#weeping woman; aoife

[teatitty]

Do you think any of Fionn's wives could be summoned as servants? I know the base summon rules probably don't really allow for it but at this point when FGO it kinda seems like a "whoever they want for whyever or however they want". I was thinking of Sadhbh specifically, though I feel like because of legend it would be treated a little like Rama and Sita; obviously not the exact same way but a similar "where one is the other can't be" but like also,,,, being able to hold his beloved Sadhbh (1/2)

Funnily enough, a few years back I did actually talk about some of these scenarios and came up with what classes Fionn's wives and Emer would be! We won't go through all of them here but!

Sadhbh: Caster, because of her fae heritage and it'd be a nice irony given she was cursed via magic to begin with. Could also manifest as a low tier Saber or Lancer by borrowing one of Fionn's weapons, like how Medb took Fergus' sword for her summer alt lol

Emer: Easy Saber for the sole reason that she was willing to rock up on Fand and fight her to get back Cu Chulainn. I can't remember if she's said to have had any specific weapons on her, but she did gather up all her maids and friends for the cause so she must've had something. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and by god Emer was pissed!

If Fionn and Cu got to see their wives in Chaldea again they would both simply clutch tightly to them and never let go, full weeping on their knees and everything. If Conchobar shows up he's getting killed and bullied every single time one of the Celts lays eyes on him, and Medb would of course be first in line to do so

The funniest possibility however is if Aoife showed up. She can't fight her sister anymore bc of Cu but she can reignite the Sibling Rivalry in super petty and competitive ways so seeing her and Scathach challenging one another to every sport or competition in existence would be highly entertaining to all involved

[untxld-stxries]

"Do you mind if I sit here? You look like you could use the company."

@xrange-alert

[wxiling-womxn]

"Huh. You look...familiar. You don't happen to be a ghost, right?"-@sxulstealer/@sxul-stealer (ooc:i forgot my own url don't judge me)

"Not exactly," Aoife answered slowly. The girl did look familiar, yes, but she couldn't place her. "Did I ferry someone you know to the Underworld?"

@sxulstealer

[untxld-stxries]

Aoife nodded excitedly. "There's a boy named James. He's from a planet called Montressor."

"Every few months a girl rolls in from outer space named Starla," Harley added. "She's a real alien. Ursid, I think."

"She doesn't stay long. She gets in trouble for stealing."

"Happens when you're raised as a space pirate." Harley laughed, shaking her head. "You would think she'd try and hold it in, but nope. She took one of Audrey's tiaras. Haven't seen her since."

"She got sent back to her father's ship," Aoife said. "Just to make things clear."

untxld-stxries​:

Harley walked along, her ponytail bouncing with each step. She glared at a few students who stared at her. Not in the mood, she thought.

“There are all kinds of people here,” Aoife said. “Fairies, vampires, witches, a werewolf. I’m a bean sidhe. I collect souls and take them to the Underworld.” She held up her hand, smiling as it turned green and back again.

“We also have a few demigods,” Harley said.

“They’re likely less surprising to someone from the normal world considering the myths.”

Nova listens attentively to Aoife, nodding slowly, suppressing her beep of surprise when she turns her hand green. Though she chuckles as the two discuss demigods and how the normal world considers them.

“I’m… rather disconnected from the normal world, even though I came from it. I don��t really know myths either. This is all super interesting though!” She considers her words carefully. “So. Fairies, vampires… any aliens?”

[the-cryptid-documents]

These have more information, all though I’m not sure if that's a good thing. Ignorance is bliss right? No, that’s a stupid phrase. There is never too much information.

The full moon for the Climbing Tree #633-01 was on September 2nd.

And also, I switched up the labels for The Climbing Tree and The Bag Lady. The Bag Lady is #633-02 and the Tree is #633-01. I would, usually, berate myself for messing up the numbers again... but I really cant. September wasn't really a good time for me.

CC:

--

The Weeping Man #623-00

UNKNOWN

Original documentation (RN: PHOTO!) by OneEyedBunny

(RN: Once again, no information. Nothing except a poorly lit photo. This one does look more creapy creepy than the last. 

I need to sleep. I've been hunting for more information for days. It's starting to affect my classes. )

--

The Bag Lady #633-01

-Race of immortal woman that very in all ages, races and seem to have nothing in common

-except the fact that they carry around a nice looking bag that happens to have everything they would ever need in it (RN: Mary Poppins?)

-Their face will never show in photos or memory's you will either forget what they look like or something in the photo will obscure their face 

-You normally find them walking around the neighborhood, or in this case, the campus

Original documentation by Acrid Lumberjack

(RN: Seems pretty calm, but with something that strong that it can alter your memories, its best to play on the safe side. I'm not going to try to take a photo of something that cant be remembered. I’m not that stupid. I learned my lesson from The Butterfly)

--

Eyeball #623-01

- 9”2

-Seen lurking around the DUE tunnels

-most students think the DUE are making it up, but they swear it exists

(AN: I would say its friendly because of its interactions with students, but given that those students were in DUE I will keep it in unknown.)

Puff #643-01

- 2”0

-Laughs menacingly

-Lives in the forest

-Moves by squat-jumping

(AN: The DUE have the most information on cryptids. I'll have to get in touch with them to find out more. The only question is how.)

Originally documented by Aoife

--

The Falling Tree/ The Climbing Tree #633-02

-appears in the week before every full moon (RN: I should be able to see it soon) and leaves the dawn after it, but it feels like its always been there.

-Taller than it should be

-no one has climbed to the top, no matter how long they spend climbing

Original documentation by Dee @dee-averno-ans

(RN: I'm going to see this tree for myself. Maybe I could use a drone instead of climbing?)

