#gale would only be changed as a last resort as well

[eruscreaminginthedistance]

Tbh knowing that we can respec companions is a huge relief to me; I've been tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to fit everyone I want into my party for RP without screwing up the composition

[sorcerous-caress]

I would like to request Karlach and Shadowheart (maybe Jaheria) with a Tav who loves praise and compliments but they always get incredibly shy and embarrassed whenever they are praised or complimented if that’s cool

Praising a shy Tav

[Fluff, nb!reader ]

[Karlach, Shadowheart, Jaheira ]

Karlach

It's a guilty pleasure of hers that she absolutely adores seeing you flustered whenever she compliments you. Acting as if she doesn't notice the way you look away or try to change the subject when she loudly announces how badass you were in the last fight, or how pretty your armour looks on you.

Strong, smart, and humble? You're really the whole deal, huh soldier. She'd say teasingly.

Also she isn't blind, she notices the light in your eyes whenever she compliments you. The way you always look at her whenever you achieve something remarkable as if you're anticipating her praise before turning away in shyness when it comes pouring in.

Her heart can't take it, literally, she had her engine heat up multiple times because you were just so damn cute. Gale had to resort to an emergency casting of ice storm to cool her off.

She didn't learn her lesson after, the second she could speak again she immediately went to fluster you even more.

Shadowheart

Few ever who lived to tell the tale of being complimented by Shadowheart. Her praise is never earned easily.

And yet, even at your first meeting with her after the ship crash, she couldn't help but thank you and compliment you for saving her life.

You're an anomaly, she herself can't understand why she is so enamoured with you. Why praises in your name seem to slip so easily from her lips as if it was her second nature to point out your well doings.

Maybe it's the face you make after she whispers a praise in your ear, staring at her with wide eyes like a deer in headlight.

Or maybe it's how you seek her out after every battle, like a puppy looking for treats while attempting to be subtle.

She'll indulge you, even if you won't ever admit what you want put loud. After all, how can she not spoil her favourite hero?

Jaheira

Unlike what her children claim, she is more than capable of praise and giving compliments.

It's just that...well, she was never good at them. It was usually Khalid who gave the compliments freely to people like candy, so she never had to deal with the situation herself.

She tries her best, even when her compliments sound like something a football coach would tell to their team. Even when most people don't appreciate her or her seemingly plain compliments.

Yet, cub, you've always seemed to reveal in her praise. No matter how many layers of harshness and bluntness it was coated in, you'd still accept it and have the nerve to look embarrassed from how happy you are by it.

It's more than a surprise to her when you don't only seek more of her praise, but do so while acting as if her words made you redder than a tomato.

In a way, your reactions encourage her to put more effort into her vague compliments to be more honest, sincere, and touching.

[bloodlessfaerun]

Last Light In

Chapter Two: Fools Rush In

You woke Gale up just before day break, knowing the sunlight through the windows would end you if you stayed.

“Gale…,” you whispered as you gently shook him awake. “The sun is almost out. I have to leave.”

He nearly jumped out of the bed with excitement.

“Oh! That reminds me!” He swiftly went through each of his pockets, searching for something. “I have something for you,” he said as he finally found the object of his hunt. “I found the Ring of the Sun-Walker. I want you to have it.”

He motioned for you to reach out your hand, and he placed the ring on your finger with a bright smile. “For you, my friend.”

You can’t help but smile at Gale, as he can’t help but consistently remind you that he would do anything for you. You kissed him on the cheek and thanked him, as this completely changed things for you, for the better. You have missed the sunlight, more than anyone but Astarion could know.

“Congratulations, darling. I would love to see you in the sunlight again.”

“You are the one who took it away from me.”

Silence again. Was he toying with you? What did he want from you? You didn’t dare push the subject with him.

Thankfully, Gale broke into the invisible conversation before it could progress.

“So, what do you wish to do now?”

“Well that depends, Gale. Why are you in the city? surely you have otherworldly wizard business to attend to before worrying about my wishes.”

He shook his head at you. “Nothing could be of higher importance to me than your life and it seems like that’s currently in peril. I say we deal with Astarion before we deal with..other magical workings.”

The two of you exchanged smiles before you said “I think I would like to confront him. And I think I don’t want to be alone when I do.”

“I think that can easily be arranged.”

“We could reunite with our former companions? make an event out of it?”

“Sounds like an excellent idea. Lead on.”

With that, you both began writing letters to your friends to see if they’d be able to meet with you in Baldur’s Gate. Wyll would be easy enough, as he was already attending to his duties in the city, but Shadowheart and Lae’zel would be a different matter entirely. You knew Karlach returned to Avernus, but you were unsure of the logistics behind sending a letter to the hells.

If only Raphael were here to advise, you thought.

“Oh darling, he wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

Having not meaning to conjure him, you found yourself startled by his honey-soaked voice.

“Get out, Astarion. please.”

“My love, even if I wanted to, I can't. You know this. Besides, I wouldn't want to miss out on this riveting commentary by our Gale of Waterdeep.”

You took note of Gale mumbling to himself as he composed his letters.

“You know he can’t help that,” you think as your lips upturn into a small grin.

“I know he can try,” he quips, and you can hear the smile in his voice.

That, you think. That was the smallest glimpse of your Astarion. Maybe there’s hope in bringing him back after all.

———

The letters were sent and you found yourself sitting across the table from Gale, twirling your fingers over the rim of your drink while he raved about a new book of spells he had recently found in his collections in his home in Waterdeep. Under normal circumstances, his ranting would be one of the more endearing parts about him, but you found yourself unable to concentrate as he continued on and on.

“Gale, my love, I have a question for you,” you said, careful not to interrupt him after nodding your way through his end of the conversation.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I was wondering if maybe we could use your home in Waterdeep as a meeting place, rather than…,” your voice faltered, embarrassed that you were essentially homeless and had resorted to staying with Gale in his rented room. Astarion was surprisingly quiet about this decision.

“Hmm,” he started. your brows creased with worry at his hesitation. “Honestly, I don't see why not,” he said after a second. “I would be a tad embarrassed by the state of the place, but it would be suitable to host you and our friends nonetheless,” he said with a grin. You reached across the table and squeezed his hand tenderly.

“We go when we receive word from our friends?” you asked, your lips slightly curved upwards in the smallest of smiles.

