanir city. They gawped open-mouthed at their height and different attire, as well as staring at the blatant Aesir in the middle of the group walking in step with the shortest of the Jotnar.

Loki and the rest of the Jotnar felt entirely ill at ease with the situation. The weather was not like anything they had experienced before, though they were grateful for whatever Ella was doing to make it easier on them. He felt angry, as though people saw him as something of an amusement. When Ella caught his eye, he noted the look of understanding on her face and contemplated if this was similar to how she felt when she arrived in Jotunheim that first day. He recalled how he stared at her and indeed how others had but he had not been so obvious, had he? He recalled not caring too greatly about anything but getting it done and over with. He also recalled Ella’s words regarding being the one to go to a new realm and having to be the one to be thrown into something so different to everything you knew before, he realised then that though he had taken her words on board somewhat after that, he never really grasped the situation, not fully. He looked at her again, noting her knowing glance. She once more gave him a knowing and sympathetic look, but so too was there encouragement in it. Nodding slightly, they continued forward.

When they came to the waiting Vanir royals, Ella frowned slightly. Next to King Wilhelm and his son Nigel was Thor. Her brother never came to Vanaheim for Ostara, the truth was he did not think it an interesting time to go to Vanaheim and the guise was that he would tend to Asgard as his mother, father and sister attended the festival. This, she felt, did not bode too well for her day. She walked forward with Loki, who she knew was also wondering why her brother was there. They said nothing until they reached the Vanir royals.

“Prince Loki, Prince Helibindi of Jotunheim, welcome to Vanaheim. It is an immense pleasure to have you as our honoured guests for this Ostara.” King Wilhelm declared.

“King Wilhelm,” Loki bowed, Ella and the Jotnar following his lead. “We thank you for your gracious invitation. My father, sadly, is not in the greatest of health, he wished he could make it. He mentioned something about owing you a game of toga-honk, I believe he called it.”

The Vanir King erupted in laughter at the mention of the sport. “Norns, but I said it before and I’ll say it again, that Jotunn has a long memory.” He looked at Ella. “And my sister’s daughter, Norns, but who do you look like?”

“Myself, King Wilhelm, and such a fine person to look like whilst I do.” Ella smiled proudly.

“You are a peculiar mix of cultures.” He indicated to her attire, very much coloured and designed in the Jotnar manner but almost as covering as Aesir attire would be. There was also so Vanir in the belt she wore around her waist.

“Well, we have four thousand or so years to get used to me looking like them, so perhaps they will not be so peculiar after a time, or so I hope.” She kept her tone jovial, but it was clear that Ella was not overly pleased by the slightly rude implications of her uncle’s comments. “Brother.” She gave Thor a small curtsy.

“Sister.” Thor bowed slightly in return. “You recovered well, I see. Though, I told Father you cannot be killed so easily.” Though his comment was jestful to his sister, there was no denying there was a wary and some bit of a warning glare to Loki as he did so.

Loki, for his part, maintained eye contact with the Aesir prince. Ella had forgiven him and chosen to work on a marriage with him, after that, he felt he had to reason to hold onto the past or feel guilty for it. She told him she would not do so, so that was what truly mattered in his opinion.

“No, of course not. I told him similarly. By any chance, are Mother and Father here?”

“No, Father fell into Odinsleep not too long ago and is only now recovering, so I am here in his stead, Mother is tending to the matters of the realm.”

Ella frowned. She thought she would be informed if Odin would fall into an Odinsleep at the very least. She took solace in knowing it could not be too serious if Thor was sent and he was awake already.“ She felt some semblance of guilt for it also, as she knew him giving her Gungnir as she recovered would have added to his weakening. “Well, so long as he is awake.”

“Now that everyone is caught up, how about we show our guests to their rooms?” King Wilhelm suggested.

*

Ella and Loki looked at the bed in front of them, both pondering the same thing.

“I can conjure another,” Ella suggested. “Just remind me to hide it during the day. The last thing we need is maids gossiping about us and suggesting that there is something foul afoot with us. Nigel is, what is commonly referred to as a ‘shit-stirrer’ and would love to declare to one and all that you and I cannot even share quarters without issue.”

Loki considered her words. “He is not the heir, is he. I don’t recall him being referenced before.”

“Nigel? Norns no, he is Wilheim’s fifth son, he will never see the throne. No, his heir is Frederick. Frederick is about two and a half, if not three thousand now, two sons of his own. No, he will be a good king, a good ally to have, he knows a time from before the war, where we were all allies. I will warn you, Nigel thinks Jotnar an unevolved race. Warn Helbindi and the others of it. He would have no greater pleasure than to make us embarrass ourselves while we are here to ‘prove’ his bigoted opinion. Just ignore him, his own father and brother think little of his opinions. I am not sure why he came to welcome us, but nonetheless.”

Loki noted her use of ‘us’ when referencing the Jotnar grouping. “Do you require a separate bed?”

She eyed him questioningly. “Not specifically. I am not overly big and I do not take much space.”

“Then let us not give them any reason to talk, we both will have a side and that way, if any of their staff come in, none will think anything of it.”

Ella nodded. “Good idea.” She looked at the bed. “I am taking the side closer to the window.”

“Why?” Loki looked at her, startled.

“Because I called it first.”

“I am the older.”

“That works in the case of siblings, but not here. I called it, so it is mine.” She smirked and walked over to the side she chose.

Loki simply looked back at her with a raised brow.

*

“I owe you an apology.” Ella looked at her husband startled at the random statement that night as they prepared for bed after spending the evening with the Vanir and their other guests. “I thought I could comprehend your situation.”

“It’s been one evening.” She shook her head. “One evening and you think you know. No, it gets worse, because of course, you get to go back to your home after this, not make a new one here. That was the hardest part for me. Saying goodbye to my rooms, the furnishings I knew my whole life, the staff that raised me, my maids, my friends. I had to leave them all, for good. But you see now what I meant when I said it is difficult to realise you feel you might make a fool of yourself or do not belong when all others know something you do not?”

Loki thought of the times through the night when different Vanir men and women spoke to them of different matters to do with Vanaheim and he had no idea what they were referencing, yet Ella did. He nodded. “Thank you, for your interjections.” He referenced the few times people spoke to him on matters he knew nothing of and Ella inserted herself to the conversation in a manner that implied she and Loki had discussed it between themselves before, saying something that clearly was a good idea by the reactions that said statement received and claiming it to be Loki’s opinion.

“It is not easy. Now that you see, perhaps when I am wrong on some matter from now on, you understand it is not always easy and assist me accordingly?” She looked at him hopefully.

Loki gave a smile in response. “I will most certainly strive to.”

“We are not too bad a pairing, once you get passed the millennium of being raised to loathe one another.”

Loki chuckled, “Yes, apart from that.” He looked at her as she used her seidr to undo her hair. “You were upset by the Allfather and Allmother not being here?”

“I hoped to see her. I suspect they assume I will not get homesick if I see Thor, it is difficult to miss anywhere he is.” She did not look at him.

Loki thought of how he did not like being on the foreign realm, especially without his father, but he knew in a few days they would return to Jotunheim, where his father would insist in speaking with him at length. “I’m sorry.”

“It is not your doing.” She toyed with her hair. “Blasted pins.”

“Why do you do that if you loathe it so greatly?”

“Married Aesir women must not have loose hair.”

“Used you have it loose before?” Loki asked, curious as to how she would look with loose hair.

“Most of the time, yes.”

“In Jotunheim, hair is not really a thing.”

Ella smiled. “I noticed. You do yours well though. If no other has hair, how did you learn to do this?” She walked over and indicated to the braiding on one side.

“One of the teachers my father got to teach me of Asgard. He showed me.”

“It suits you.”

“What used you have your hair like?”

“Like yours, really, just a little different.” She barely even thought about it and it went loose as she used to have it, a small braid over her face to keep her hair off it. “Wow, I had not realised it had gotten this long, I will have to cut it.”

“Don’t.” She looked at Loki, unsure why he would say that. “It suits you so much better like this.”

Ella blushed slightly at his words.

[wolfpawn]

Pride and Prejudice

Story Summary - Based on an idea I had that I submitted to Imagine Loki. Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths.

Chapter Summary -  Loki and Ella navigate their group and themselves around Vanaheim and Ostara.

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NOTE - Ostara is a Norse celebration of fertility each spring that is the basis for modern Easter.

toga-honk was Norse tug-of-war.

A few people have informed me that the past few chapters have not alerted them to their publishing, so please check if you read everything. 

Loki could hardly grasp the landscape around him. They entered the realm via woodland and walked through it for a time, when the trees became sparse, he was shocked to see that replaced them.

This was not like Jotunheim, and he did not feel the least bit comfortable in the environs. He looked first to Helbindi, who seemed to mirror his thoughts. Then he looked to Arden, who seemed to be studying his surrounds, then finally, he looked to Ella, who seemed entirely unbothered by the situation. He found himself wondering if Asgard was similar to Vanaheim and if this how she had lived before coming to Jotunheim or if she had been there enough to simply not be bothered by it. He hoped to remember to ask her later.

People stared at the Jotunn group as they made their way through the streets of the Vanir city. They gawped open-mouthed at their height and different attire, as well as staring at the blatant Aesir in the middle of the group walking in step with the shortest of the Jotnar.

Loki and the rest of the Jotnar felt entirely ill at ease with the situation. The weather was not like anything they had experienced before, though they were grateful for whatever Ella was doing to make it easier on them. He felt angry, as though people saw him as something of an amusement. When Ella caught his eye, he noted the look of understanding on her face and contemplated if this was similar to how she felt when she arrived in Jotunheim that first day. He recalled how he stared at her and indeed how others had but he had not been so obvious, had he? He recalled not caring too greatly about anything but getting it done and over with. He also recalled Ella’s words regarding being the one to go to a new realm and having to be the one to be thrown into something so different to everything you knew before, he realised then that though he had taken her words on board somewhat after that, he never really grasped the situation, not fully. He looked at her again, noting her knowing glance. She once more gave him a knowing and sympathetic look, but so too was there encouragement in it. Nodding slightly, they continued forward.

When they came to the waiting Vanir royals, Ella frowned slightly. Next to King Wilhelm and his son Nigel was Thor. Her brother never came to Vanaheim for Ostara, the truth was he did not think it an interesting time to go to Vanaheim and the guise was that he would tend to Asgard as his mother, father and sister attended the festival. This, she felt, did not bode too well for her day. She walked forward with Loki, who she knew was also wondering why her brother was there. They said nothing until they reached the Vanir royals.