(RN: The tree just, fit. It was really always meant to be there. The drone didn't work, of course. It just kept flying higher and higher but never made it to the top. What's up there that the tree doesn't want us to see?)

--

Researchers Note: I really wish I put these in chronological order, it would make them so much easer to organize but nooo I just had to make a weird organization system that doesn't even make sense

[wxiling-womxn]

Closed Starter: The Banshee On The Bus (Aoife/Mason)

Aoife handed her bag to the counselor attending to the luggage bay. She had barely been at the camp a few days, and it was already time to leave. She wasn't ready to go to school. To meet people. To be the local freak.

She stepped onto the bus and immediately felt eyes on her. The subtle glow around her body was noticeable upon first glance, and that made her different. Weird. The bean sidhe looked down at the aisle and hurried to an empty seat in the back. She just wanted to hide in the corner so she could blink back home without being noticed.

Aoife took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, then noticed that she was still being watched. She looked over at the boy sitting across from her. "Did you need something?" she asked, her voice more of a quiet squeak than anything else.

@mistermasonmarvelous

[caomhnighean]

You don’t have to be lonely. / aoife

dw7b. accepting.

     ‘ How could I be anything else, Aoife? ’ 

     And that is the sad and sorry truth of it, of course. Faith has, quite recently, come to understand that this world is not one that she will ever find peace in. Not her mother’s peace, at least, and not Fergus’. She has love, yes, but her bed is cold each night and any woman who holds her heart in her hands might throw it away the moment she realises that security is better than affection. And who could blame them, of course? A woman is nothing in this world without a man. Perhaps this is what makes her feel loneliest of all. She does not want to be part of any such thing, yet here she is stuck in this world and unable to do anything but scream and wail her frustrations to the precious few who will hear her and understand. 

     A sigh passes her lips. Faith rubs awkwardly at her eyes and she thinks, not for the first time, I wish I had been born a man. That she could move through this world with the ease of Jamie, that she might love and not be scared of it. If she were like her father, she could be who she wanted, not holding part of herself back and breaking her own heart in the process over and over and over again, miserable and lonely and empty even when surrounded by so much care and love. 

     She could weep. Her face cracks just so, and Faith leans to rest her forehead against Aoife’s shoulder. She does not know what else to do. 

     ‘ I have so much, I ken that, ’ she almost whispers, ‘ but it is as if I canna feel it. Only… Only what I dinna have. I am so lonely, Aoife. I’m feart it shall always be so. ’ 

[wxiling-womxn]

Everything was wrong. Everything was so, so wrong. Aoife could almost feel it. The air was heavier, which just brought more of her attention to the people fighting each other and others who were destroying or stealing things. And truthfully, the sudden change terrified her.

Aoife hurriedly floated around the school, so caught up in her panic to find the source of the shift that she forgot she was still... well, solid. Until she and a stranger collided, that is. The bean sidhe jumped, letting out a squeak of surprise. "I'm very sorry! Are you alright?"

Open Starter: Scary

Genevieve clings to a stuffed teddy bear nervously as she slowly pokes her head out of her bedroom door. No one in the halls. Okay.

Quickly, clutching the bear close, she makes her way out to the cafeteria. Everyone has been scary and angry and… dangerous, lately, and she didn’t know what was wrong, but it was only getting worse with time. But she needed something to eat.

She rushes across campus, squeaking when she runs into someone. “S-sorry.”

[the-fashionista-fatale]

Aoife Branigan, Duchess of The Seas

Once upon a time, a seal came to the land. She cast off her skin and rubbed her skin against the rocks, relishing in the feeling of the earth against her bare self.

Once upon a time, a man stole a seal-skin and made love to a weeping woman. He told her she was beautiful, never mentioning the seal-skin he had kept.

Now, there is a girl who loves the ocean. A girl who fears her fathers hands and her mothers face, who knows that the beach will be her doom. Now there is a girl who met a devil, and had all the seas pressed into her soul.

Now, Aoife Branigan stands with her back to salted waters. Once, she knew herself to be a selkie, born to the grey surf and foam. Now she knows herself to be something set apart- neither fae nor woman. 

Soon, Aoife will stop hurting. Soon, Aoife will drag the seas across the land.

Skill: Singing (2)

Skill: Hiding in plain sight (2)

Skill: Appeasing Others (2)

Passion: I deserve intimacy (1)

Passion: I am best alone (-1)

Passion: Everyone is beautiful (1)

Bond: I can always escape (1)

Bond: I am never far from the sea (2)

Bond: I will always be an outsider (3)

Affliction: I become a seal if I touch salt water (3)

Affliction: Others overlook me (1)

Bond: I do not age (2)

Bond: I am hard to approach (1)

The Seas...

Are vast and stretch far away (1)

Conceal all things within them (1)

Rise up to drown the land (2)

Are unstoppable in their movement (2)

Have forms that flow freely (1)

Aspect (1)

Persona (3)

Domain (4)

Treasure (0)

Amphibious (1)

[overstalking]

Another Wonderful Submission

Born From Dark Water

Based on the film ‘Song of the Sea’ and this ask: http://overstalking.tumblr.com/post/159215981404/genji-hanzo-and-zenyatta-with-a-selkie-so-how

The practice of self imposed solitude was a form of punishing himself just as much as it was for survival. Living the life of an exile and an assassin, he told himself that it was best not to allow any form of weakness like family or loved ones in his life that could only be exploited by his enemies later on. Anything that once resembled a chance of that, he either cut down or cast aside. Besides, a murderer like Hanzo Shimada had no right to hope for such things.