“We leave as soon as we hear word from them,” he confirms, placing his hand over yours, still grinning.

You stay at your table in the tavern to finish your drinks, sharing stories and moments of much-needed companionship. Many laughs and small touches were exchanged throughout the night until you both found yourselves properly tipsy and ready to call it a night.

As you walked back to the room with him in near silence, using each other to hold yourselves upright, Gale turns his head to plant a delicate kiss on your cheek.

“What was that for?” you ask with a giggle.

“I just love you dearly,” he returns with a hearty laugh.

“I love you too, Gale,” you say, half-shoving his arm playfully.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, and you can’t help but smile to yourself as you appreciate being in such wonderful company. Upon returning to the room, you exhaustedly plopped yourself onto the unmade bed and pulled the blankets over yourself. The warmth enticed you to close your eyes almost immediately. You felt the weight of Gale clumsily hit the bed, and he rolled to wrap his arms around your frame. He gently planted another kiss on your cheek and you wiggled back to meet his embrace entirely.

“Goodnight,” he whispered into your ear sweetly. You were asleep before you could return the sentiment. And Astarion still said nothing.

———

TBC

[nattosushi]

Baldur's Gate 3 Original character: Isela Kiraed

Basic background

Name: Isela Octavia Kiraed (her middle name is an obvious reference to the default name of Tav)

Race: Human

Age: 24

Profession: bard

Religious affiliation: Oghma

Additional notes

Right now, I feel that I don't have enough information about her as to determine an alignment. As I am interested in the possibility of pairing her with Gortash, she would probably be a neutral alignment, since I don't see her as being an evil character.

Obviously, I haven't played Baldur's Gate 3 yet, so I don't have a very good grasp of her character and her reaction in regard to the events of the story. Unlike the previous OCs, Isela is more of a rough concept.

The unusual spelling is actually not my attempt of making her name a bit more unique. I wanted to call her Isla, but I actually have a friend whose daughter is called that, so I feel a bit weird in using that exact same spelling. However, I really want to use the name so upon discovering that Isela is an alternative and obscure spelling, I decided to use it.

I have written a few Baldur's Gate 3 fan fiction and these stories totally discard the timeline by having the events of Baldur's Gate 3 only about two decades after the second game. However, I had the idea for a story where Tav meets Dahlia (this was before I borrow Lumina from Dark Urge Diaries) and so I needed to create a Tav that exists in the correct time line. Since I had the crazy idea of having my BG2 OCs being related from IWD2 OCs, I thought I could try and do the same. The result is that Isela is a few generations related to Elena and Dahlia.

Relationship with the Kiraed family

Isela's paternal grandfather's paternal grandmother (4 generations ago- not including Isela) is actually the cousin of Dahlia and Elena's maternal grandfather, as her father (5 generations ago) and his father are siblings, which her father being the younger son.

The said grandmother actually married a noble and the family was fairly well off as middle class merchants. However, Isela's grandfather would be interested in the family ancestry and discovered that he is actually now the one that is the heir to the family name (which long lost any meaning). As a result, he would change their last name to Kiraed.

Biography

Isela grew up rather comfortably off, with both her father and grandfather being fairly successful merchants. While her brother decided to enter the family business, she would decide to follow her dreams of being a bard. Despite the rest of the family being in Athkatla, she would travel to Baldur's Gate, where she would find some success by performing in taverns, as well as the occasional odd jobs now and then.

Isela would play the harp and have some skill in archery, which she usually rely on. She does have some very basic skill with swords wielding, but it is only a last resort. The reason for her instrument is because I like the AI images of her playing the harp so much more then the lute. And since it has to be a portable instrument, that is why it is a small harp. As for her being able to have some weaponry skills, given that she is a young woman travelling and living alone, she would definitely need some sort of protection.

Possible pairings

If I actually am choosing for myself, then I would choose Gale. However, I find Gale to be a surprisingly difficult character to write due to the way he speaks, and I also think it would be more fun to write about a more surprising pair (or it is just because I really like Gortash after Raphael, who is already appearing with Dahlia in my Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 multi-chapters). I don't know why but I want to work with the idea of a normal Tav and Gortash. It would be a bit like my pairing of Dahlia and Raphael. The other is a special exception for the evil character, and the exception need to realise and understand this.

I am also of the group that believe Gortash has a very intimate relationship with the Dark Urge, so this would be something that has to be addressed. It goes beyond the normal boyfriend still thinking about his ex due to the nature of the Dark Urge. It will almost be a sense of feeling that you would always end up being seen as not good enough.

The illustration

Isela is meant to have red hair like her ancestors, and as I said, she actually ended up playing a harp because the AI image generated for lyres were much nicer. I ended up including two images of her, because I feel it is almost a sense of before and after. The watercolour sketch is her preparing for her actual performance, which is then the digital art image. I think another reason that I felt so is because the dresses actually seem rather similar.

[timeforelfnonsense]

Lost and Found

Astarion x Dafni 

Rating: T

Hurt/Comfort

TW for depression mention 

Ao3

I’ve been working on this bad boy for a month and it’s done at last!

 An important note: There is some reference to the Lolth Sworn drow in this and I feel the need to clear the air and state that I have some issues with the way WotC characterizes the drow as inherently evil. My house rules are that none of the races are inherently evil because the broad strokes in the source material as problematic af. So while the followers of Lolth might be evil I want to make it clear that doesn't equal all drow are bad. Dafni holds all varieties of elves in tender regard. As an eladrin of the fey wilds and a follower of Corellon she understands that fluid and changing nature of all living things. Life is messy and people do not fit into boxes, very few folks are all bad or all god. Not every elf worships the Seldarine and that’s ok. A fundamental part of Corellon is freedom and choice therefore it would be foolish to insist her path is the only right one. Her issue is with Lolth not the drow as a whole.

The Underdark was a horrid and forsaken place. A shudder ran down Dafni’s spine as she rubbed away the gooseflesh cropping up across her arms. Lolth’s influence hung heavy in the stale air. She would have to step lightly. A cleric of Corellon would be a great prize to the followers of the Spider Queen. She missed the warm sun on her face, the feeling of grass beneath her bare feet. She could feel herself wilting under the oppressive darkness that surrounded them.