“Prince Loki, Prince Helibindi of Jotunheim, welcome to Vanaheim. It is an immense pleasure to have you as our honoured guests for this Ostara.” King Wilhelm declared.

“King Wilhelm,” Loki bowed, Ella and the Jotnar following his lead. “We thank you for your gracious invitation. My father, sadly, is not in the greatest of health, he wished he could make it. He mentioned something about owing you a game of toga-honk, I believe he called it.”

The Vanir King erupted in laughter at the mention of the sport. “Norns, but I said it before and I’ll say it again, that Jotunn has a long memory.” He looked at Ella. “And my sister’s daughter, Norns, but who do you look like?”

“Myself, King Wilhelm, and such a fine person to look like whilst I do.” Ella smiled proudly.

“You are a peculiar mix of cultures.” He indicated to her attire, very much coloured and designed in the Jotnar manner but almost as covering as Aesir attire would be. There was also so Vanir in the belt she wore around her waist.

“Well, we have four thousand or so years to get used to me looking like them, so perhaps they will not be so peculiar after a time, or so I hope.” She kept her tone jovial, but it was clear that Ella was not overly pleased by the slightly rude implications of her uncle’s comments. “Brother.” She gave Thor a small curtsy.

“Sister.” Thor bowed slightly in return. “You recovered well, I see. Though, I told Father you cannot be killed so easily.” Though his comment was jestful to his sister, there was no denying there was a wary and some bit of a warning glare to Loki as he did so.

Loki, for his part, maintained eye contact with the Aesir prince. Ella had forgiven him and chosen to work on a marriage with him, after that, he felt he had to reason to hold onto the past or feel guilty for it. She told him she would not do so, so that was what truly mattered in his opinion.

“No, of course not. I told him similarly. By any chance, are Mother and Father here?”

“No, Father fell into Odinsleep not too long ago and is only now recovering, so I am here in his stead, Mother is tending to the matters of the realm.”

Ella frowned. She thought she would be informed if Odin would fall into an Odinsleep at the very least. She took solace in knowing it could not be too serious if Thor was sent and he was awake already." She felt some semblance of guilt for it also, as she knew him giving her Gungnir as she recovered would have added to his weakening. “Well, so long as he is awake.”

“Now that everyone is caught up, how about we show our guests to their rooms?” King Wilhelm suggested.

*

Ella and Loki looked at the bed in front of them, both pondering the same thing.

“I can conjure another,” Ella suggested. “Just remind me to hide it during the day. The last thing we need is maids gossiping about us and suggesting that there is something foul afoot with us. Nigel is, what is commonly referred to as a ‘shit-stirrer’ and would love to declare to one and all that you and I cannot even share quarters without issue.”

Loki considered her words. “He is not the heir, is he. I don’t recall him being referenced before.”

“Nigel? Norns no, he is Wilheim’s fifth son, he will never see the throne. No, his heir is Frederick. Frederick is about two and a half, if not three thousand now, two sons of his own. No, he will be a good king, a good ally to have, he knows a time from before the war, where we were all allies. I will warn you, Nigel thinks Jotnar an unevolved race. Warn Helbindi and the others of it. He would have no greater pleasure than to make us embarrass ourselves while we are here to ‘prove’ his bigoted opinion. Just ignore him, his own father and brother think little of his opinions. I am not sure why he came to welcome us, but nonetheless.”

Loki noted her use of ‘us’ when referencing the Jotnar grouping. “Do you require a separate bed?”

She eyed him questioningly. “Not specifically. I am not overly big and I do not take much space.”

“Then let us not give them any reason to talk, we both will have a side and that way, if any of their staff come in, none will think anything of it.”

Ella nodded. “Good idea.” She looked at the bed. “I am taking the side closer to the window.”

“Why?” Loki looked at her, startled.

“Because I called it first.”

“I am the older.”

“That works in the case of siblings, but not here. I called it, so it is mine.” She smirked and walked over to the side she chose.

Loki simply looked back at her with a raised brow.

*

“I owe you an apology.” Ella looked at her husband startled at the random statement that night as they prepared for bed after spending the evening with the Vanir and their other guests. “I thought I could comprehend your situation.”

“It’s been one evening.” She shook her head. “One evening and you think you know. No, it gets worse, because of course, you get to go back to your home after this, not make a new one here. That was the hardest part for me. Saying goodbye to my rooms, the furnishings I knew my whole life, the staff that raised me, my maids, my friends. I had to leave them all, for good. But you see now what I meant when I said it is difficult to realise you feel you might make a fool of yourself or do not belong when all others know something you do not?”

Loki thought of the times through the night when different Vanir men and women spoke to them of different matters to do with Vanaheim and he had no idea what they were referencing, yet Ella did. He nodded. “Thank you, for your interjections.” He referenced the few times people spoke to him on matters he knew nothing of and Ella inserted herself to the conversation in a manner that implied she and Loki had discussed it between themselves before, saying something that clearly was a good idea by the reactions that said statement received and claiming it to be Loki’s opinion.

“It is not easy. Now that you see, perhaps when I am wrong on some matter from now on, you understand it is not always easy and assist me accordingly?” She looked at him hopefully.

Loki gave a smile in response. “I will most certainly strive to.”

“We are not too bad a pairing, once you get passed the millennium of being raised to loathe one another.”

Loki chuckled, “Yes, apart from that.” He looked at her as she used her seidr to undo her hair. “You were upset by the Allfather and Allmother not being here?”

“I hoped to see her. I suspect they assume I will not get homesick if I see Thor, it is difficult to miss anywhere he is.” She did not look at him.

Loki thought of how he did not like being on the foreign realm, especially without his father, but he knew in a few days they would return to Jotunheim, where his father would insist in speaking with him at length. “I’m sorry.”

“It is not your doing.” She toyed with her hair. “Blasted pins.”

“Why do you do that if you loathe it so greatly?”

“Married Aesir women must not have loose hair.”

“Used you have it loose before?” Loki asked, curious as to how she would look with loose hair.

“Most of the time, yes.”

“In Jotunheim, hair is not really a thing.”

Ella smiled. “I noticed. You do yours well though. If no other has hair, how did you learn to do this?” She walked over and indicated to the braiding on one side.

“One of the teachers my father got to teach me of Asgard. He showed me.”

“It suits you.”

“What used you have your hair like?”

“Like yours, really, just a little different.” She barely even thought about it and it went loose as she used to have it, a small braid over her face to keep her hair off it. “Wow, I had not realised it had gotten this long, I will have to cut it.”

“Don’t.” She looked at Loki, unsure why he would say that. “It suits you so much better like this.”

Ella blushed slightly at his words.

[professor-harmless]

A letter for a king

The seal of this letter bears the Hylian Crest, oddly placed over what appears to be a lemon tree. Inside is what at first glance is a simple message:

  “The most precious of treasures recovered safe. We go to where masks can not reach.”

  After the light application of lemon water reveals strings of numerical characters in a two part cipher (one of substitutions, and of reference to a book only The Hylian King would know), they translate out to the following letter:

  To His Royal Majesty, Asarius Goldarr Hyrule,

  First and foremost, The princess has been found, alive and unharmed. Though I fear the journey before us will place a great weight upon her heart afore this journey is through.

  It is my sincerest hope that Your Majesty has recognized the old sigil of concealment, and recalled the ciphers I taught you when you were still a prince. That it is you my old friend who sees these words.

  If however it is not, know that I swear death curse upon you, and there is no cave, no far island that will hide you from my wrath.

  Since the necessity of speed in the moment did not allow me to provide you a proper briefing on the events that have occurred, and are occurring, I shall endeavor to do so now, as briefly and concisely as possible, both for the sake of clarity, and to hold extraneous information from our many opponents.

  As you should have been informed, this past fortnight saw the castle attacked, by what seemed a lone intruder, bearing a Mask that appeared identical to that of Majora's Mask of legend. They tore their way through the royal guard, the best of them, including my own grandson, Alfonzo; leaving many critically injured, crippled, or perished.

  Their assault led them to the chambers of The Princess, who had mysteriously departed before their arrival. They instead found only a young rito by the name of Raseili, who we would later learn had been instructed to deliver a message to the princess from a gerudo woman, who’s own story has become intertwined.

  In fear of his possible incarceration, Raseili fled from the royal guard, about the same time their arrival caused the masked figure to flee as well.

  I would pause in this tale Your Majesty, to stress the ludicrous strength and abilities of this individual. It is my own personal estimation that this creature is more than capable of defeating the entirety of our current guard stationed within the capital. It is my only justification for the choices I’ve been forced to make in the events that followed, and I take sole responsibility for them.

  Almost immediately after the attack, the current Captain of the Guard sought me in the tower room I’d chosen to retire to after the events of the last few years that have taken much from my mind.

  I would ask that you not fault him for this, though certainly inexperienced, given the situation I would have reached for the aid of anyone more familiar with something so unnatural as well myself.

  After calming him, and confirming the details of the attack, in particular that they seemed focus on endangering the princess, I advised that we should maintain the fiction that the princess was still in the castle, regardless of the fact we had no idea of her whereabouts at the time.

  In service of this we arranged for the public announcement of her safety, and one of her body doubles to make a regular schedule of appearance in the castle library, laying a trap for our opponent.

  We misjudged their power to say the least.

  They directly entered through the guarded front gates, breaking through all defenders between them and the library. Upon entrance of the room, and the dismemberment of assigned guards to the body double, they inquired if she was in fact the princess. In an act of incredible bravery, the young woman stated that she was, and I can not stress the debt we owe her for this.

  At that moment the trap was sprung, and the guards we’d had standing by in the corridors rushed into the library, assaulting the masked figure with a wave of crossbow bolts, which sadly did not succeed in ending their existence. It was however enough to drive them from the room, and give us time to relocate the false “princess”.

  The next few days turned into a cycle of attacks, even without our letting slip the location of the girl, the masked figure returned again and again, seeking her as if knowing exactly where she’d been placed.  

  This led us to suspect a traitor, or an infiltration of the castle. We instituted a recognition password for all the guardsmen and their subordinates throughout the castle, eventually resulting in (unsurprisingly) the capture of a member of the Yiga clan.