Once he and his brother Genji had reconciled along with fulfilling their duties at Overwatch, Hanzo fell into old habits despite his insistence to his brother that he had forgiven himself and moved on. That didn’t stop Genji from offering a place to stay in either Switzerland or Nepal should he need it; but being the proud man that he is, and not wanting to make his brother worry, Hanzo reassured him that he was fine and declined his offer every time.

During his travels, Hanzo found himself in a small safehouse on the edge of a small, craggy shore off the coast of Ireland. It was a small, drafty, stone cabin located where strong winds and thunderstorms occurred almost every other day, and isolated from the outside world… it was perfect. There, he found the time to live a quiet reclusive life with no burdens or responsibilities weighing him down and often spent his time meditating. Finding food was easy enough- given his skill with a bow and resourceful nature he sustained himself primarily on the abundant salmon from the nearby river, rabbit and deer in the forest, and a small garden for herbs and vegetables he grew just on the edge of the forest behind the house. The few times he would venture into the nearest town, which was miles away, it was to shop for supplies he otherwise couldn’t gather or create on his own. He only really socialized with the older locals who ran the shops, and that was limited to mainly small talk where he started to pick up Irish Gaelic.

Genji would send packages of small comforts from home on his birthday and around the winter holidays- large boxes of tea, a few bottles of saké, some other small treats and a handwritten letter along with a sparrow feather attached to a photo of him and either Zenyatta or Angela. It warmed Hanzo’s heart to know that his brother was doing well and thinking of him.

The rural countryside was rife with myths and tales of fae folk and other creatures from old times. At first, Hanzo chalked it up to superstitions and stories derived from old tradition much like that of gods and yōkai from his own homeland. He remembered a story his father told him once about the Namahage that would visit their castle and punish lazy or naughty children on New Year’s Eve so that he and his brother would behave. Once they grew older and realized that Namahage were just grown men dressed up in costumes, however, the tale lost its’ effect on them.

Still, he stuck around for the tales that the old shopkeepers would share after they would close their shops and go to the pub before heading home.

“You live in that little shack near the sea, is that right?”

“I do, yes.”

“Ah… so, lookin’ for a selkie bride, is it?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t tell me ya haven’t heard the tale of the selkie?!”

“I have not.”

“Oh, fer the love of- Moira! Flaherty! Our Japanese friend here doesn’t know what a selkie is!”

“So? Leave him be, James. An’ don’t go fillin’ his head with some old stories!”

“Bah!” scoffed James, as he brushed his hand at them dismissively. The old man moved closer to Hanzo’s side of the table and leaned in, almost like a schoolchild about to tell a dark secret and whispered to him.

“Alright, here’s what you do, friend- you to the sea an’ shed seven tears into the water. Seven, no more no less. Once you do that, it’ll summon a selkie an’ then, you’ll have to steal her coat.”

“Why?”

“Because, once a selkie has lost their coat, she’ll have to agree to be your bride.”

James put his arm around Hanzo’s shoulder.

“Handsome young lad like you… doesn’t make much sense you don’t have at least someone in your life. Jus’ try it, son. An’ hey, if nothin’ happens, well then I’m just an old fool havin’ the craic!”

“Dad? C’mon it’s time to go.”, James’ daughter, Aoife approached the two at the table to bring her father home. She was a beautiful woman in her mid 30′s, and medium length red hair… She was also happily married with three children. She ran the flower shop and took care of her father after his wife died, and would always greet Hanzo with a courteous smile.

When the two leave out of earshot, Hanzo overhears Moira at the bar sigh while cleaning the bar.

“Poor old James… don’t go weeping in the ocean for a fairy tale, Hanzo; he just likes tellin’ stories. Gives him a reason to get out of the house since his wife’s died, you see. He’s pushin’ 95 this year now, an’ his mind’s goin’ downhill. So don’t mind it.”

It’s true that James was among the oldest residents in town and in declining health, so Hanzo brushed it aside as nothing more than a lonely old man telling a story. Then again, maybe it wasn’t all crazy- Hanzo and his brother both had power over ancient spirit dragons for god’s sake! Maybe this island had some forgotten magic of it’s own, after all.

The next couple days, Hanzo went on with his life and thought nothing about his old friends’ story. Then, he started to notice just how many seals would congregate on the rocks near his house; but he reasoned that it was most likely because of the abundant amount of fish and sunlight in that spot that was ideal for relaxing.

Then he thought more about what James had said- how ‘a handsome young lad like him’ truly has no one to share his life with. Hanzo never paid it any mind until someone brought it up. Genji was always more charming and likeable than him in their youth, so he just accepted that. He expected that he’d have to go along with an arranged marriage like his father, have some children, and live his life as the head of the clan. But life has a way of making other plans, since he had to cut his brother down after their father died, his entire world had fallen apart, and he had to find a way to start life all over again.

One day, after meditating on the beach, he stood up and walked closer to the ocean. The waves had started to lap at his feet and he stopped when he was about knee deep in the water. He thought about everything all at once- his brother, the clan, his parents, the life he left behind. For years he was hellbent on a constant search for redemption. And through it all, what did he have to show for it? For his sacrifice, his time in Overwatch? What will his legacy be?… Will anyone remember him when he’s gone? Would anyone accept and love him after all he’s done? Does he even deserve that?

The tears he didn’t even know he had been holding inside had started to fall.

One,

A sob

Two,

Three

He starts to weep

Four,

Five,

Then, finally… bawling

Six,

Seven

He falls to his knees and cries into his arm, hiding his shame from the rest of the world.