Anxiety was a strange and forging feeling. The majority of her 160 years had been spent embodying the playful delight of spring. Perhaps it was on account of her relative youth. Or, maybe it was the influence of Corellon Larethian, whose wild and wonderful influence she had felt all her life. He had looked out for her. Cared for her as a father would his child. Truly, Corellon felt as much a parent to her as her mother, Thesmia did. A meek half-smile tugged at the corner of her lips. He had given her a reason to leave home when the wanderlust became far too much for her to contain. If she was to flourish as both an elf and a divine servant, Dafni would need to truly know herself beyond being Thesmia’s shadow. Absentmindedly her fingers reached for the familiar crescent moon that hung from her neck.

Her feet skidded to a halt, her trembling hand pulled away empty. Her blood turned to ice. An agonizing dagger of guilt pierced her heart and she felt as though the ground beneath her would open up and swallow her whole. Part of her wished that it would. She had carried the holy symbol since she was a young girl. Though she knew in her soul it had been her’s even before that. It had served as her connection not just to her god, but her heritage and primal spirit- The very essence of her being. 

“I lost it.” Her voice was less than a whisper, stunned and distant. Tears began to well up in her eyes. The world around her was growing colder by the second. “My amulet is gone.” Her breath began to come out in heaves and she began to sob in earnest. “It- It must have gotten lost when the minotaur tossed me!” 

 Her sharp cry stopped her traveling companions in their tracks. Each of their faces dressed in varying degrees of confusion and concern. Gale began to speak but his words were drowned out but the low ringing in her ears. A dizzy, sickening feeling bloomed in her gut and the edges of her vision began to blur as the darkness she had so feared gripped her soul.

They had doubled back to the old Selûnite fort. The others were still there setting up a temporary camp. Shadowheart hadn’t been able to find anything physically wrong with her aside from the normal bumps and scrapes that were to be expected on an active adventurer. 

Astarion felt truly helpless for the first time since he’d escaped Cazador’s clutches. It had been an hour and Dafni had yet to wake. He clasped her hand in his. A soft blue had slowly been spreading over her sage-green skin, creeping its way from the tips of her fingers to the crown of her head. Her locks were shifting at the root from rosy pink to a frosty teal. The flowers that wove through her loose ponytail had all weathered into dust. 

He squeezed her hand, “Come on Daffodil…”

Gale had been fairly positive that this was, to some extent normal for the eladrin of the Feywilds. Something about a book he’d read by some notable wizard? Truth be told Astarion hadn’t been paying much attention. He was too busy staring down Lae’zel, who’s paranoia filled gaze had been locked on Dafni’s sleeping form from the moment they’d returned. 

He should have been annoyed at her. The loss of some silly costume jewelry had caused her to swoon like a high born lady. He knew she was made of stronger stuff than that. Her little spell had put them all behind and left them without a healer the whole trek back to the fort. Yet, try as he might Astarion couldn’t seem to conjure up the ire he held for those too weak to survive hardship on their own.

 He groaned, letting his head hit the wall behind him with a soft thunk. There it was again- That damn sentimentality! By the Hells, he was a vampire, not a nursemaid! What had gotten into him? 

“You should rest.” Wyll placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll keep an eye on her for a bit.” 

His eyes went narrow, a low growl rumbling in his chest. The idea of leaving her while she was vulnerable made his blood boil. 

I’ll watch your back and you watch mine…

Her promise echoed through his thoughts. Dafni had held her end of the bargain with unwavering resolve. If he left now it would feel too much like betraying the one person he’d allowed even a fragment of trust in the past two centuries.

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t an appropriate reaction.” He muttered while he whisked away an icy tear from her cheek. “I’m just a bit... Out of sorts.” 

Wyll nodded, taking a seat on the dusty floor beside him, “Hey, she’s tough. She’ll pull through, whatever this is.” The warlock gave him an almost smug look, “You really care for her don’t you?” 

“I hardly see how that’s any of your concern.” He sneered with a wave of his hand, “Besides, my concern is simply a matter of pragmatism. Our little band of misfits can’t afford to lose our best healer-” Astarion hesitated for a moment before adding, “Don’t tell Shadowheart I said that. We need not add my body to the pile- Should things go poorly.” 

“If I promise not to sell you out will you take a break?” 

For the first time since she had fainted, he noticed the scratchy dryness in his throat. Astarion scowled, there was little in the way of appetizing food that he had seen but he would just have to make due. He was loathed to leave her side but Wyll was a good man, a better one than him in truth. He would keep her safe. 

“What’s this? The legendary Blade of the Frontiers, stooping to common blackmail.” He tried to keep his tone flat but he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips, “Fine, I’ll take a break. I’m a bit parched anyway. I suppose I’ll try to track something palatable down here. Unless…”

 He arched an eyebrow towards Wyll who moved away with an overstated scoot. 

“Not a chance, now go!” 

Cold. 

A crushing, all-consuming chill wrapped its arms around her spirit. Spring had left her. Now she stood alone in the isolating melancholy of winter. She reached out for the familiar warmth of The Protector but here- In this cursed place his influence felt far and foreign. If only she had her holy amulet. It could have served as a compass leading her back to Corellon’s embrace. She would simply have to press on. She had put them behind already and there was no time for sentiment. She wouldn’t be able to cast spells until she found a replacement and the chances of a spare symbol of her god in the Underdark were laughable. Dafni tried to sniff back the tears pricking at the edges of her eyes but it was no use. They rolled down her baby blue cheeks freezing before they could fall to the ground. She glanced up at Astarion, who walked a few paces ahead. While Gale and Wyll had spent the better part of a day coddling her, he had remained distant. 

Maybe he didn’t want her like this? Her sadness threatened to consume anyone near her and he had enough grief of his own. He had admitted once that he enjoyed having her near. Whispered in her ear that she was sunlight and happiness made flesh as he took her in a flower patch of her own creation. 

The feeling of a gentle hand pulled her from her thoughts. Gale offered her a small smile before speaking, “Are you all right?” 

“Oh-” She sniffed, whipping away another frozen tear, “I’ll be alright. I just don’t feel much like myself right now.” 

Gale nodded in response, “Yes, I can see that. Perhaps we shouldn’t have brought you here. The Underdark does seem quite at conflict with the very core of your being.”