  My aid was sought in his interrogation, and Your Majesty will be pleased to learn that no actual torture was required. It was simply pointed out to him how loudly we would celebrate his cooperation with us, and happily release him to the tender care of his fellows after this word was spread far and wide.

In exchange for announcing his execution instead (as well as quick passage outside of the kingdom) he confirmed the Yiga clans association with the Masked figure, though he claimed no knowledge of the individual’s true identity. Only that they’d been ordered to work with him…

  By the newly returned Ganondorf.

  The only other information that could be pried from him was that this new Ganon had been born into the Yiga clan, and once again sought dominion over the Triforce, as well as the world.

  In the face of this horror, we were allowed some good news as well, that those of the Sheika tribe were willing to provide weapons from an ancient arsenal to augment the guard, to further deter these attacks. Their continued and frequent assaults led us to believe we’d maintained the illusion that the princess was still protected inside of the castle; allowing me the opportunity to seek her true location.

  I went alone in the hope that the departure of one retired old man would be unnoticed, though I will admit their was at least one occasion where I may have engraved myself in our opponents memory…

  The trail was cool, but clearly led me to the town of Kakariko, where I found myself amongst a group of other seekers, brought together, by chance, fate, or perhaps in some cases, ill intent. I can not truly say.

  The gathered adventurers were of many people, of many places, and many quests. All seeking Zelda, or the legendary warrior, Link. Among them was the rito Raseili, and the Gerudo woman whose message he’d accepted. To complicate matters even further, she claimed to be the rightful Queen of the gerudo, who’d been deposed by her twin sister.

  This will no doubt lead to some dreadful concerns later as I will explain, but it is horrifying that this is possibly the least of our current concerns Your Majesty.

  During this exchange of tales, the inn we were speaking in inexpertly set aflame by three other Gerudo women outside, causing most of those gathered to rush after them. I managed to restore some semblance of order with a cantrip to extinguish the fire, and we proceeded to follow them.

  After a slight detour involving a conversation between the local Great Fairy and one of my new found companions, we managed to catch up to the three would be assasins, and have them explain themselves. Suffice it to say they’d been sent by the queen currently occupying the gerudo throne.

  Given their incompetence, it is more likely they were sent to their deaths rather than any real expectation that they would succeed. After a brief conversation with Fundrani ( the woman who claims to be the rightful queen) the three apologized and begged forgiveness for not recognizing her immediately.

  Regardless of whoever is telling the truth here, I expect one way or another we may be at a minimum looking at a civil war among the gerudo. Though again, the least of our concerns…

  Investigations and rumors that night led us to depart for the nearby mountains in the morning, another brief stop with the Great Fairy granting confirmation that The Princess had made her own way up them, following recent reports of bokoblin and moblin activity in the area.

  Of note, given the dire straits we find ourselves in, I highly recommend that Your Majesty sets aside some funds to allow for negotiations with the other Great Fairies throughout the lands. Frankly we are desperately in need of allies at the moment. Which is admittedly one of the few reasons I agreed to where our journey would later take us.

  With assistance in scouting from our flying comrades,we located a cave system that was occupied by a group of bokoblins, who judging by the corpses found inside had been raiding the local populace.

  We also encountered one of the first signs of what I can only describe as direct influence of the return of Ganon upon the land. Pool of liquid, seemingly alive, with the ability to transform living creatures that fell into them, warping them into much more powerful horrors.

  Though battle we fought was hectic at times, we found that the princess had indeed been entrapped by these creatures, and our new found companion, one Kenjiro of the Sheika was able to sneak her away from them, almost before we were forced to fight.

  As I said at the beginning of this letter, she is alive and unharmed, praise be to Nayru!

  Alas, as I had stated earlier, events have forced us away from the castle, not to return to it. After speaking with the (possibly) former gerudo queen, she has offered to grant aid to her in recovering her throne, in return for this service, we may be given the opportunity to further investigate the details of this new Ganon’s return to the world.

  At the risk of belaboring the obvious your majesty, The Princess has effectively decided to set foreign policy for you, and this will most likely force our kingdom into a war with at least half of the gerudo, or at the very least cause a great deal of resentment for years to come due to our interference in their land.

  In worse news, it would seem the tribe in the cave had somehow alerted our masked enemy to The Princesses location, breaking the illusion we had presented. Though we did spot the creature near us, we’ve managed to escape their notice and fled safely from them.

  I would recommend we stop pretending the princess remains in Hyrule castle, instead arranging false “sightings” of her throughout the lands. Hopefully this will serve to further confuse the enemy.

  Lacking no true safe harbor that I can see, I instead follow the command of her highness, as we make for the Gerudo wastes. Not without hope. If she succeeds, we will have cemented a powerful ally, at the same time depriving Ganon of one.

  You would be overjoyed to see the strength of will she has demonstrated Your Majesty, as well as a deep power that shows her truly to be the Zelda of legend.

  Once again, I take full responsibility for not ensuring our immediate return to the castle, and advise that all culpability for any future disaster be placed upon this old fool’s shoulders.

  In closing, I only ask that you send my love to my children, grandchildren, and apologies to my great granddaughter, Mabel.

  It would seem both Horatio and I have been forced to return to service.

  Your Enduring Servant,

  Didit Wizhardhu, Captain of the Royal Guard (Retired)

[patriotsnet]

How Are Republicans Responding To Impeachment

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-are-republicans-responding-to-impeachment/

How Are Republicans Responding To Impeachment

House Prosecutor Cites Former Republican Expert Witness In Pro

IMPEACHMENT RESPONSE: House Republicans Respond To Democrats Impeachment Hopes

A House impeachment manager cited professor Jonathan Turley, who had appeared as a Republican witness during Trump’s first impeachment battle, as part of the prosecution’s argument in favor of holding the former president on trial.

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., quoted Turley’s assertion in a past study on the executive branch that “resignation from office does not prevent trial on articles of impeachment.”

Neguse also quoted Turley’s writing in a 1999 article on impeachment, where the professor approvingly quoted 18th century statesman Edmund Burke’s declaration that “no man in no circumstance, can escape the account, which he owes to the laws of his country.”

Turley in recent weeks, however, has argued that“the planned;impeachment trial;is at odds with the language of the Constitution, which expressly states that removal of a president is the primary purpose of such a trial.”

Turley had appeared before the House as Republicans’ expert witness in 2019, as part of the proceedings related to Trump’s first impeachment. Kevin Breuninger

If Biden Doesnt Resign Which He Wont Where Does Gop Rhetoric Go From Here

From a technical standpoint, the first time that Donald Trump faced an impeachment effort came in May 2017. Then, Rep. Al Green demanded that the House of Representatives charge Trump with obstruction of justice related to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The immediate predicate for Greens call was the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey early that month. But over the course of the year, the impeachment articles expanded to include a broad range of actions by the then-president, constituting a set of high misdemeanors.

That December, the House voted on Greens aggregated charges. It was tabled by a 364-to-58 vote. More than twice as many Democrats voted against the measure as voted for it. But it was doomed anyway; Republicans had control of the chamber, and they werent likely to acquiesce to an impeachment effort, no matter how robust. When Green tried again in 2018, the outcome was the same.

The impeachment effort, many claimed, was just a continuation of the Russia investigation itself, an attempt to undo what the electoral college made possible: a Trump presidency.

The two-thirds requirement in the Senate for convicting Trump meant that there was little chance he would actually be removed from office, and he wasnt. But there was a warning that accompanied the Republican response to the impeachment: Do it to us, and well do it to you.

Impeach Biden and all that, one owner said. You know, kind of turn the tables.

If Trump Goes Unpunished Well Have No One To Blame But Ourselves

Representative Jamie Raskin argued that Trumps actions on January 6, were a culmination of the presidents actions, not an aberration from them. He described how Trump encouraged violence against his political enemies for years, and even continued attacking Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer following a foiled plot to kidnap her in the weeks before the 2020 election.

My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes that if he is ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way? Raskin asked. Would you bet the lives of more police officers on that? Would you bet the safety of your family on that? Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?

Raskin noted that even after the January 6 attack, Trump declared his conduct totally appropriate.

So, if he gets back into office and it happens again, well have no one to blame but ourselves, he said.

Rep. Jamie Raskin asks senators if they believe Donald Trump would stop inciting violence if he was allowed back into the Oval Office:Would you bet the lives of more police officers on that? Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?

The Recount

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Trump’s Attorneys Close Out Their Case

As he started out his closing statement, Trump attorney Michael van der Veen said the former president’s team does not stipulate the truthfulness of the statement from Jaime Herrea Beutler.;

Van der Veen then resorted to attacking the House impeachment managers, falsely claiming they never mentioned the Constitution and distorted evidence.;

Van der Veen insisted that no one could have interpreted Mr. Trump’s January 6 speech as anything other than peaceful. He also suggested that some of the people who attacked the Capitol were already at the Capitol when Mr. Trump was speaking.;

He claimed the protesters “hijacked” the event for their own purposes, even though those who stormed the Capitol have identified themselves as Trump supporters.;

Van der Veen said the entire impeachment has been a “charade” from beginning to end.

“You do not have to indulge the impeachment lust, the dishonesty and the hypocrisy,” van der Veen said.;

Trump Impeachment Trial Verdict: How Senators Voted

Coons said he favors a Sept. 11-style commission to probe further into Trump’s actions leading up to and on the day of the Capitol attack.

“There’s still more evidence that the American people need and deserve to hear,” he said. “The 9/11 Commission is a way to make sure that we secure the Capitol going forward, and that we lay bare the record of just how responsible and how abjectly and violating of his constitutional oath President Trump really was.”

Trump’s role in the party

The Senate vote raises further questions about Trump’s role in the Republican Party going forward.

In a statement after the verdict, Trump said: “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an ally of the former president, told Fox News Sunday that he had spoken with Trump, and that he’s eager to help the GOP win the House and Senate back in 2022.

But Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who was one of seven Republicans who broke ranks with their party in voting to convict the former president, told ABC’s This Week that Trump’s “force wanes” in the GOP.

Cassidy is facing backlash in Louisiana over his vote, including the state GOP voting to unanimously censure him. But he says people want to hold their leaders accountable and that’s what his vote to convict was based on.

toggle caption

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Biden On Trump Acquittal: ‘the Substance Of The Charge Is Not In Dispute’

“We had no need to call any witnesses at the end of the trial because, as all Americans believed at that moment, the evidence was overwhelming,” she said in an interview Sunday with NPR’s Weekend Edition.