Once he calmed down, he made his way back to the cabin to go change out of his soaked clothes. He looked around and noticed that the seagulls and waves had gone quiet and that’s when saw something moving off to the side on the rocks nearby.

He saw a figure draped in what looked like a long, dark, iridescent, fur coat. He watched her as she shed and laid on top of it while she lounged on the rocks, with a content smile on her face and her naked body basking in the sunlight. She was the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.

An all powerful sense of longing crashed into him like a tidal wave; he never wanted to get close to someone so much in his life. He doesn’t know what possessed him to walk over to her right then and there, throwing any sense of caution or apprehension to the wind. Once his footsteps hit the sand, she shot up and immediately turned to face him, clutching at the coat covering her body. He froze, and for the longest time they said nothing; just stared at each other, waiting for a response and wondering what the other’s one’s next move might be.

He was close enough now to get a good look at her- her hair was long, her skin was a cool tone, and her eyes were dark, clear, and blue like the ocean. He reached a hand out and slowly approached her. She lowered herself from her rock and started to walk towards him. He stepped back, almost afraid of her at first, then froze again. When she got close enough, she gently placed a hand on his cheek and traced her fingers along his jawline. He noticed that her skin felt cool to the touch and shivered when he felt her fingers travel down the sinews of his neck and along his collarbone. Through the fabric of his shirt, he could feel the gentle press of her palm over his heartbeat.

The lives of humans had piqued a deep curiosity in her. Each day they would meet at the same spot, and over time, they had begun to learn more about one another. He taught her how to use a bow, while she taught him how to swim and catch salmon with his hands. He told her all about his home and life on the surface. He even cast aside his fear of embarrassment and showed her the fisherman’s dance from his homeland, which amused her greatly.  

The first time Hanzo invited her to his home, she tried saké for the first time. Much to her naivety, she drank too much too fast, and Hanzo soon followed. Before long, inhibitions were thrown aside, their faces glowed, and their bellies were full of laughter and warmth from the alcohol. They were sitting on the sofa by the fire when she climbed on top of him and softly brushed her lips against his, then wrapped her arms over his shoulders to hold him close. The kiss deepened and he held their bodies flush together, his hands taking in every curve, almost worried she might slip away if he let go.

“Stay with me… please.” he whispered into the crook of her neck

Her voice was filled with sorrow,

“I- I can’t.”

His kisses trailed down her collarbone to her sternum,

“You will never want for anything… I can take care of you.”

He paused to look up at her reverently, waiting for a reply,

“Please…”

She had a sad look in her eyes, and then perked up when she thought of an idea.

“A year. I will stay with you for a year. If I’m unhappy, by the time a year has passed, I go back to the sea.”

Hanzo shed tears of joy and wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into another deep kiss,

“I guess I will have to make you happy, then…”

The legend says that selkies make great wives, but their hearts will always have a powerful longing for the sea. So in order to keep his new wife happy, he purchased the property along with the cottage on the shore where they had found each other. In the morning, he could find her wading in the shallow water looking up at the sky before dawn. This was her time, so he gave her space and stood in the doorway while they both watched the sun come up. During restless nights, she would lay his head down on her lap and sing songs to him while brushing her fingers through his hair as he drifted off to sleep. He fell more in love with her with every passing day.

He bought clothes for her- thick wool sweaters and coats to keep her warm, and light breathable yukatas for warmer days to wear around the house. She loved the intricate patterns of flowers and clouds that were dyed onto the fabric in vibrant colors of all shades; but her most favorite was a dark kimono he gifted her with water lilies that shone bright shades of blue, green, and purple in the black silk when pointed at the sunlight.

The first night they made love was filled with as much nervous but impassioned hesitation as one might expect. Hanzo trailed his warm hands to calm the gooseflesh creeping up on her shoulders and left soft kisses in his wake. She arched her back when his mouth found her breasts and he suckled and rolled his tongue against the small hardened peak and repeated his attention onto the other side. He moved down her body and nestled his head between her legs, holding her hips in place and taking his time. She combed through his air and let out a soft moan when his lips and tongue found the delicate bundle of nerves and brought her closer to the edge all while lavishing her with praises.

He crawled up between her legs and she turned him over so that she was on top of him. She straddled his hips, and teased him briefly by grinding him against her folds then he slowly moved inside. She rolled her hips against him in a slow rhythm, having complete control of the pace. He looked up at her adoringly, then flipped over and started becoming more wild and erratic with his thrusts. She arched up against him and dragged her nails down his back when he hit all the right spots. He held her body close and spread kisses up and down the crook of her neck, whispering soft praises and love into her ear. She cried out when she came and felt a warmth spread as he finished inside her.

Afterwards, they held each other and whispered sweet nothings while he inhaled the ocean’s scent in her hair as she nuzzled into his chest and her fingers traced the lines of his elaborate tattoo. Every night thereafter, he could taste the saltwater on her skin.

He tried burning the coat. Once; on a night after they had been arguing when he was sure that she would find it and run away. He threw it into the fire while she was sleeping, and a minute later he heard a godawful shriek of pain coming from upstairs. She was writhing on the bed and the skin on her arms had started turning a angry and violent red. He put two and two together and rushed back downstairs to pull the coat out and stomp out the fire. He never bothered asking for forgiveness, knowing in his heart he didn’t deserve it, so he expressed his apology through his actions: applying salve to the burns on her skin, dressing her wounds every day, and holding her close every night. From then on, he kept the coat folded neatly in a large lacquered box under the floorboards of the house and never lashed out at her again.