A mournful laugh escaped her aching chest, “I don’t think we’d have had any better luck with that shadow curse above ground. No, my sorrow isn’t a good enough reason to risk the rest of the group’s safety.” She brought an icy hand to Gale's cheek, causing him to shiver, “I appreciate your concern but really I’ll be alright. We eladrin are ruled by our emotions, a shift of season was inevitable at some point or another. It’s unfortunate for the rest of you it had to be winter. Things are dire enough without my sorrowful presence bringing you all down with me. Perhaps it would be best for all of you to keep your distance.”

 She sighed, her eyes falling on Astarion, who lingered just on the edge of the bitter cold her sadness created. While it pained her to say it, she knew he was right to keep away. The others should do the same if they were wise. Gale gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. 

“He’s a funny one, Astarion.” Gale mused, “Wyll told me he had to resort to extortion to pry him from your side while you were out. Yet, today he acts as if you have the plague.”

A small snort of laughter broke past her tears, “Extortion?” 

“I believe comments were made comparing Shadowheart’s healing abilities to your own. Wyll offended his silence in exchange for Astarion taking a break.”

“That’s not fair to her.” Dafni sniffed, “She’s not a life cleric, she does her best.” 

“You have a good heart, Dafni.” Gale said giving her arm a squeeze, “My point is I think he cares about you, in his own odd way. At the very least he’s far more pleasant when you are around”

“You really think so?” 

“I do,” Gale assured, “he’d have to be the biggest fool in Faerûn not to see how wonderful you are.” 

Dafni felt a bit of warmth return to her heart. Not enough to thaw her sorrows but it was a start. Gale’s words helped her sort through the chaos of her mind as they had so many times before. He was a loyal and kind friend, as was Wyll. Shadowheart too despite her evasive and secretive nature. Even Lae’zel had warmed to her as best she was able despite their differences. There was a solace to be found in the support of her peers. She wasn’t so alone after all.

The sound of her laugh hit Astartion like a battering ram. She seemed to be in slightly better spirits since arriving in the Myconid Circle. She floated about the fungus folk with an easy familiarity. It seemed being among the vibrant plants and creatures of grotto had offered her some sense of normalcy. He looked over his shoulder to see what had coaxed a giggle from her (no matter how pitiful and melancholy it sounded). A sharp twinge of jealousy ran down his spine as he watched Dafni stroke Gale’s cheek with a somber smile. 

He bit the feeling back. It was better for them both if he kept his distance. Gentle kindness was hardly his strong suit. Gods, he was a disaster. How many times had she offered him comfort even when he spurned her? She had given so freely to him, her kindness, the warmth of her bed, the very blood in her veins. And there he was relying on someone else to comfort his lover.   

 Dafni was a resilient little thing. So optimistic and sweet it made his teeth hurt. It was disorienting to see her so morose. He had learned the boundaries of her emotional aura rather quickly. He had noticed an unfamiliar warm feeling that first night at camp. He found himself lingering near her as often as he could after that. Savoring the tender happiness that radiated from off of her. She had told him it was simply part of her nature. A charming quirk he’d grown to enjoy a great deal. But now he could feel her heavy sorrow as if it were his own and he longed to make her hurt go away.  

Damn sentimentality.

He had his own worries. He didn’t need to take on hers as well. She didn’t need him to coddle her. And more importantly, he most certainly was not beholden to her contentment for his own survival despite his halfwit heart’s insistence to the contrary. She was making him soft. It was ridiculous! He was far too old to be fretting over her like a lovelorn sprat. 

It must be the tadpole. Her compassion must have wormed its way into his brain somehow. That was the only logical explanation.

He needed to clear his head and get some distance between them so he could feel more himself. He wandered aimlessly about the grotto as he attempted to show away any feelings of softhearted sympathy but it was no use. He rubbed his temples and let out a frustrated huff. He should never have taken that first taste of her. She’d become an irresistible craving from that moment on. It wasn’t just her blood, but every aspect of her that called to him. Inviting him to take refuge in her affections. He could feel himself lowering his guard a little bit more each day despite his efforts to keep her at arm's length. She’d flash him that beguiling little grin, her topaz eyes brimming over with admiration and he would find himself tempted to let her just another inch closer. He’d known she was dangerous from the moment he clapped eyes on her in the wreckage of the crash. He’d prepared himself for a stake to the heart but the infatuation she had inspired in him was infinitely more frightening and possible just as deadly.

He made his way to the alcove where the Society of Brilliance had set up shop. The strange hobgoblin had mentioned something to the party about being a collector of magical items and oddities. Walking had failed to rid him of his frustrations perhaps shopping would. 

A glimmer caught his eye as he approached the cluttered stall. There, on the table was a familiar silver amulet. He was going to get it back for her and pray the gesture was enough to curb his need to see her happy. He could swipe it easily enough but he didn’t want to draw trouble to Dafni if she was spotted wearing it. No, charm and a dash of intimidation would be his best shot.

“Excuse me,” He smiled wide allowing for a slight flash of his fangs, “I was hoping you would be willing to part with that necklace.”

“A vampire interested in the acquisition of a holy symbol?” 

“Yes, it’s very ironic.” Astarion rolled his eyes. “Now, how much do you want for the damn thing?”

“Well, first time for everything.” the hobgoblin shrugged, “You have a good eye, this is very unique. It’s forged from mithral and inlaId with sylvan moonstones. The holy symbol of Corellon is more commonly depicted as an eight-pointed star these days rather than the crescent moon. Meaning this item is very old indeed! It was brought in just yesterday. I would be hesitant to sell it but my research does require more funding. How does 900 gold sound?”

“I hate to be the one to tell you but ‘very old’ is a relative term when it comes to items of elvish origin.” He kept his tone flat and unimpressed, “Long-lived people do tend to hold onto things.” 

“Ah, but you’ll find this is more than your average antique! Judging by the craftsmanship I would say it dates back to the time of the primal elves.”

Shit. 

Of course, her necklace had much more than sentimental value. He had hoped for a quick haggle but it seemed he was going to have to work for it. He really didn’t have that much coin on him, nor was he inclined to spend it on something that was not rightfully the hobgoblin’s to sell. He raffled through his mind searching for a thinly veiled threat or convincing argument to lower the price until the perfect mixture of the two dawned on him.