The Senate voted 57-43, which included seven Republicans, to hold Trump guilty on the impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection. But that was short of the two-thirds, or 67 votes, needed to convict him.

“I know that people have a lot of angst and they can’t believe that the Senate did what they did. But what we needed were senators, more senators with spines, not more witnesses,” Plaskett said.

She said the House managers wanted to enter into the record the statement of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., about a conversation Beutler had with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., regarding a call he had with Trump on Jan. 6.

After an agreement was reached to read Herrera Beutler’s statement into the record, Plaskett says, there was no need to call her as a witness.

“Individuals do not come to the Senate floor, raise their hand and testify. Individuals are depositioned, videotaped, and that tape is then played before the Senate,” Plaskett said.

“We wanted the testimony and the statement of our colleague Jaime Herrera Beutler, who is a tremendous patriot to put herself out there. And we were able to get that,” she said.

Plaskett denied that she and other House managers were pressured by Senate Democrats not to call witnesses.

Trumps Failure To Discourage Election Violence

ED KILGORE: Again and again, the House impeachment managers are stressing that Trump had an affirmative obligation under his oath of office to stop threats of violence related to his efforts to reverse the election returns. Obviously he failed to do that on more occasions than you can count, whether or not you accept the evidence showing he actively encouraged the Capitol attacks. He knew the attacks were imminent or likely, and that these were people who regarded themselves as his cavalry. So why did he never say a discouraging word? Its a hard question for Trumps attorneys to answer.

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How The Seven Republicans Who Voted To Convict Trump Later Explained Their Decisions

The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors, said Senator Richard Burr, who is retiring at the end of his term in 2022.

Senator Bill Cassidy said he voted guilty because thats what Trump was, and that Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person.

Instead of preventing a dangerous situation, President Trump created one, explained Senator Susan Collins, referencing how primed the January 6 crowd of Trump supporters was for violence. And rather than defend the Constitutional transfer of power, he incited an insurrection with the purpose of preventing that transfer of power from occurring.

Explained Senator Lisa Murkowski: If I cant say what I believe that our president should stand for, then why should I ask Alaskans to stand with me?

Senator Mitt Romney said the House managers proved their case, adding that Trump incited an insurrection despite the obvious and well known threats of violence that day. President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the vice president, and others in the Capitol. Each and every one of these conclusions compels me to support conviction.

Previously Unheard Audio Introduced

House Republicans respond to articles of impeachment l ABC News

ED KILGORE: Plaskett just played previously unreleased audio of Capitol Hill police in full panic as the mob broke down the security perimeter and injured officers, and then video of hand-to-hand combat between police and rioters. Shes using a model of the Capitol to show the mobs progress towards the House and Senate chambers where Congress was reviewing electoral vote objections by Trump allies.

Using new security footage, Plaskett shows the mob breaking through the windows from inside the Capitol, noting some of the first rioters through the breech were in full tactical armors and/or riot shields. She then pauses in the video evidence to draw a parallel between the attacks and September 11. I would note myself that on 9/11 I was standing on Pennsylvania Avenue SE and watched members of Congress walk away from the Capitol in scenes echoed by the January 6 evacuation.

Also Check: How Many Senate Seats Did The Republicans Pick Up

Republican Search For Response

Many Republicans appear to have made up their minds that they won’t vote to convict Trump, but they have struggled to find a consistent way to respond to the Democrats’ emotional case.

Many Republican senators weren’t at their desks for parts of the day’s presentation, and a pool reporter spotted Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., at his desk appearing to write in the names of countries on a blank map of Asia.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said the Democrats’ presentation Thursday wasn’t compelling. “Today was not connecting the dots,” he said.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said, “Very political today.”

NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Trump attorney David Schoen stepped out for a time to do an interview with Fox News. He said he felt confident that he wasn’t missing anything.

“It’s more of the same thing. They’re showing the same repetitive videos,” Schoen said.

Schoen called the managers’ use of videos of the attack “offensive,” a charge Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had made on Wednesday night.

“I think they’re making a movie, you know. They haven’t in any way tied it to Donald Trump. I think its offensive, quite frankly. It’s an antithesis the healing process to continue to show the tragedy that happened here that Donald Trump has condemned, and I think it tears at the American people, quite frankly,” Schoen said.

Schoen said they discussed “procedure.”

House Managers Rest Their Case

Representative Jamie Raskin wrapped up House Democrats case against Trump, saying the evidence clearly shows that he laid the groundwork for the Capitol riot throughout his presidency, instigated the attack in the days leading up to January 6, and then showed no remorse once it happened.

Raskin quoted from Thomas Paine, urging senators to use common sense when deciding whether to convict.

Senators, America, we need to exercise our common sense about what happened, he said. Lets not get caught up in a lot of outlandish lawyers theories here. Exercise your common sense about what just took place in our country.

Raskin concluded: Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, but we have this saving consolation: The more difficult the struggle, the more glorious in the end will be our victory. Good luck in your deliberations.

Raskin closes with this Thomas Paine quote: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us: that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Aaron Rupar

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After Raskin Says He Wants To Call Rep Herrera Beutler Senate Votes 55

The impeachment trial took a dramatic turn on Saturday. Lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin opened the days proceedings by referencing Friday nights news reports that Trump and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy got into a shouting match on the phone while the Capitol riot was underway, and that during that conversation, Trump had not just refused to call off the rioters, but tried to leverage the riot to his benefit. In light of that news, Raskin said House managers wanted to call Washington State Representative Herrera Beutler the impeachment-supporting GOP congresswoman who had confirmed the call happened and said she had contemporaneous notes recording the details as a witness.

Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen opposed the request, and threatened to call for countless witnesses himself and drag out the trial as much as possible:

van der Veen explains that if House managers want witnesses, then “I’m going to need at least, over 100 depositions””Do not handcuff me by limiting the number of witnesses I can have,” he angrily says. “We should close this case out today.”

Aaron Rupar

It also led to this embarrassing moment:

“That’s the way it works, folks … I don’t know why you’re laughing … there’s nothing laughable here” — the Senate chamber breaks out in laughter after van der Veen threatens to depose Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris not by Zoom, but in his office in Philadelphia

Aaron Rupar

Regardless, Senator Lindsey Graham made the same threat:

Gop Officials Were Moved By Democrats’ Arguments But Have Not Disclosed Whether They Will Convict Former President

Find your bookmarks in yourIndependent Premium section, under my profile

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, among six GOP senators who broke from the party to vote to proceed with Donald Trump‘s impeachment trial, said video footage from the Capitol insurrection showed “insurrectionists that tried to object to the peaceful transfer of power”.

“That should give anyone who loves our republic great pause,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

House impeachment managers on the second day of the former president’s impeachment trial included a comprehensive video timeline, aided by previously unreleased surveillance footage and police audio, revealing the scale of the assault on the Capitol on 6 January, and how close lawmakers and their staff came to violence.

Impeachment managers linked the former president’s months-long attempt to undermine election results as he courted violence from his supporters, exploding into a deadly insurrection fuelled by his false claims of voter fraud and conspiracy theories.

David Schoen and Bruce Castor: Who are Donald Trumps defense team?

The footage “reinforces my belief that it was a terrible day for our country, and that there’s no doubt that it was an attempt to disrupt the counting of the electoral votes”, said Senator Susan Collins, among Republicans who are expected to vote to convict the former president for inciting the insurrection during a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

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Rep Neguse Takes Over

ED KILGORE: The second impeachment manager to appear, Joe Neguse of Colorado, is going into the precedents supporting the constitutionality of an impeachment trial after its target has left office. The most important is the trial of former Secretary of War William Belknap, impeached for corruption in 1876. Belknap resigned in order to avoid an impeachment and a trial, the House impeached him and the Senate went ahead with a full trial .

The Trump Team Unveils Their Own Video

ED KILGORE: Schoen attempted to offer an equivalent to the House managers videos of January 6: a cavalcade of images of Democratic pols calling for Trumps impeachment prior to his actual impeachment in 2019.;The overwhelming majority of these images were of non-white Democrats, which probably had some Trump fans watching at home saying Uh Huh,

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Seven Republican Rebels Who Voted To Convict Feel Trumpists’ Fury

didnt want to cut him off. He made a Faustian bargain with them. And thats whats coming to the Republican party, Emanuel added. 1932 … was the last time a party that is the Republicans lost the presidency, the Senate and the House. Thats how far back you go for this moment in time to have a corresponding point in history.

The Gop Senators Likely To Vote For Trump’s Conviction

Republican response to Trump impeachment articles

Senators say as many as a half-dozen GOP lawmakers could vote with Democrats to convict former President TrumpDonald TrumpWalensky says ‘now is the time’ to tackle gun violence: reportBanks fights Jan. 6 committee effort to seek lawmaker recordsBiden to raise pay for federal employees effective Jan. 1.MORE for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 after the powerful presentations by impeachment managers, including chilling footage of the attack on the Capitol.

That would not be enough to secure a conviction of Trump, something that would require at least 17 Republican votes assuming every Democrat in the chamber votes to impeach. But it would be the largest bipartisan Senate majority in history for a presidential impeachment vote.

Heres a look at the six GOP votes seen as being in play.

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Romney is viewed as a lock to vote for Trumps conviction after he was the only Republican senator to vote to remove Trump from office after his first impeachment trial last year.

Previously unreleased security footage played on the second day of the trial showed Romney narrowly missed walking into a crowd of angry rioters thanks to the quick thinking of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who redirected Romney away from the violent crowd as it marched toward the chamber.

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[thegreenwolf]

Last weekend I presented my Nature Spirituality From the Ground Up workshop at FaerieWorlds. It’s one of my favorite topics, because I’m helping workshop participants connect with their bioregion through the animal, plant, fungus and other totems there. It’s also frustrating as there’s so much material to cover and we’re limited to 90 minutes, plus that particular crowd is especially enthusiastic.

But for the time I have I’m able to watch how other people get their roots into the ground and interact with the nonhuman world around them. Oftentimes it’s the first chance any of us have during a busy festival weekend to stop and notice our surroundings in detail. I’m there as the workshop leader, but I’m always humbled and delighted by the many ways in which the people who join me work–and play–toward that goal of connection.