A few weeks later, she had started becoming nauseous at certain smells and vomiting. Hanzo was worried that it was a side effect of her being stuck on land for too long, thinking that she might need to return to the ocean or she’ll die. Turns out, it was morning sickness.

Hanzo was elated at the news, and so was she. They were going to start a family! He brought her into town to shop for baby clothes and furniture, never once leaving her side. James and Aoife were curious about his new wife, having never seen her before in their small tight knit community.

“Where are you from, dear?” Aoife asked innocently

“She’s a selkie, darlin’, I already told ya!”

“Hush, dad!”

James pulls Hanzo to the side while Aoife helped his wife pick out some baby clothes.

“So, it worked, did it?! I knew it! The stories couldn’t’ve all been shite! How’d you do it? How’s life been for her on the surface? She doing alright?”

“James, although we are friends, I would appreciate it if you did not ask such outlandish questions about my new wife. They were only stories, old friend, nothing more.”

Hanzo felt bad for dismissing his old friend, especially since he was right; and James was noticeably hurt by this.

“Alright. Y’know…”

His once jovial expression suddenly grew dark and a grave seriousness was brought out in his tone.

“I’m not mad, boy. My wife Fiona may be gone, but I know a selkie when I see one! Their home is the sea, you know; an’ bless you for living close by, but it’s not the same to them. Once I gave my wife back her coat, she was gone for seven years! But in life, my Fiona was happy and she could come and go to the sea as she chose. It wasn’t until our Aoife was in primary school that she saw her for the first time and decided to stay. You can’t keep her from her home like that without at least giving her a choice! I saw the red marks on her arms… If a selkie’s coat is harmed, they can feel it. Don’t tell me you tried to burn her coat, lad?!”

Hanzo didn’t like being confronted, and he could kill the old man right then and there if they weren’t out in public. The fact that this man knew more than he let on brought out old impulses in Hanzo of wanting to tie up loose ends and how he would do away with a ‘problem’ like this in his old life. But he was a new man now, a good one; and he didn’t want to risk losing the happy life that he was about to have with his wife and child. He only snapped out of his incensed rage when his wife walked over to them.

“Hanzo?”

He almost jolted when she touched his arm.

“Yes? What is it, love?”

“Aoife and I are done shopping. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, beloved; I’m fine.”, he reassured her as he kissed her forehead.

He put his arm around her shoulder and the two started walking to their car. When his wife was out of earshot, he quickly walked over to James while Aoife was talking on the phone to her husband. Hanzo leaned forward then shot a look at James with his eyes full of hatred, and gave him a warning:

“Don’t ever talk to me or my wife again.”

Soon enough, Hanzo and his wife had set up a makeshift nursery in their tiny home, filled with clothes, toys, a changing station, and a canopy crib surrounded by a painted mural of the ocean.

There was a hurricane on the night she went into labor. The contractions had started and she clutched onto her stomach. Because of the weather, it was impossible to bring her to the hospital or call a doctor. While Hanzo ran upstairs to get medicine and the bed ready for an impromptu at-home birth, she slowly staggered out of their home and into the storm.

“I’m sorry”

He ran after her. They got separated when a tree was struck by lightning and fell over, blocking his path. Once he found another way around, he frantically searched the woods and shore until her cries gave way to the sound of the howling wind and roaring thunder. He kept trying to call out to her until his throat was raw and he could no longer make out her footprints in the sand. And in his grief he fell to his knees; the howl he let out was not human.

When the storm cleared the next morning, his exhausted and disheveled body remained in place, too despondent from the night before. His gaze was downcast and empty, staring off into the horizon but focusing on nothing in particular. There was a sound of something lumbering towards him, but he paid it no mind. Then he felt a tug as a bull seal bit down and pulled at him on his pant leg. Once the seal got his attention it started moving its body like an excited dog towards inland, down to where the sea joins with the river. He stood up and decided to follow the creature as it dove back into the water and occasionally lifted its head to turn and make sure he was still following behind.

The seal led him to a grotto a few hundred feet from where he last saw her footprints wash away on the edge of the river. He crept into the small cave and there, laying on her side at the edge of the water, was his wife. Her hair clung to the shape of her form, the dark color giving off the impression of her coat and a small pool of blood gathered at her lower half that trailed down into the water. Her skin was sickly white and pale, and to his relief he saw that she was alive, but barely- her body shivering weakly from the cold.

He rushed over to her side and held her close, kissing her forehead and rocking her back and forth.

“I’m sorry… she needed… the water…”

“Shh shh shh it’s alright, I’m here…”

She turned around to face him and in her arms was their newborn daughter- contentedly nursing at her breast while wrapped up in her own little white fur coat.

[angelofdirewolves]

Underneath the Stars Part 5

Rating: M

Word Count: 1829

Art by @sagelynaive

After everything that had happened, Keith is surprised he’s still functioning when they finally make it to the planet that the BLIP scanner had led them to five days after they had found Shiro and Jenny. 

The planet they’re orbiting is brown and dead. Not the same brown as the planet that they had found Shiro and Jenny on, but brown as if everything had been sucked out of it. The Castle’s scans tell them that ten thousand years ago the planet had been thriving and peaceful, with life, but nothing sentient as the Alteans had been able to determine.

The dead planet has Aoife on it. Has Aoife on it amidst a swarm of ghosts killed by her ancestors. By their ancestors. 

Keith suspects that the Komar had something to do with this destruction. It has wreaked havoc on Voltron. A weapon powerful enough to halt Voltron could certainly kill a planet. 