Astarion let out a droll hum as he checked his nails with casual disinterest. He spoke in a low, blasé voice, “You said before you weren’t much for combat? Don’t you think it’s risky, carrying around a holy item of Corellon in the den of the Spider Queen? It would be such a shame if something were to happen to you at the hands of a zealot. Really I’m doing you a favor by purchasing it. I’ve crossed swords with the Lolth sworn before they are merciless and skilled fighters almost as dangerous and bloodthirsty as vampires.”

He let a wicked bark of laughter. A bemused expression flickering across his face. He could smell the fear stirring in the timid merchant. It would seem he hadn’t lost his edge after all.  

Blurg swallowed hard before mustering a response, “ Ah- I hadn’t thought about that...”

Dafni sat cross-legged on the ramparts of the fort fletching a new batch of arrows. She’d need more to compensate for her lack of magic for the time being. She’d spent the whole trek back to their camp scanning the ground for her necklace but it had all been for not. She’d just have to accept the fact it was gone no matter how much it broke her heart. 

“There you are, darling. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

 The sound of Astarion’s voice caused her to jump, tossing her arrow down with a start. Dafni clutched her chest shooting him a sharp look. He only laughed, his infuriating gorgeous face fixed in a grin that reminded her of a satyr who stumbled upon a river of bathing nymphs. He dipped to his knees placing a hungry kiss on her scowling lips. He couldn’t be serious. All-day she had been desperate for his attention and he was completely uninterested but now that he had an itch to scratch he was searching up and down for her. Unbelievable! She shouldn't have been surprised. It wasn’t as if he’d ever promised her his undying love and devotion. Still, she had thought him tactful enough not to proposition her after the hell she’d been through that day. 

“I’m not really in the mood right now.” She scolded, “You’ll just have to entertain yourself tonight, you egotistical lecher!”

“That- Isn’t why I sought you out. But, if you truly don’t want my company I’ll leave you be.” He shrugged his tone flippant despite the flash of vulnerability in his ruby eyes.

“I- I’m sorry that was really mean and uncalled for. Please stay.”

Stupid impulsive girl.

She slumped forwards, hiding her face in her knees. She could feel the icy tears threatening to spill over for the hundredth time that day. He’d come to check on her and she’d cut him down because of her own insecurity. The bitterness had gotten the better of her and she had unwittingly discouraged his attempt at compassion. 

“If you think the accusation of being a rake is the most heinous insult that’s been hurled at me I’m afraid you’ve missed the mark by quite a lot.” 

He sat down beside her, placing a hesitant hand on her back. She could sense his uncertainty. He was nervous and clearly out of his depth but he was trying. His cautious fingertips moved slowly across the expanse of her back, tracing nebulas shapes and patterns as she drew short, shallow breaths. She couldn’t bear to look at him. She just knew he was staring at her with the same wide, gentle eyes he had when she’d offered her neck to him that night in the woods. If she saw him like that the dam would break and she’d be an utter mess. 

“I still shouldn’t have said it.” Her voice came out shaky and quiet as she peeked over the top of her knees at him. 

“I think I’ll find it in my heart to forgive you.” He leaned in close, whispering in her ear. “I have something for you. Now, stand up and close your eyes.”

She arched a questioning brow but compiled, hopping to her feet. He pushed her ponytail to one side. His touch lingered on her jumping pulse causing a shiver to run down her spine. A warm chuckle falling from his lips in response. The cool feeling of metal draped across her throat, an otherworldly comfort hummed all around her as the delicate weight of a pendant fell against her chest. 

“Where did you find it!!” Dafni gasped, “I thought I had lost it forever! You can’t fathom how much this means to me.”

“It’s a gift, to repay you for all the ones you’ve given me.”  

It probably seemed a small thing to him but he’d returned a missing piece of herself. Words felt woefully inadequate to express her gratitude. She threw her arms around his neck, sending him staggering back a bit. She hardly noticed. She stood on her tiptoes placing gentle kisses all over him. First over the bridge of his nose and then his cheeks and down his neck. Her fingers laced through his soft curls tugging him close, her lips brushed against his. Astarion’s hands fell to her soft waist, his mouth ever so slightly parting for hers. Dafni sighed, running her tongue along the warm seam of his lip earning her a satisfied purr. His hand ventured to the small of her back gently coaxing her closer. She took in a deep breath, the dizzying blend of leather and patchouli making her weak at the knee. She could have stayed like that forever, pressed safe and content against his solid chest. The feeling was big and terrifying but magical and perfect all at once. 

Drat...

She was falling in love with him.

[everlarkficexchange]

Prompt #61

Written by @endlessnightlock

Based on Prompt #61 submitted by @567inpanem

Peeta knew better but he did stupid things when he got drunk. Now he’s caged at the animal shelter in his wolf form. And, omg, Katniss Everdeen let her little sister drag her in to see the dogs? He knows he shouldn’t, but teen hormones. He just wants to lick her hand. Get a tummy rub. Hump her leg. Sleep on her bed. Omg they take him home!!! He needs to let his dad know where he is. Omg. He needs to figure out his bakery shift. “God don’t let Katniss catch me licking my balls.”

AN: This is the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic that keeps spiraling farther out of control inside my head :), so this is the first part while I figure out how far this story is going.

This chapter is rated T for some swearing, not sure where the rating will go after this chapter.

Thanks to @javistg and @xerxia31 for running the exchange again, you ladies are phenomenal!

“What’s the matter pup?” old Mags, the half-blind dog warden, crooned to Peeta as she offered her hand for him to sniff through the bars of the cage. 

  He whimpered in response, wishing his head would quit throbbing.

  Mags was a gentle soul, who years ago spearheaded the effort to open a no-kill shelter in Panem, long before the idea took off in the mainstream. 

  “You’re such a pretty boy, you know that? Now I wonder,” she studied Peeta intently, her cloudy eyes focusing on him as best they could, “are you a husky or maybe some kind of sled dog?”

  Only our half-blind dog-catcher wouldn’t recognize a wolf, Peeta thought, giving her age-spotted hands a nudge and sniff. I guess I should be thankful she hasn’t had cataract surgery yet. 

  He pulled his head back quickly from her friendly overture, his over-heightened canine senses going bonkers over what he’d found; Mags smelled like bacon grease this morning. Typically he didn’t mind that scent- who didn’t like bacon?- but this morning it made his stomach churn. That was entirely his fault though, and the blame could be laid on last night’s drunken rampage. The one that had landed him in here. He’d behaved like such an idiot…

  Shape-shifting werewolves, or wolves as they were known to their human counterparts, had inhabited the woods surrounding Panem for hundreds of years and lived amongst the people in human form for almost as long. No one thought much of seeing a wolf roam the city’s outlying fields or groups of them congregating on the edges of farmland. 