What I’ve found over the years, both in teaching this particular workshop and others, is that pagans and other spiritual folks most often ally themselves with animals. It’s not surprising; we ourselves are the last remaining species of human ape, and it is easier for us to empathize with our own kingdom, particularly the vertebrate phylum, and especially the classes Mammalia(mammals) and Aves (birds). So we most often allow the animals into our circles and shrines first, and hear their voices over the others.

What I then ask of my participants (and readers) is to go beyond that initial connection. Animal totems do not exist in some void, floating over our heads like helium balloons. Rather they inhabit ecosystems that parallel our own (whether you see these as literal spirit realms, or metaphorical structures.) To travel into these spaces is to brush against the totems of plants and fungi in one’s path, and to tread across the realm of those of soil and stone, and breathe in those of the air. And as here, they all need each other in intricate webs of connection and mutual reliance, though we often typify that as competition.

If you’re at all familiar with my work, you’ll know that I abhor totem dictionaries as anything other than “this is this author’s personal experience with these beings, and your mileage may vary.” When all you do is read the entry in a dictionary and say “Well, that must be what this totem means and what I should learn from it, not only are you being disrespectful to a complex being, but you are also cutting yourself off from a wealth of knowledge and connection, as well as the opportunity to learn what you can give back to that totem. Moreover, you are denying yourself the possibility of working with other totems (animal and otherwise) associated with it and thereby deepening your practice.

A good example is Brown Bear. In more remote areas of the Pacific Northwest, brown bears rely on the salmon runs up the rivers each year for a large portion of the calories they need to get fat enough for hibernation. But the forests also need the salmon, for the bears often eat only the best parts and discard the rest among the trees to decay. This provides the forest with sea-sourced nitrogen and other nutrients that it otherwise wouldn’t have access to. There’s much to be learned just from this one seasonal cycle: brown bears feeding to prepare for winter, salmon swimming to spawn the next generation, river carrying fish to and fro, spruce and fir and cedar taking in the nutrients the salmon gathered from smaller fish in the wide open ocean for years, fungi in the soil breaking the rotting carcasses down so trees may more easily feed, insects and bacteria and other tiny beings feasting as well, both on the salmon remains and the bear dung.

What’s to be learned from that? Well, you could just go with the common totem dictionary keywords associated with Bear, like “strength” and “healing” and try to shoehorn these cycles into that shorthand. Or you could meditate upon the cycles yourself and see what observations you make, and what the relevant totems have to say. For example, Brown Bear and I have had conversations about the gratitude owed to salmon for the vital nutrients they provide, and the fragility of river ecosystems in an age of pollution and dams. We’ve talked about the desperation of bad salmon years, and how in those years every single calorie is needed, and so the trees may go hungry. These are conversations that cannot be pigeonholed into a few keywords.

If there are totems or other nature spirits in your life, have you ever tried asking them who they are most reliant on in their ecosystems? Have you asked them to introduce you to others? How much do you really know about both the physical and spiritual ecosystems they inhabit? It’s less about the individual totems, and more about their relationships and connections, and what physical behaviors and natural history are embodied in their archetypal selves. In the face of that, simple “meanings” seem trite, stereotyped, and limiting.

And it’s an excellent way to make your path both broader and deeper. I have been practicing a neopagan version of totemism for over two decades now, and in that time I have worked with hundreds of totems, from brief encounters to deep, many years-long spiritual relationships. Through them I have been inspired to understand my physical bioregion more deeply, and to visit others that I may delve into their depths. Moreover, I have been compelled to find more ways to give back to the totems and their kin, a necessary reciprocity at a time when even nature based spirituality is all too often human-centered and based on what we can gain. Most importantly, it has gotten me past an animal-centered path, and opened me up to the vibrant variety of beings that have evolved alongside us for millions of years, and the geological, hydrological and other natural phenomena that we all rely on. I’m looking forward to many more years of this practice.

If you’d care to join me and you do not yet have a preferred method of working with these beings, may I recommend trying guided meditation? It’s less intense than journeying, but I’ve used it successfully for many years to visit the totemic ecosystem. You can use the version I have at this old blog post of mine; you don’t always have to go in with a particular totem in mind, and sometimes it’s valuable just to explore this place and see who shows up. But it’s also a good place for totems you already work with to introduce you to others, and show you some of the natural cycles they engage in. You’re welcome to start with an animal or other totem you’re already comfortable with as your initial guide, but be willing to listen to others, even those you may not have initially considered like totems of slime molds or liverworts or archaea.

In addition to that, I strongly suggest studying up on your local bioregion, from the geology to biology to climate and more, all the way from the soil to the sky. Rua Lupa has created a wonderful bioregional quiz on her Ehoah site if you want to get an idea of some of the things you should be trying to find out more about. Nature spirituality needs to be grounded in physical nature itself, and there’s no better way to understand the above than by familiarizing yourself with the below.

Finally, be on the lookout for ways you can give back to the totems and their physical counterparts. Too often we make our nature spirituality about us, and to my mind one of the signs of an advanced practitioner is a deep desire for reciprocity. If you aren’t sure, ask the totems themselves, as their biggest priority is caring for their kin. You also can’t go wrong with improving the habitat around your area by removing litter and pollutants, planting native species, and educating others on the need for health, integral ecosystems.

And feel free to let me know how your work goes; I’m always excited when people start finding their own paths deeper into the totemic ecosystem!

If you liked this post, consider buying a copy of Nature Spirituality From the Ground Up. It includes extensive exercises and supporting material for doing the sort of work that I talk about here. And you’ll make this self-employed author very happy

[survivor-game-changers]

Rites of Passage - Day 49

Before we get to your final immunity challenge, we are taking the time to reflect upon those who fell before you. Wether directly or indirectly, because of them, you are in this spot in the game. 

(we are pretending that Renee submitted on time and this was posted not after FTC yay)

Katie

Hey! Long time no talk. You look great, tell your mom I said hello as well!

Nick

Sidlegend ! i never actually spoke to you, #socialgame, but there was a lot of dropped jaws on South West when you left and you definitely shook people when you left because everyone felt slightly on edge when it could literally be anyone too leave!! thanks for playing!!! <3

Katie

Girl you were so robbed. I would have loved to play with you longer.

Nick

you were such a sweet girl when i spoke to you on the marooning, and you were there with my girl Ashley and she and everyone else only spoke highly of you!! DEFINITELY robbed, everyone was sh00K when you left and i think your a legend!

Katie

Sorry Chris!!! I hope to get to know you better once this whole thing is over with. I’ve heard really REALLY great things about you.

Nick

you had me sweating til the very last minute boy!! what an awesome dude honestly, i am scared to think of how you would play if you went any further because that last day, you really knew how to turn the tables and you were someone really great to talk to as well!! glad i got to play with The Chris Icon™ , also renee still talks about how much of a wicked person you are, then that holds a lot respect in my heart !

Renee

thank you for making me apply for this game, I went into it planning on doing nothing besides being your bitch and clearly that didnt work well, but you leaving allowed me to get this far, but I am absolutely devastated that you left so soon and i hope i got revenge enough for you. Heard it was between you and me going that night and really I wish it was me because you deserved to play this game!! love u irrelevant jtia.

Katie

Oh Johnny, you were such a constant figure in my game. You may have only made it to day 10 but your influence on this game is the reason I made it this far. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Nick

duuuuuude!! honestly, player of the season! you were robbed of #SingleDigits but daaaaamn you were a force ! south west had therapy sessions after you left bc we were all so sh sh shook ! not only an awesome, dynamic player, i really thought you were an awesome guy to talk too and someone that has a lot of love for this game!!!!

Renee

I really wanted to be able to play with you and it sucked that we had no power on that tribe, sorry that you left, but Im rooting so hard for you in flops hope you kill it!!

Katie

QUEEN!!! You are such a strong player and have proven yourself over and over again to just dominate the competition in this community. I knew if I didn’t get you out you would be standing right here where I am now.

Nick

my mother forever!!! when you think of TS legends, kait is the top of my list and most peoples!! voting you was really hard, but all the idol talk and relationships and alliances, it was something i felt had to be done early, because you really are a superstar player and person!! thank you for being such an icon, i idolize you, i adore you, thankYOU! 

Katie

I can’t believe I got to be in a lip sync with the lip sync queen herself. Honestly a goal of mine for a very long time and I can’t believe it came true! Next time we will crush it even harder but until then I can’t wait to have you cracking me up in the reunion chat. You really bring so much life into the community and I adore you for it.

Nick

the Fashionist Legend™ HaSelf!!!!!!!!! ever since rebels n rogues, you have been a great value player and person and I love your funny, bubbly, outgoing personality, you radiate so much positivity and friendliness and i think this community is blessed with someone like you Pippa!! <3

Katie

NOW THAT was a very ugly vote and a bit hard to watch. I heard you were able to get revenge though… hopefully it was sweet.

Nick

dont. imma choke up. THIS. QUEEN. WAS. ROBBED! if i could give my spot right now to any person, it’d be you!!! i wish we were never split by tribe swap because i would NOT™ have let this happen had i been there with you! not only are you a Celebrity and future president of the world, ur someone I’m pretty happy to call a friend!!! i loved that this game brought us together bc i love talking to you and i love how like minded we are, we just seem to always be on the same page and thats so reassuring! thanks for being such a legend and i wish this game got to see more madison, so so so so so robbed! LOVE YOU MADI <3

Renee

gosh you were so robbed and the way you left really hurt but the time that we did get to play together was great queen of the toxic music video.

Katie

I had to think very long and hard about whether or not to work with you. In the end I knew us being together would have put a constant target on both of our backs and after Ancient Greece I was weary to have to take that bullet again. You’ve always been such a great friend to me and I hope to play another game where you can slice my head clean off!!

Nick

honestly SUCH A TUMBLR SURVIVOR LEGEND!!!! another vote that really hurt to do, but again, had you gone any further i rue the day u would have slayed all of us!! i think your such an awesome person and having conversations with you was super endearing bc i genuinely think your a super nice guy!! thanks for being such an icon!

Renee

I was heartbroken we didnt actually get to play any of this game together because I really wanted to be able to see how you play and I love playing games you host so I am very upset that I didnt have a chance to try and work with you in this game!! You left too soon!!