He pulls back out of his thoughts when Shiro begins to talk to all of them, save Coran who’ll be remaining on the Castle, where they stand in the Blue Lion’s Hanger for Lance to ferry them down to the surface. And back up, plus one more. Shiro’s voice is the solid mission briefing voice that is bone familiar to Keith after months of fighting Zarkon.

“Alright. We all know the plan. We’re going to go down there to where Aoife is, and we’re going to have Jenny try and bring her in. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have Keith try and convince her. If that doesn’t work, we’re going to have to try and bring her in by force. The one thing we need to worry about is if she finishes the ‘casting names off’ portion of the ritual, because we can’t reverse the ritual after that.” 

Shiro pulls Keith aside as the others load into the lion. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look kind of pale.”

“Not alright. Panicking. Terrified. Anxious. Not fine, but there’s not anything you can do that’ll fix it in time for us to get Aoife.” Keith is maybe more honest than he needs to be, but the nerves have gotten rid of his brain-to-mouth filter and he has to rein himself in to keep from babbling out more of his fears and nerves to Shiro. 

Shiro claps him on the shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze and directs him to the ramp of the lion. 

They can hear her singing the ritual as soon as they enter the atmosphere, and Keith almost relaxes as he recognizes her voice in the high pitched wailing. 

Almost.

The first words out of Aoife’s mouth when Keith and the others left the lion were directed at Jenny. 

“Get out of here,” she says, her face empty and voice blank. “Leave. Turn around and leave this planet.” Her hands were curled, and yellow and purple lights mixed in the palms of her hands, streaking out to form a dome surrounding her, as transparent as any particle barrier, but solid, not marked by the shapes of Galran and Altean particle barriers. Keith figured it had to be pure quintessence, somewhere between its natural state and the condensed version that the Druids created to power Galran ships. 

He didn’t have to look at Jenny to know that her face was twisted. 

Jenny called out back to Aoife, as Keith and the others moved to surround the dome where Aoife was working the ritual. “I’m not leaving without you Mama. I’m not going to let you do this to yourself.” Her voice was very carefully even, and Keith knew, just knew, that if Aoife didn’t acquiesce now, that Jenny was going to start crying very soon. 

Every single instinct in him was saying that he should listen to Aoife and leave. 

The first twelve years of his life had involved obeying her without question, because questioning her would get them all killed on a bad day, and because he loved her and trusted her on the good ones. But he’d been alone for five years at this point, and he could ignore those instincts, a little. 

It helped that there were other instincts, the protective pseudo big brother instincts that said the woman in that circle was making Jenny sad. That said she had to be stopped because Jenny shouldn’t be sad because Jenny was family and had to be protected because he was made to protect and shield the family, even from itself.

Aoife stepped away from the center of the dome, pacing two steps closer to her daughter, to Keith who was standing closest to Jana of all the paladins. “You are leaving without me, you deserve to live. I don’t. Go, and take them with you.” She gestured to the people surrounding the dome. “Take them and leave so I can finish this.” Aoife turned away from her daughter, and moved back to the center.  

“Fat chance,” Keith heard Lance mutter through the comms. Shiro shushed him. “Let Jenny try again,” came from the black paladin. “Then we’ll see if Keith can do anything. Hopefully it won’t come down to violence, but that might be the only way to stop her. Allura, can you feel anything from the barrier?” Keith stopped listening as Allura started speaking to the other paladins, and as Jenny spoke up again.

“You don’t deserve to live huh?” Her voice hitched. “I deserve to live? Why’d you throw me away then? Aren’t I worth living for? Aren’t I worth loving if you think I deserve to live?” Her voice turned bitter and mocking on the last phrase as Jana stepped forward, until she almost touched the barrier between her and Aoife. “You are worth loving, and you are worth dying for. That’s why I’m doing this, to keep you safe from them.”

“But I don’t want you to die. I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not leaving you because I want to. I’m doing this because I have to. There is no other way to stop them, and they have to be stopped.”

“There’s always another way! There’s always a different way, it’s never just one choice or another, never just left or right, there always is another way! The only people who think in absolutes are them! We can beat them another way, but we need you to do it.” Jenny pounds her hand on the barrier between them, and it shivers under her hand but does not break.

“No.” Aoife turns so that she is no longer facing her daughter, and her voice lifts once more, the old tongue singing from her lips. Keith can understand it, barely, Aoife’s lessons paying off almost a decade later. The song says something akin to, “I was Ancalagon, I was daughter, I was mother. I am Aoife, I am Angalthakka. I will be nothing save a vessel for your judgement upon Haggar and Lotor.” 

Upon hearing that she’s over halfway through the part where they can actually stop her, Keith knows he has to act. He tears his helmet off and tosses it to the ground, pleading “Aoife.

Mama. 

Please.” 

The new voice and the three pleas from it is enough that Aoife turns her head.

The second she sees him, Keith knows that she recognizes him, just as Jenny had done that day in the hanger. Her face goes slack, mouth dropping open and eyes widening. If Aoife had inherited pupils from her parents or from the DNA spliced into her veins, they would have gone impossibly wide. After the moment of initial shock, her mouth snaps shut and he can see the blood suffusing her face, turning her skin a deeper shade of purple before she speaks again. 

“Lies. Liar. How dare you use his face. He’s dead. Let him rest. Dismiss the illusion, now.” Her voice deepens into a snarl, like the one he’d heard a thousand times in his life when there were people threatening them.

“It’s me, Aoife. It’s me, Keith, Amanda’s son, your baby brother. It’s me, it’s not an illusion, it’s not a trick, it’s me. I’m alive. I missed you.”