  Seeing a wolf roam the middle of town on a Friday night, however? That had gotten him busted by the law; more specifically the dog warden. None of this would’ve happened if Peeta hadn’t gotten into old man Abernathy’s moonshine with his brother earlier in the evening.

  Rye had better spring me out of here, and quick, he thought, resting his large head on his paws. The cage he was held in was too small for his human form, and that made transforming out of the question. Members of the pack could never let humans watch them shapeshift. He had to hang tight for now.

  “Are you hungry boy?” Mags asked, unlocking his door a moment later and sliding in a bowl of kibble. 

  Peeta whined, turning his face from the food. Even if he hadn’t felt as though he might get sick in here, dog food was only eaten as a last resort. 

  Yes, he’d tasted kibble and no, he didn’t like it. 

  “Maybe you got into something nasty while you were out on your own, a dead animal or something? Did it give you a tummy ache I wonder…” Peeta coughed a little, covering the gag he actually felt at the idea of rancid roadkill. Run-of-the-mill wolves might eat roadkill, but his kind would not.

  “Here’s some water for you,’ Mags told him conversationally as she slid the second dish inside the crate. 

  Peeta couldn’t help it, he yipped and put his head in the bowl, taking long, undignified slurps of the water. He typically didn’t like eating or drinking in his wolf form, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. What he wished for was some aspirin or Pepto tablets.

  She continued speaking to him in that gentle, soothing tone she reserved for the animals in her care. “Drink up. I still can’t believe I didn’t find a microchip on you somewhere. I know someone has to be missing you- so don’t worry boy, I’d wager your owner will be here soon enough.”

  The old woman pottered around the holding area, which only had Peeta in residence at the moment. “You finish that up, and we’ll move you to the big room. You don’t want to stay back here all alone, do you?”

“Come on in girls,” Mags said, unlocking the door to the corridor lining the holding rooms for the dogs and shuffling backward out of the way. The steel door Mags wrangled weighed almost as much as she did, and it was like playing hell to keep the force of it from slamming her against the wall.

  Prim bolted through the moment it opened while Katniss followed much more slowly, shaking her head at her sister’s antics.

  “Talk you into coming again?” Mags asked, patting the older teen on the back. It wasn’t really a question.

  Katniss nodded curtly and let her lips curl up in the slightest hint of a smile. “Yep,” she drawled.

  It had become the sister’s habit over the last several months, since the first weekend Katniss had her driver’s license and the keys to her mom’s rusty station wagon, to visit the local shelter on Saturday mornings and help Mags with the strays. The two girls would typically walk the dogs, help her feed the animals and clean up the pens. 

  Any time Mags tried to thank Katniss for her help, the older girl would typically mutter something about how great volunteering would look on her college application. She always shook her head at Katniss’s attitude; that girl didn’t know the first thing about taking a compliment or credit for anything, either.

  “Who do we have this morning?” Prim asked, walking down the corridor and peeking her head in at each of the dogs.

  “Oh, we’re not too full. The usual cast of suspects is here, plus one I picked up this morning. He’s kind of a big fella, un-neutered, caught snarling at some teenage boys hanging around outside of the movie theater,” Mags said. “One of the boys who reported him was that one who’s got a thing for you… what was his name?” she snapped her fingers when the name came to her recollection. “Gale Hawthorne! He’s the one.”

  Katniss shook her head and walked over to the corner where Mags kept the leashes hanging from a hook. “Does anyone need to be walked?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Katniss went out on a date with Gale last night,” Prim volunteered unexpectedly, giggling under her breath. 

  Katniss dropped the leash from her hand. 

  “Did he call while you were with him, Kat?” Prim continued.

  “No, he didn’t. And Prim,” Katniss scowled at her sister, “shut up.”

  “Really? Well, Gale is a good looking boy,” Mags volunteered, surprised but wholly oblivious to the tension hanging between the girls. She wouldn’t have pegged that Hawthorne kid as Katniss’s type. He was too big and broody, his personality too much like hers. She’d seen him running around town with a lot of different girls. “You going out with him again?”

  “I don’t think so,” Katniss volunteered softly, “we didn’t hit it off.”

  Meanwhile, Prim peered into the crate where the new dog was resting. “Hey boy,” she greeted him, her tone gentle.

  The dog was big, with silvery-blond fur and a wide stance. He had a broad frame, but his paws and head were over-large as if he were still a juvenile, and very un-doglike blue eyes stared dully back at her as he whined, giving Prim the distinct impression that he was in pain. But that wasn’t the only thing that seemed off about him. “What kind of dog is this, Mags?” she finally asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Husky or something like that, I think.”

  Katniss walked over then, coming to a stop next to her sister and peering into the pen. The big male seemed to perk up at the sight of her, before ducking his head and using his paws to cover his face. 

  “He seems embarrassed,” Prim giggled, nudging her sister. “He is a boy dog- he must think you’re pretty!”

  Katniss ignored her sister’s ribbing. “You need to get your eyes checked, Mags. That’s a wolf,” she said bluntly after she’d studied him for a moment. “At least part wolf.”

  “Katniss, hush,” Prim hissed, glaring at her sister before glancing over to see if Mags had been paying attention. 

  The older woman continued humming as she sorted through paperwork on her desk, blissfully alone in her own world.

  Prim breathed a sigh of relief. 

  So far so good.

  “Well, it is!” Katniss countered, jarring her sister back to reality.

  “What do you think is going to happen to a wolf at the dog shelter? They don’t have a way to take care of something like that here. Mags will have to call someone from the state to come in and get him if she finds out.”

  Katniss scowled at her younger sister. Leave it to Prim to be so concerned about a wild animal’s welfare. Well, half-wild at least. The dog (or whatever he was) seemed pretty tame. Maybe he had an owner somewhere. 

  Still, Katniss put up an argument. “If I know he’s a wolf, and you know he’s a wolf, don’t you think anyone else who comes in here and takes one look at him is going to figure out what he is? Mags is gonna know sooner rather than later.”