Katie

WHEW this was a very very hard vote. I think about it a lot… was it worth getting that much blood on my hands so that I could be sitting up here? We had a really wild and fun run for the first half of the game and had the swap gone differently I believe you would’ve been a really strong long-term ally. My move was messy and I hope one day I can explain it well enough so that you will forgive me for it.

Nick

another ABSOLUTE ROBBERY!! again, like madison, had i been there, i would have done everything in my heart and soul to ensure this does not happen to you!! you are such an amazing friend before anything else in this game! i could talk to you about the most boring thing and be highly entertained and I’m super thankful for the time we spent in the game! thank you for always being someone i could vent to, spit ball ideas with, scream at and with and project all my anxiety onto, you really are a legend and the TS community is blessed to have someone like you! <3

Renee

I was honestly…. so excited when we got swapped and put back on a tribe together but then I just figured you would never actually trust me, and I had to make a move against you. you would’ve destroyed this merge so I hope you take it as a compliment that I did what I did and theres no hard feelings because I really do think youre great!!

Katie

We didn’t get to talk much since we always seemed to find ourselves on different sides of the alliances, but the little conversation we had was really great. I hope your adorable animal friends are doing well and that you will flood the reunion chat with as many photos of them as you possibly can!

Nick

I’m still shaking @ ur departure. i loooooove you olivia honestly, your so freaking fabulous! we bonded day 1, and that was a bond that could not be broken and I’m so thankful i met someone like you! shattered the tribe swap split us, because all game aside, i genuinely missed talking to u! thanks for being YOU OLIVIA <3 https://media.giphy.com/media/d5TDmQA8zfQqI/giphy.gif

Renee

oh my… your blindside was so devastating and you really didnt deserve that,, we had some great moves and at first I was alittle scared but really im so glad that I got put with you in the swap because I really feel like we killed it, and I really owe you for connecting me with Andrew and crow which put me in such a good position in the game, you were so robbed queen.

Katie

JARED!!!!!! I feel as though our similar laid back personalities clicked very well together and I always enjoyed talking with you. Making the elephant with you during the battle ship challenge was and forever will be the highlight of the season for me. Thank you so much for always making me laugh it meant so much to me and I hope you are doing great.

Nick

my BOY!!! the first thing you ever said to me was “Do you want some fries?” and i knew from that moment on, you were MA MAN! i wasn’t stabbing u in the back at all, and i hope?!?!??!? that was the same for you, but i am so so blessed that i got to play this game with someone like you! i love your honesty and you humbleness, its so endearing, AND your almost as iconic as nicole… almost!! https://media1.tenor.com/images/83dd842ba61a76e1b28824a7e1a94d23/tenor.gif?itemid=5920950

Katie

I TRIED!!!!! I TRIED SO HARD TO HAVE US WORK WITH YOU!!!!!!! I always had mixed feelings about you, but that night you comforted Billy in our alliance chat I realized what I thought I knew about you was all wrong. You put on an excellent show but I know now that you have the biggest heart and I am so so happy my friend Dustin gets to be with someone so kind. Side note: Don’t be too upset that I proved you wrong in that building emotional and real connections with people in this game can get you to the end ;)

Nick

I’m still shaking from every tribal council you ever been at ! you were such a fun player too watch, so scary to be against, but you were such a force! its refreshing to play with someone who is honest and straight forward and i appreciate being able to play with you!!!! thank you for adding entertainment and intensity into this season, you shook the game hoNESTLY and i think you made a lot of people sweat and a lot of people laugh, thankYOU! ! #GAMECHANGA https://media.giphy.com/media/10QgC3CIDqjvXi/giphy.gif

Renee

the biggest personality in this game for sure. You made early merge actually really fun because you were so good at being the villain. too bad we weren’t actually on the same side but I really actually did consider working with you and omg I wish we could’ve gotten something together because highkey im obsessed with you and youre FUN !

Katie

MATT WHY WEREN’T YOU AWAKE DURING THE CAST REVEAL!!!!! I’d like it to go on record that Matt was the third person I messaged as soon as this game began. You are and will always be one of my best friends in this community... we’ve known each other for such a long time I’ve literally watched you become a man and grow chest hair!!!! You are someone I always want to talk to and I’m so thankful we flopped in Chiefs so that we could form this forever bond.  ALSO THAT DOUBLE IDOL PLAY WAS RIDICULOUS SERIOUSLY GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT SHIT. I should have known… its Matt FUCKING Summers for a reason.

Nick

another TS LEGEND! your such a force, its so infectious being on a season with you, because i have such a higher drive to play harder and do better !!! i think your such an awesome player, i admire you… king of idols!!!!! you don’t know how much stress i had when u pulled out them idols, you really knew how to shake the game and keep everyone on there toes!! thank you so much for ALLOWING me to be on a season with u, bc i feel so inferior being put on the same cast as Matt Summers™ https://78.media.tumblr.com/531420631da128193b83673530450bdd/tumblr_o6xmy3ExVx1tc2w1bo1_250.gif

Renee

legend…. In the 5 seconds before your vote out where u and I actually talked alot of game was so much fun and if i hadnt already voted for you that round and if you were going for anyone other than Katie I actually would’ve considered voting with you that round and really… the double idol play was amazing and I shook and wow.

Katie

Andrew I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but you are one of the most well spoken individuals I’ve ever met. You really exude intelligence even when you are lying down in your bed answering silly tribal questions. Each time we play a game I am always stunned by how strategically and socially talented you are. Keeping it up because someday you are going to be ruling over all of us. I hope to play with you again in the near future.

Nick

omg father!!! you are one of the best players I’ve honestly ever played with! we didn’t speak much, or at all?? pre-merge and i was sweating the moment i had to meet you bc your SO DAMN GOOD!!!!! there are some people who are naturally just so charismatic like u and i just honestly loved talking to u, let alone playing with u!! i think u were so exciting to play along side and even more exciting to solidify a pretty good relationship with! thankYOU for being someone I’m super proud to say i played with !!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2827ce_d0011f547cc94d7cb6992870aa872586~mv2.gif

Renee

honestly upon seeing the cast I just figured you and I would be on opposite sides of this game like we have in other games, but as soon as your “Cortana”  called me bae I knew this game would be different. When we formed that little alliance in the first swap it really changed my opinion of you and im really glad we got to work together as long as we did!!

Katie

I think after this game we are going to have to reintroduce ourselves because if there is anyone in this game that gave me a run for my money on making up lies it was you. I am not even sure if I was ever able to really trick you in this game… at times I felt like you were able to read right through me, which was TERRIFYING. You were a target of mine for such a long time and because of it that I regret never showing you all of my true self. Hope you feel the same way because I think we are going to be surprised with how similar we truly are.

Nick

my girl since day 1!! i know your departure hurt you and it cut a little when you left, and i have no excuses for it! it just shows how much of a force you were and how much people loved you! i think had i gone to the end with u in a f2, even i would have given u my vote! your such a likable, friendly, honest and respectful person and I’m hoping we can stay in touch after the season because i really loved talking to you during this game! i have so much to thank you for, for me to say i had i had a good time in this game, because you were a lot to contribute to it! i think your an ICON™ and i love your lizards xoxoxo SO MUCH xoxoxoxox https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-12/27/17/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/anigif_sub-buzz-9911-1514414805-3.gif

Renee

I feel like us not being on a tribe together ever pre merge made it difficult for us to ever be on the same page but honestly the small moments where we did get on the same page were really fun and I did enjoy talking to you about your lizards and potato chips about how annoying some people in this game were!

Katie

Had things not gotten so complicated I would have really loved to have you sitting here with me. I ended up falling into a very emotional game… more than I ever have before and the decision that I made that round is what I know I will end up haunting me in each and ever game I (possibly) get cast for after this. I hope you know how real our friendship is and that it goes so much further than this game/org/whatever. I always heard such amazing thing about you from my friends, but never took the chance to get to know you myself. Oddly enough minutes before the cast was announced I finally took the chance after being thrown into an insane situation and as luck would have it we were both cast and then thrown into this new EVEN MORE insane situation. I believe in fate and in that moment I knew it was sign that I just had to work with you and begin this amazing friendship. I can’t wait to see where this bond takes us I foresee many shore adventures.

Nick

i don’t even know where to begin here lmao. your such a legend… i seriously… there aren’t many people like u that i bond with in these games ! i can’t say much more other than thank you for this game! i bonded with u like a sister in this game, with kohls/coles, your crazy stalker, my co-worker, your mom dragging u and most importantly kmart <3 there are soon many memories i treasure ! idk what to say, I’m stumped for words when writing this, you know exactly how i feel about u, theres so much love and gratitude, tysm <3 https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7aD4GrHwn8vsGBTa/giphy.gif

Renee

you were literally the only person I thought I could work with in the game early in game and its been such a pleasure to be able to work with you as long as we did. Unfortunately I figured you would absolutely beat me in the end because you literally were friends with EVERYONE and that is something that you did really well that I know I couldn’t beat. I hope we can be friends outside of this game because I really did love talking to you and need updates on your crazy neighbor!!

Katie

THESE PAST 3 DAYS WERE WILD RIGHT???? I’m not sure how the two of us were able to go from bitter enemies one night to forming a real emotional connection the second but hey here we are. I really wish we had made that connection sooner in the game but its never too late and you know I’m not going anywhere. Taking down our façades and realizing how much we had in common was shocking to say the least, but I’m glad it happened. You were such a worthy adversary this entire game and sometimes I wonder how much luck vs strategy was responsible for me being here over you. 4th place looks much better on me than it does on you so get back out there and win one already!!!

Nick

what a PLAYER!! HONESTLY, you made moves, your frightened me, you made me laugh like no other, you made me sweat sm, u made me learn about the geography of america, thaNKYOU.. FOR all of it!! you brought this game to a new level and i have a lot of respect for you, i think you are an amazing, amazing person and u should feel very proud of ur self and how u played! also SHOUTOUT to crow for having the most fucked up sleeping schedule, and making my timezone feel like i wasn’t always completely alone and isolated <3 no one else does 4am chats better than crow! http://68.media.tumblr.com/74e0a4518f4a80d00d167c44b8caa462/tumblr_o0z8biWuWv1qfohf1o1_500.gif

Renee

I really have such a big respect for the way you played this game, absolutely ruthless. I really thought you were playing too hard/too well which is why you had to go and im so sorry that I had to vote you out because really… I wanted to see you win this game if I didn’t win this game but I had to do what I thought was right to get myself closer to the end.