“It’s just another trick. He’s been dead for five years. Dismiss the illusion or I’ll. I’ll…” Her voice breaks and she turns away again and the chanting in old Galran begins again. If she finishes this section, Keith doesn’t want to think about what will happen to her and to them. He calls out again, desperately trying to catch her attention again, to convince her the way Jenny had been convinced.

“I’m not an illusion. Would an illusion know about Illyria, would an illusion know your favorite song in the star cycle? Would an illusion look so much like mother? Would an illusion call you Mama? I don’t think it would. It’s me Mama. It’s me Aoife. I’m home.”

“It’s him Mama. Keith’s back, my little uncle’s back, your brother is back. Don’t leave us again.”

Aoife ignores both her brother and her daughter, and her voice raises, trying to drown them out.

“Well, that’s just typical. Don’t look at us, don’t listen to us, just leave us alone to deal with the rest of our family ourselves. You’ve always been leaving us Mama. Don’t leave and not leave a way to come back. Please don’t leave us like Grandmother left you.”

At Jenny’s insult of Amanda, Aoife’s voice cracks as she finished casting off Angalthakka. She turns again, and her teeth are bared like an animals’, looking almost feral as she steps away from the center of the circle, moving towards the barrier where Jana is standing. “Don’t you dare.” Her attention wavers, and the barrier falters just for a second. It’s all that Allura needs.

For all that the Princess didn’t seriously start manipulating quintessence until recently, her speed is unparalleled, tearing the barrier between the Paladins and Aoife down. Pidge throws out her bayard, Taser causing the exhausted woman to collapse onto the dead ground.

Jenny and Keith both run forward and collapse onto Aoife. Keith ends up clutching at her arm while Jana weeps into the neck of her shirt. Keith can’t think about anything except the physical presence beneath and next to him, and the soft chanting of “Mama” falling from Jana’s lips. 

The same word is coming from him, occasionally calling out Aoife as well, before going back to Mama. All that he can think is that if he stops speaking to her, she’s going to disappear, going to fade into nothing, that this is all going to be a dream and he’s going to wake up alone in the Castle. 

It takes almost an hour for Jenny and Keith to stop clutching at Aoife and to carry her, with Hunk’s help, to the Blue Lion, so that they can bring her to a cryo-pod and heal her so that they get their mother back. For the first time in five years, their family is whole.

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[untxld-stxries]

Aoife barely noticed the shadow at first. Until she looked again, realizing it wasn't anything of the land of the living. Which could only mean one other person. She smiled, floating over and chuckling softly when she saw him solidify.

"What's 'ugh'?" she asked, sitting on air and crossing her legs.

Open Starter: Nonexistent

He’s lying across a table. Not that anyone would initially notice given he wasn’t… solid.

Or entirely human-looking.

The ghostly shadow of a teenage boy has one arm under his head as he looks up at the ceiling, just quietly laying on the table for a long minute, not really trying too terribly hard to exist at the moment.

But a moment like this can’t last, so in a minute he sits up and abruptly shifts back to his solid, human form. “Ugh.”

[alchemisland]

Capall Cogadh

Saw the War Horse last night in the Bord Gais. Absolutely amazing and well worth seeing the spectacle for yourself if it's passing. Guaranteed you'll be weeping up and down the salient.

The woman sitting beside me, so great was her equine anxiety each time danger reared its destrier-destroying head and the horse, which by the end you will care for like the genuine flesh and blood article, faced the mildest peril she would blind herself with a raised forearm or tunnel down into her blouse. Very moving stuff.

Stood out on a little jetty type situation for a smoke beforehand and watched the smokestacks cut then merge into the clouds and the swerving swans and shivered cursing April's false promise of sun. Took a picture for a culchie family out in the big shmoke for the day. Capped the evening doing Inspector Morse impressions with Aoife, prompted by an ad for the Magic Flute on the side of a bus (its a Masonic play, Lewis), while we waited for the night train (ready to crash and burn, I never learn).

Come rain or hail or wind or snow

I'm not going up to Flanders Oh!

[rollingstonemag]

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/inedits-springsteen-morello/

Des morceaux inédits de Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello et d'autres à paraître sur une nouvelle compilation

Des titres de Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt figureront sur cette collection à l’occasion du 21e anniversaire du célèbre label de musique folk Appleseed

Des reprises inédites de Bruce Springsteen, de Tom Morello et bien d’autres font partie des festivités d’une nouvelle compilation – « Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches » – marquant l’anniversaire de la fondation du fameux label de musique, prévue dans les bacs le 19 octobre prochain. Appleseed Recordings a été formé il y a 21 ans par Jim Musselman et a enchaîné les publications de maîtres de la folk, tels que Pete Seeger, John Wesley Harding et Buffy Sainte-Marie.

En plus de la version de « We Shall Overcome » signée Springsteen, la compil’ présente en exclusivité « If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song) » de Pete Seeger. Le guitariste de Rage Against the Machine Tom Morello se charge de « Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Dirt Cheap » d’AC/DC, tandis que Donovan reprend « Wild Mountain Thyme » de Joan Baez. John Wesley Harding, John Stewart, Jesse Winchester, Anne Hills et Tom Russell contribuent également à cet album composé de près de 57 chansons, inclus des enregistrements d’archives de Baez, Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt et Roger McGuinn avec Judy Collins.