  Prim bit her lip and turned to study the dog again. He still had his face covered with one of his paws but moved the other enough to uncover a single eye. The dog’s solemn gaze moved back and forth between the girls. He seemed to be listening to their conversation very carefully. 

  “Why don’t we take him home? He isn’t safe here- someone from the game warden’s office will come to get him, and then what?”

  Katniss laughed. Her sister had to be the only twelve-year-old who knew about the inner workings of animal management in local government. “No way. We can’t take him home. That thing… whatever he is, he might eat Buttercup, and then you’d feel terrible.”

  “He seems very civilized…” Prim countered, turning to face Katniss head-on.

  “There’s a lot to think about when taking in a dog. He’d… he’d hurt you if he decided to hump your leg. Look how big he is!” Katniss sputtered out.

  Prim rolled her eyes. “Aww, he wouldn’t do that. Look at that sweet face of his!”

  The dog was staring at them with his head cocked and his jaw hanging loose. His expression was almost incredulous. 

  Katniss stared at him. He was very sweet looking. But instead of giving in to her sister’s pleading and her own softening towards him, she shook her head. “Prim, sweet or not- that dog is not coming home with us.” 

“Thanks for taking him off my hands, girls,” Mags said as she opened the back end of the station wagon to let the wolf-dog climb in. “If his owner turns up I’ll send them your way.”

  “Oh don’t worry. No problem at all. Maybe we’ll keep him!” Prim chirped, patting the dog on top of his head.

  Peeta turned his head just enough to lick her palm and gaze at her with nervous eyes.

  Once Katniss shut the hatch behind him, he laid down in the back of the station wagon, fighting the full-throttle panic that was taking over. 

  This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to be going home with a family- shit, he had a shift at the bakery in two hours. He was going to be in so much trouble when his mother found out about this. 

  This was all just abso-fuckin-loutley fantastic. 

  Peeta got up in the back end of the station wagon just long enough to turn in a circle several times before laying back down again. He was too agitated to sit still. 

  How was he supposed to get away from them and find somewhere he could change back to human form?

  And to make things a million times more awkward, you know, because this wasn’t his idea of hell on earth or already, it wasn’t just any random girl taking him home, it was Katniss- the girl of his dreams and the entire reason he’d made an ass of himself and gotten locked up last night.

  Not that any of that was her fault, no- Peeta was a big boy (wolf?) and he would take responsibility for his actions, which had been idiotic. He’d spotted Katniss walking out of Sae’s with Gale Hawthrone last night and seen red. Fucking Gale with his hands on her back, Gale leaning in and trying to kiss her. Peeta couldn’t help but feel like he was being punished somehow- like this display was happening because he was too much of a chicken shit to ask her out himself.

  Peeta had been so drunk he hadn’t realized that he’d shape-shifted before going after Gale, barking and snarling aggressively as if he were rabid. Which hadn’t been ideal- although looking back on it, if he ever did want to try talking to Katniss it was probably better that she didn’t know it had been him acting like a jackass that night. 

  And now he was in a huge mess because of that behavior. He just needed to figure out how to get out of the Everdeen’s home and back to his place before things got any worse.

Well, maybe Peeta would wait just a tad longer before sneaking home…

  He found it hard to get up and go once he’d sprawled out on the couch with his head resting on Katniss’s lap. She was using her nails to scratch the top of his head and behind his ears, something he’d just discovered was his idea of heaven in wolf form. 

  Peeta knew he’d have to be careful or he might end up humping her leg before the day was out- and there was no coming back from that brand of shame.

  “Scruffy seems happy,” Prim said, petting the smooth fur of his back. 

  “Scruffy” sighed again and closed his eyes. That’s not a very original name, Peeta thought. But then again, it’s not like I can stay with them for long, so what does it matter? She could call me Shithead if she wanted to.

  “He sure does like you, doesn’t he? I thought he was going to be my dog. Huh.” Prim continued, her tone of voice a little salty. 

  Katniss laughed, bending over Scruffy’s head and kissing the space between his ears, letting her lips linger there before laying her head on his and curling her entire body in towards him. 

  “He’s not a pillow,” Prim said.

  “I disagree,” Katniss said. The dog’s fur was soft, warm and silky, and he smelled nice, not any type of a scent one would associate with a dog. It was more like… cookies, which was unexpected but good. 

  Katniss had never really been a dog person, so it was surprising how safe and comfortable she felt with this one. Her anxiety melted away as she cuddled with him.

  “I’ve never seen you that affectionate with a person, let alone a dog,” Prim continued.

  “Maybe he can be my therapy dog,” Katniss said. “I need something after seeing Gale last night- which was terrible, by the way. And Scruffy is a very good boy, much nicer than human ones.“

  “Your date with Gale couldn’t have been that bad,” Prim chided. 

  “It was,” Katniss said. “He wouldn’t keep his hands off of me! He kept trying to touch my butt.”

  Peeta nuzzled against her gently, but he couldn’t help but rub his head against her in a territorial manner. 

  If only leaving his scent on her actually would work to keep human guys away. I knew something was wrong. That bastard. That’s okay, Katniss- I’ll be your therapy dog as long as you want me to, he thought.

  “I wouldn’t complain if his brother’s hands were all over me.” Prim giggled. “Rory is cute.”

  Katniss sat up and glared at her sister. “You are not allowed to say things like that. You’re twelve. You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “Yeah, and you’re sixteen. You should be wanting guys to hold you and kiss you,” Prim countered. “Don’t act like there’s something wrong with me when you’re the one who’s a weirdo.”

  “I’m not- Prim, I’m not a weirdo! Why would you want some guy you aren’t even interested in putting his hands all over you?” Katniss asked as she rested her head on Scruffy again. She was instantly calmer. The big furry dog made her feel like the world was shut out. Maybe they really should keep him…

  “Why wouldn’t you?” Prim teased.

  Katniss sighed. “With that attitude, you are never, ever going to be allowed to date, just so you know.”

  Can’t say I blame you for that Katniss. She’s too cute and there are too many assholes looking for nice girls to take advantage of, Peeta thought as his eyes slipped closed. He was fully aware that he needed to figure out a way to get home, but the drunken night and short amount of sleep he’d gotten had caught up with him, finally. He couldn’t fight the sleep off any longer if he tried.