[francieking]

Feminist Fight Club: a review

*Image from https://www.feministfightclub.com/

It’s no secret I’ve been fired up this year. Our President is unsatisfactory. Our legislature is less than stellar. I’ve been in some of the most confusing and infuriating situations with men in the past two years of my entire life (that I will not recreate but  have learned from). I am not a hater, but I’m eager for change for good. I realize I am the only one I can control or predict so I need to be more focused, more prepared and kinder to create the change I want to see.

I have been following Jessica Bennett’s Feminist Fight Club since it was published, but only recently took the time to read it from cover to cover. A self-described “Office Survival Manual for a sexist workplace,” I found it self-depreciating, inclusive and practical. Women are often seen as angry, but I find them tired. Tired of being ignored, not listened to and consistently passed over. At times, the behavior is oblivious, not malicious but its unwarranted and outdated. Bennett urges us to move forward without misogyny or anger. Hate is unnecessary but change is. “We must do it for ourselves,” said Shirley Chisholm, the first African American women elected to congress, and I don’t think its ever been so true. Following is a brief wrap-up of a book full of wise words, awesome advice and easy fixes to tricky situations. 

Sexism can be quiet. It can be simply being asked to take notes or get coffee, because you’re the lone female in the room (this has happened to me and its was infuriating). It can be being seen as being ungrateful, uncommitted or aggressive because you say no. The ultimate goal is to make a collaborative and progressive workplace as they’re more profitable and inclusive (per statistics). We as a gender and as a group need to not only ask for more, but expect more. Boundaries need to be set and uncomfortable conversations need to be had. We must arm ourselves with data, confidence, skills and allies. 

Learning to say no is important. Kindly and succinctly but focus helps all. Be honest and tenacious. Don’t say sorry. Take out the um and other qualifiers. Lead with strong examples and verbs. Stop signing up for menial talks. This isn’t to say that you’re not a team player or that tasks or under you, you’re just not focused on administrative work because its not moving you forward. bond with teammates so if others take credit, you have a backup crew. Tell people when they’re wrong but then move on. 

Share the load. Accept praise. Know your worth, and your breaking point. Stand and sit tall. Be early and be prepared. Don’t fidget. Model yourself on confident, engaged people. Take chances to speak out loud. Have a plan and stick to it. Get support when needed. Learn to brag. Know when to be patient and when to quit. Ask questions and offer answers. Gather and expect feedback. Call on the quietest person in the meeting. Avoid humble brags (really any king of bragging) and self-depreciation. Remember you only receive what you ask for, and that loyalty doesn’t pay the rent. You don’t owe anyone anything (except respect and vice-versa). 

Create allies not enemies. Derive strength from the group. Invest in others. Quit underestimating yourself and know your true worth. Psych yourself up. Use your words. Unsubscribe from doubt. Set incremental goals. Avoid burn-out. Spend time without digital media. Use your voice. Be firm and be yourself. Acknowledge problems, successes, results and inconsistencies. Don’t wallow. Combine ambition with friendliness, humor, kindness and empathy. Make female power the norm. Use niceness to your advantage but focus more on being independent, confident, fair and intelligent. Don’t be the shoulder for the office to cry on. Make it about the work, not the person. Use affirmations to boost your confidence. Convey your power. Don’t demand, create opportunity. Do your research. Use we, not I.

Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t quit (but do recalibrate). Don’t take it personally. Remember not everyone is going to like you (and you don’t have to like them). Assume the best. Set expectations and stick with them. Say it like you mean it. Do you: know your strengths and see opportunity. Remember that you’ll always be ok. Avoid negativity. Remember that everyone flounders. 

Men its your turn. We want to work with you, not for you. We ask you to listen. We ask you to lift us up. We ask you to include us. We ask you to watch your language. We ask you to share chores with us. We ask you to sit next to us at the table. We ask you to appreciate our work and our minds. We thank you for being allies during a time thats tough for all. We’re changing hearts, minds and job descriptions. We need you on your side. 

Ladies, slow down and engage. Urge your friends to rise up with you. Be strong, bold and true. Know yourself. What are your goals? Whats your biggest pet peeve? What’s your worst story at the office? What are you hopes for the future? What positive changes have you seen happen already? What would tell your younger self? What do you need to work on? What have you learned? Thoughtful plans yield powerful results. As Hillary Clinton said, we’re stronger together. We’ve got this and we’re not going back. I’m going to keep reading, keep learning and keep supporting women who rule (while rocking my Wild Feminist t-shirt). The actionable plans and seemingly simple fixes are well written, well researched and ready for you to implement. Thanks Jessica for leading the charge. I won’t let you (or our sisters) down. And I will read your words again and again.

Bookclub guide: https://www.dropbox.com/s/cww595h9aqo9kl5/FFCReadingGuide.pdf?dl=0

Spotify playlist to pump you up: https://open.spotify.com/user/francieking/playlist/02ixcL70GjFCi8Hj5bbd3Z

[ericjuneau]

Reprise (Chapter 34) [Frozen/Tangled/The Little Mermaid]

CHAPTER 34: The Will to Thrive

Under the shroud of night, a black shape floated across the fjord. One figure rowed with a single pole. The other sat cross-legged.

"Ariel, I love you. But this seems like a stupid plan," Rapunzel whispered.

"I know. But it's the best I came up with. But I think it'll work," she said.

Ariel oared toward the embankment of sharp rocks. They could have moved faster with the trident, but she didn't want to risk losing it in capture. The last thing Ansel needed was more power on his side.

So far it looked like the resistance's reconnaissance had been correct. Guards were looking for fleets, not small rafts. As a result, no one sounded the alarm.

The flat wood bumped against the shore, right in front of Elsa's cell. New rocks and mortar lay in the point of ingress.

They stepped gingerly onto the shoals. "Still got the stuff?" Ariel asked.

Rapunzel pulled two vials out of her pocket. One was purple, the other a dark buttermilk. When combined, they would create a chemical, volatile but reliable, that could dissolve iron.

Flynn had given them to her before she left. They were expensive and rare, but he always kept them on his person because "a thief always stayed prepared" "Maximus doesn't even know they exist. I was going to use them if I ever got couldn't solve one of his scenarios. Would've thrown him for a loop."

Rapunzel uncapped both vials, kissed the tops to each other, and shook. Something inside fizzed. She poured the mixture on the window bars. The liquid expanded into foam, hungrily hissing and smoking.

After a few pulls, Ariel tugged the bars out with a stoney pop. She tossed them in the water.

Rapunzel waited for the remnants of the chemical to dissolve, then boosted Ariel through. She landed soft-footed on the cold stone floor. The cell door was closed, but not locked. Ariel waited.

A ribbon of yellow hair flopped over the window's ledge. It lowered inch by inch until Ariel could jump for it. The golden hair spooled around her as she pulled it in, end over end. Then it tensed. Ariel continued to pull until two hands grabbed the sill.

"Ow," Rapunzel said. "Usually that goes the other way." She hoisted herself in and landed.

Ariel flattened against the wall and looked through the eyeslit. One corridor was a dead end, the other ended in a locked door.  

They took a deep breath and proceeded down the hall. Another door, this one well lit, lay in front of the guard's desk.

"You cannot hold out forever," said the voice behind the door.

Ariel froze and pressed herself and Rapunzel into the wall. "Ansel," whispered Rapunzel.

"You either you tell us everything you can, or we will destroy you. Believe me, I will find a way," Ansel said.

"He's got Pabbie in there," Ariel said.

Pabbie must have said something, because Ansel responded "Magic no longer has a place in this kingdom. Arendelle has become a city of structure, order, and stability. There are tortures that don't require us to penetrate your hide. Blackmail. Sleep deprivation. Solitary confinement. Everyone has fears. We will find yours in time."

Pabbie's raspy voice murmured something.

"Time is something we have plenty of. Think about that."

The door clicked. Ariel and Rapunzel seized their breath.

Ansel opened the door and turned. They waited for the door at the end of the hallway to click shut. Then they waited a minute more before emerging around the corner.

Hands on the handle, Ariel said "He didn't even lock it." Afraid of what she'd see, she opened the door.

Rats scattered at the sound of their entrance. Pabbie hung against the wall by his shackled arms. He was too short for ankle cuffs.

"Rapunzel?"

"Shh," she said. "We're getting you out."

"I am most grateful to you," he whispered. "And your friend."

Ariel was so fascinated by the troll's appearance--a bulbous nose, grassy hair, and mossy eyebrows--that she almost forgot her manners. "I'm Ariel."

"But you should not have come. This is too dangerous."

"We can talk about that later." She reached on tiptoes and examined the shackles.

"The key is on the desk outside," Pabbie said. "I heard it clink when they locked me here."

Ariel left the room and searched the desk. The keys were right next to an empty dinner tray. She snatched them up and tossed them to Rapunzel.

Upon undoing the first lock, Pabbie swung like a ball on a chain. After the other, he dropped to the ground. The floor vibrated when he landed.

"Now we just need to get..." Rapunzel took Pabbie's hand to the cell they had come from. But when she tried the door, it was shut and locked.

"Did you close this?" Rapunzel asked.

"I... I don't think so. I don't remember."

Rapunzel stood on tip-toes, staring through the eyeslit at the window, and their path to freedom.

"Did you see any other keys in that drawer?"

"Just the one."

"The guards must have the others," Pabbie said. "This is why I said not to attempt a rescue. It's too much risk. You could still escape without me."

"No way. We are getting you out of here. I promise," Rapunzel said. "Kristoff's waiting for us at the backup meeting point in the town's square. If we can just get out of the castle..."

Rapunzel scanned the room, looking for some kind of helpful tool. Her eye fell on the reflective silver dinner tray.

"What was it Flynn said?" Rapunzel said. "No one ever questions the cook."

The kitchen staff was so busy preparing food they didn't notice the door open. Ariel grabbed the two chef uniforms from the hook.

"Nice," Rapunzel said after she returned to the closet. The two of them pulled on the uniforms. Ariel could stuff her hair under her toque blanche, but Rapunzel had to wind the rest under her clothes. Now all anyone could see was their faces--lovely, but generic.

"Ready?" Ariel asked.

"If you think this will work," Pabbie said. He rolled onto the silver platter and bundled up into a rock. Now all they needed to do was leave while trying not to look like they were struggling.