« Cette compilation pour le 21e anniversaire d’Appleseed a été menée autour de thèmes distincts, » a déclaré Jim Musselman. « Ils correspondent aux trois objectifs que j’ai eu en formant Appleseed Recordings – fournir un exutoire pour les chansons parlant de justice sociale, qu’elles soient actuelles ou passées ; publier de nouvelles chansons écrites autour de l’expérience personnelle du l’humain des temps modernes ; et maintenir en vie des siècles de chansons traditionnelles, encore saillantes, à propos de notre pays et de notre monde. Pour apprendre à aller de l’avant, et de ne jamais oublier les leçons, ou les chansons, du passé. »

Appleseed a également partagé trois enregistrements en exclusivité de la compilation à venir.

« Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches », dans les bacs le 19 octobre 2018. Tracklist ci-dessous :

DISQUE UN – “Let the Truth Be Told”

1.     Pete Seeger – Oh Sacred World 2.     Bruce Springsteen – If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song) (exclusive new song) 3.     Tom Morello – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (exclusive new song) 4.     Tim Robbins – Well May the World Go (exclusive new song) 5.     Joan Baez – I Wish the Wars Were All Over 6.     Pete Seeger with Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Anne Hills – Bring Them Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam) 7.     Tom Russell – Across the Border (exclusive new song) 8.     Johnny Clegg – Love in the Time of Gaza 9.     John Wesley Harding (w/ Corporal Quorum) – Scared of Guns (Amended)  (exclusive new song) 10. Sweet Honey in the Rock – Second Line Blues 11. Anne Hills – Needle of Death (exclusive new song) 12. Natalie Merchant & Friends – There is No Good Reason 13. The Kennedys – Give Me Back My Country 14. Studs Terkel – Blessed Be the Nation 15. Tom Morello – This Land is Your Land 16. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome 17. Pete Seeger – Dr. King on Violence

DISQUE DEUX – “Wisdom Keepers”

1.     Jesse Winchester – Get It Right One Day (exclusive new song) 2.     Donovan – Poorman’s Sunshine 3.     Dick Gaughan – Land of the North Wind 4.     Tom Paxton & Anne Hills – Follow that Road 5.     Al Stewart – Katherine of Oregon 6.     Jonathan Edwards – Surrounded 7.     Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt – Kisses Sweeter than Wine 8.     Angel Band – Jump Back in the Ditch 9.     Eric Andersen – Gonna Go Crazy 10. Tom Rush – What I Know 11. Sweet Honey in the Rock – IDK, But I’m LOL 12. Lizzie West & the White Buffalo – Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman (Thank You) 13. Joel Rafael Band with Jackson Browne, Jimmy LaFave and Arlo Guthrie – Stepstone 14. Tom Paxton – Looking for the Moon 15. Pete Seeger and Lorre Wyatt with Emmylou Harris – Somos El Barco/We Are the Boat 16. John Stewart – There is Love (Wedding Song) (exclusive new song) 17. Jesse Winchester – Sham-a-Ling-Dong-Ding 18. Dick Gaughan – When I’m Gone

DISQUE TROIS – “Keeping the Songs Alive”

1.     John Gorka – The Water is Wide 2.     David Bromberg with Levon Helm – Bring it With You When You Come 3.     Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – Roving Gambler 4.     Tim Eriksen – Careless Love 5.     Donovan – Wild Mountain Thyme (exclusive new song) 6.     Roger McGuinn with Judy Collins – John Riley 7.     John Wesley Harding – Canadee-I-O 8.     Bernice Johnson Reagon with Kim & Reggie Harris – Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep 9.     Pete Seeger – Going Across the Mountain 10. Frank Proffitt – Tom Dooley 11. Guardabarranco – Asturias 12. Lila Downs – El Quinto Regimiento 13. Aoife Clancy – Are You Sleepin’, Maggie? 14. Alec Stone Sweet – Mrs. Poer, or, The Concerto 15. Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin – Sow ‘Em on the Mountain 16. Steve Young – Little Birdie 17. Mike Seeger and Peggy Seeger – Cindy 18. Sharon Katz & the Peace Train – Sanalwami 19. Danny Glover and Rev. Robert B. Jones, Sr. – Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning 20. Kim and Reggie Harris – Wade in the Water 21. John Stewart & Darwin’s Army – Bay of Mexico 22. Tommy Sands with Dolores Keane and Vedran Smailovic – Where Have All the Flowers Gone

[wxiling-womxn]

Valerie wasn't sure what was up with the new girl, but, just like her mother, she could sense that she wasn't human by any means. She was a type of creature she hasn't encountered before. Either way, she sounded like a good candidate for the Monster Squad. She walked up to her, her fiery red hair bouncing off her shoulders."Hi, I'm Valerie. Do you have a minute?"

Aoife looked up from her map, observing the girl, then looked around before her eyes settled back on the redhead before her. She pointed at herself. "Me? You... want to talk to me?"

@dontlxseyourfire

[caomhnighean]

I don’t know why I’m crying. / aoife

meme. accepting.

     Because she’s Aoife, and that means that she is even worse than Faith when it comes to crying. She takes the younger woman’s face in her hands with a smile — all love and fondness, as ever — and wipes at her tears with her thumbs. At least there is a good reason for them this time. At least she isn’t weeping for her father’s actions, nor the loneliness she feels when separated from her girl. 

     There is finally something going right for Aoife, since Faith alerted her parents to her father’s cruelty. She thinks that she would cry too, in her shoes. She might still cry now.

     ‘ Because you’re soft, ’ she laughs, so very lightly. ‘ And you’ve finally some hope to cling to. ’ She pauses only to press a kiss to Aoife’s forehead. ‘ A month or two at most. Then you will have your Flora back in your arms, I’m certain. ’Tis a worthy thing to weep for, my friend, I canna say I blame you. Hey? It’s going to be alright. ’