Just as before, no one paid attention when they re-entered the kitchen. Even when passing through the tight spaces between ovens. One of them bumped into Ariel. "Excuse me," she said.

In the hallway, two guards walked past them. Ariel and Rapunzel grinned at each other. This was going to work.

"You there," someone shouted.

Ariel and Rapunzel turned around, mindful of the tray. One of the castle's servants poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going with that?" the servant asked.

"Um... out?" Ariel said. "To the... guard posts. With... food."

"They'll have to wait. Take it to the dining hall. The first course still isn't ready and there's no one providing table service."

He stared at them until they marched the other way. No chance of ignoring his order and running out.

The corner turned into the dining hall. Four elite guards stood in the corners, watching over a long table of dinner guests, including Commander Ansel at the head. Rapunzel recognized some of them as former council members of Arendelle. Others were lieutenants, new allies, or potential ones.

"About time," one of the portly guests at the end said. He gestured for them to come over. Rapunzel and Ariel slid the platter onto the table. "What is that?"

"Bread," Ariel said.

He poked it with his knife. "It's hard as a rock," he said astonished.

"It's made from iron wheat," Rapunzel added. "Stone-ground. An Arendelle specialty."

"Bleh. I've had enough bread," said the emaciated lady across from him. "Fetch some of the smoked salmon. I think everyone here's wanting some."

"Sliced very thin for me," said the portly man.

Rapunzel and Ariel gathered utensils from around the room and began preparing appetizers, using whatever food they found. They tried to stay away from Ansel. Fortunately, he was so engrossed in conversation, he wouldn't have noticed them.

"Weselton's on the run. The Southern Isles followed," Ansel said. "And they've no intention of coming back."

"But you said you don't know where they've gone," said a man in a decorated military uniform. "How do you know they aren't gathering stronger forces?"

"You're right. We haven't been able to locate them. But we've also got spies in all major harbors and countries. And their forces haven't arrived in any. Wherever they are, it's far from here. I believe they've dissolved their alliance and gone their separate ways."

"But you've sent battle fleets to search ships," said one of the councilwoman. Tora, if Rapunzel remembered right. "You've forced them to make alliances just to defend themselves."

"I promised the Princess of Corona that I would make sure no one thinks of attacking Arendelle again. And I always keep my promises."

Rapunzel gritted her teeth as she sliced the cold-smoked ham.

"And the result is a prolonged war," the councilwoman answered.

"Come off it now," said Lord Bjorn, another old member of council. "The best thing Corona ever did was appoint him acting regent. Everything we've done has been to Arendelle's gain. Our economy's improved. Kingdoms are begging for diplomatic relations. Why, people have nearly forgotten our cloudy conditions."

"Other nations believe we're cursed," said a thin man with glasses.

"Let them," Ansel said, holding up his wine glass. "A blend of superstition and force will go a long way towards proving Arendelle's might."

"And just why do we need to prove ourselves?" asked Tora. "The country was quite content before you arrived."

"You say 'content," Ansel answered. "I say 'lacking drive'. 'Unambitious'. Without a will to thrive."

Bjorn added, "Do you seriously think Arendelle had any military influence under the old regime? A couple of young women? One was a sorceress, the other a capricious rattlebrain."

"A capricious rattlebrain that's throwing your domestic situation for a loop," Councilor Tora said. She looked only too delighted to add that in. "It's only a matter of time before everyone realizes the princess has left the castle. And by then, they'll realize what kind of government you're providing."

"By then, they will be used to the benefits I am providing." He offered up his wine glass. Rapunzel had to walk over and fill his goblet without wringing his neck.

"With all the soldiers on the streets, you'd think you would have caught her by now," Toula said.

"It's only a matter of time," Ansel smirked. He swirled his wine. "Besides, have you ever heard of a resistance faction upending the status quo?"

A man who hadn't spoken so far piped up. "I think North America's had some success so far. Great Britain's given up on trying to retain the colonies, haven't they? And Mexico's been having its share against the Spaniards."

"Feh. That's on the other side of the world. Think of France, Serbia, the Ottoman Empire. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But this," he gestured to the castle around him, "is a remarkable fortress. I dare say it's the only reason Arendelle hasn't experienced a true subjugation yet. Surrounded by water, only a single bridgeway to enter. How could anyone get in or out?"

"The snow queen has," Tora said.

"And where is she now, I ask." He leaned into Tora, staring her down from the bridge of his hawk nose. "I think she's adopted the same lack of accountability as her sister." He tipped back his wine with satisfaction.

"When she returns, do you think she will be pleased with her actions?"

Ansel grimaced in mid-sip. Tora smirked.

"I remind you, madam, I did not come here with the intention to rule. But when I saw the state of Arendelle's regimentation, I had to intervene. If she returns, I believe she should answer to what she left behind." He turned to address the entire table. "I am only doing what is necessary to maintain the state. A state which has undergone two cataclysms in one year. If Arendelle falls, its neighbors will fall. Its allies will fall. And we can't afford to let it be ruled by silly little girls."

Lord Bjorn interjected. "Soon the Southern Isles will send terms for surrender. Whether the snow queen reappears or not. The resistance will peter out once people realize how toothless it is."

"And that we do not intend harm," Ansel said. "My goal is not to conquer. It is to reconstruct. Once that is done, everything will be fine."

Two servants appeared from a side door, rolling an covered art easel. "Sir, the portrait you commissioned is finished. Would you like to look at it?"

"Dadblastit," Ansel said. "We are in the middle of the evening meal. Is a painting so important? You make me out to be a narcissist."

"Ansel, don't be so modest. I'd be thrilled to see it," Bjorn said.

"It is art. It will exist later as it is now," Ansel countered.

"Oh, Ansel, it won't take but a moment. I can't stand the thought of leaving it in the room unbidden. I would not be able to enjoy the rest of the night," said the emaciated woman.

"Very well." Ansel gestured to the two servants.

They positioned the easel at the foot of the table and swiped away the dropcloth. It was Lord Protector Ansel looking as regal as ever. His face as stern and dour as any headmaster, even down to the book he held in his hand.

"Interesting choice," Tora said. "I had expected you to be holding a sword or a scepter."

"Yes, I took care to feature that in my legacy. That there is no knowledge that is not power. It is the conqueror of all fear," Ansel replied.

A woman in the middle of the table pinched something on her plate. "Eugh, there's a hair in this fishcake." With her tweezer like fingers she pulled it out.

The hair kept going, even with her arm outstretched. With her other hand, she strung it out as if pulling a thread.

"What th'?" she said. The guest next to her goggled as, hand over hand, she pulled out more.

"What kind of hair is this?" It grew taut, catching a yellow glint from the candlelight chandelier. The thread led to the other end of the room, to one of the servant-girls cutting leeks. The guests fell silent, staring at her.

Rapunzel noticed the silence. She looked up.

"Princess Rapunzel?" Lord Bjorn asked. "Why are you here? Why are you dressed like that?"

Rapunzel's mouth opened and closed, in search of an answer.

"So much for 'no one questions the cook'," Ariel whispered in her ear.

Ansel stood, throwing down his napkin. "Guards!"

The loaf of bread at the far end of the table stood up and unrolled its limbs. The guests gasped as it unfolded into a troll-man. The surprised woman next to him caught his eye.

He put up his hands, stuck out his tongue, and said "nyah-nyah-nyah!"

The woman screamed and fell over in her chair.  

Pabbie rolled down the table, upsetting candles, napkins, garlands. Plates and silverware clanked and cracked as he whirled toward Ansel, who sat motionless. The rock gutted him in the stomach, then switched direction to the door. Ariel and Rapunzel followed.

Ansel coughed--the wind knocked out of him--as the guards rushed from the other end of the room. "After them!" he said, after several seconds.

The guards rushed out the door, passing a portly man who commented, "I told them that bread was bad."

Pabbie waddled as fast as he could. Ariel and Rapunzel ran behind him, pumping their arms and legs. Each of them ripped off their uniforms in transit. A company of guards chased them, spears rattling with each step.

"We've got to get to the main gates," Ariel said, tossing her hat aside.

"They'll be closed," Rapunzel said.

"What was closed can be reopened," Pabbie said.

"Eek!"

Two armored soldiers jumped out, spears pointed ready.

Pabbie tucked himself into a ball. He rolled forward, knocking the left guard off his feet, then double-backed and took out the other, zipping in a straight line. Without a pause, he unrolled. "Come on," he said.

"Nice work," Rapunzel said.

"Guess there's still a few good centuries left in me after all," Pabbie said.

The hallways grew wider, which told them they were heading the right direction. Through the windows, they could tell which direction to go to move toward the town. They came to the two giant doors marked with tan chevrons.

The three of them pushed against the door with all their might. "It's locked. There's got to be a key."

Pabbie pressed his meaty hand to the door. "Too thick to roll through."

But it was too late. Eight guards emerged from the hallways and surrounded the three of them. Ariel, Rapunzel, and Pabbie backed up against the doors. The guards closed in.

In a few moments, Ansel strolled into the entrance hall, adjusting the fingers of his white gloves.

"Clever, quite clever," he said. "Frankly, I didn't know what I would do if either of you came back. But thanks to your actions, we now have charges of criminal facilitation, trespassing, burglary, and, if we find you have ties to the resistance, treason. Which, as you know, is a capital offense." He grinned at Rapunzel. "Maybe I'll hang you by your own hair."

Ariel could tell by his eyes he was serious. He might even order their execution now. She resisted the urge to shiver from the chill of fear running up her spine.

No, it wasn't fear. The door had grown cold under her fingers. "What is-"

The gates burst open. Ariel and Rapunzel flew forward thirty feet into the hall into Ansel and the guards. Everyone lay prone or supine, struggling to get up.

A cold and biting wind howled through the hall. Stinging ice flakes pelted their skin like tiny sling-stones. Ariel and Rapunzel looked back at the doorway, squinting into the wind.  

She stood in silhouette, then stepped into the room. Her pale blue dress had become paler, and now had shoulder pads of ice spikes. Hair that was once ashen white had darkened to deep blonde. Most noticeable was the popping violet of her eyeshadow and lipstick. But her eyes--arctic blue with pinhole pupils--stared into their souls with unfeeling antipathy.

"Elsa?" Rapunzel asked.

Ansel stood up. She turned her gaze to him.

"I am here to take back my kingdom," Elsa said.