  Peeta was so damn comfortable laying draped across the girl of his dreams, and Katniss was petting his head and telling him he was a good boy… not to mention she’d just validated his distrust of his arch-nemesis Gale… 

  And well- maybe he was a good boy after all…

  It was only moments later when he was snoring lightly.

[papermoonloveslucy]

VACATION TIME

April 29, 1949

“Vacation Time” (aka “Trailer Vacation to Goosegrease Lake”) is episode #41 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on April 29, 1949 on the CBS radio network.

Synopsis ~ It's vacation time, and Liz and George have decidedly different plans. He wants to go camping with a trailer he borrowed from a friend, while she's set on a glamorous vacation at Moosehead Lodge.

This episode later partly inspired the premise of “Liz Learns To Swim” aired on June 11, 1950. 

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) and Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) do not appear in this episode. 

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz (above right), a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

Frank Nelson (Policeman) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.”  On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.”  Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.  

Wally Maher (Joe Risley) was born on August 4, 1908 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was known for Mystery Street (1950), The Reformer and the Redhead (1950) and Hollywood Hotel (1937). He was heard with Lucille Ball in the Lux Radio Theatre version of “The Dark Corner” (1947), taking the role originated on film by William Bendix. He died on December 27, 1951.

Milton Stark (Filling Station Attendant) was a theatre actor and director, who also appeared on radio and television, although usually in supporting roles.  He also worked as a dialogue coach and acting teacher. At UCLA a scholarship was established in his name. He lived to the age of 103. 

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers, it is a cold rainy afternoon, but Liz is in her bedroom standing in front of the mirror wearing a back-less, strapless sun dress.” 

Liz calls Katie in to show off her sun dress, but Katie is disapproving that is so revealing.  Liz has shopped for summer vacation clothes.  Liz’s bathing suit cost’s forty dollars. 

KATIE: “That’s a lot of money for two doilies and a diaper.” 

Liz says that husbands only approve of scanty swimsuits when they are on any woman but their wives. 

LIZ: “I want to look good for George. He’s going to see a lot of me this summer.” KATIE: “He’s not the only one!”  

The topic of revealing bathing suits was later also mined for comedy on “I Love Lucy.”  In “Off To Florida” (ILL S6;E6) Ricky thinks Lucy’s new skimpy new swimsuit is for Little Ricky!  Lucy also buys a swimsuit that Ricky feels is too skimpy when shopping for their California trip in “Getting Ready” (ILL S4;E11)

Liz says they are going to Moosehead Lodge on Lake Okeechobee. Liz calls it a real swanky place.  Katie reminds Liz that George prefers more rugged vacations.  Liz says she will suggest it to George at dinner. 

Lake Okeechobee is a real place, located in central Florida, although it is far more conducive to George’s type of vacation than Liz’s, highlighting nature through fishing and nature.  

Although there are places called Moosehead Lodge in America, it unlikely that a moose would be associated with central Florida and that it would be an upscale resort of the type Liz is describing. 

At the bank, George talks to his co-worker Joe about scheduling vacations.  Joe says that his ideal vacation is in a trailer.  If George likes the idea, he will lend the Coopers his trailer.  George will suggest it to Liz at dinner. 

After dinner, both Liz and George get cozy with the idea of easing the other into going on their dream destination.  Liz ‘just happened’ to hear about a place that she vaguely remembers. 

LIZ: “I did hear of some place called Moosehead Lodge. It’s probably situated in groves of stately pines, on the shores of an emerald green lake, its rustic beauty enhanced by lawns and flower beds. Each luxurious room is furnished with clean, comfortable box spring beds, modern bathroom and shower. Ten dollars a day, American plan. Oh, George, let’s go there. We can relax and enjoy a continual round of  glorious entertainment, sports, good food, and true fellowship, see your travel agent for details.”

George realizes that Liz has been plotting a vacation.  George says he has a better idea - two weeks in a trailer.  Liz is less than keen. George says that they can borrow Joe Risley’s trailer!

LIZ: “Keen with mud on it.”

Liz is worried that nobody will see her new vacation wardrobe if they are cooped up in a trailer.  They are at an impasse.  Liz suggests they go on separate vacations.  When George reluctantly agrees, she breaks down in tears.  

Liz moans to Katie that she already misses George, and the vacation doesn’t begin for two months.  George phones from work to talk to Liz.  George offers a compromise.  They will take a trial weekend trip in the trailer, and if she doesn’t like it, he will go to Moosehead Lodge!

Vacationing in a trailer was explored by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in their 1953 comedy MGM’s The Long Long Trailer.  The film mines a lot of physical comedy from the trailer’s unwieldy movement and how Lucy’s character Tacy Bolton copes with it. 

ANNOUNCER: “George is just driving up with the trailer hooked up to the back of the car.”

Liz remarks how small the trailer is.  

GEORGE: “Keep an open mind.” LIZ: “I’ll have to close it or it won’t fit in that trailer.” 

They tour the inside, which is smaller than Liz thought.  Just then, a knock at the trailer door and there’s a policeman (Frank Nelson) issuing them a parking ticket! Forty bucks for parking illegally!

The next morning George and Liz get an early start on their trial trailer trip.  Liz has brought along a little light reading for the trip: “Inside Moosehead Lodge” by Liz Gunther. 

Motoring along the highway, George is enjoying the drive. 

LIZ: “Travel is great. I wouldn’t go anywhere without it.”

George says it is so smooth, you wouldn’t even know the trailer is back there.  Liz notices that it isn’t!  George forgot to hook it on!   Finally, they are off (again) to Goosegrease Lake. Liz reads one of those sequential signs along the roadside: “If Your Whiskers...  Won’t Behave... Take a Tip Use....”  Liz goes silent. 

GEORGE: “Use what?”  LIZ: “The last sign’s torn down. Now we’ll never know.” 

Almost everyone in the audience knew it was Burma-Shave.  From 1926 until 1963 the ‘brushless’ shaving cream company dotted the American highways with small red signs, each containing a line of a short rhyme that the driver could read without slowing down as they drove by.  At one time, there were over 600 different rhymes on signs!  

The idea was given a nod on a 1955 “I Love Lucy” episode “First Stop” (ILL S4;E14) with the roadside signs for Aunt Polly’s Pecan Pralines. 

LUCY: Fifty miles to Aunt Sally’s Pecan Pralines. later... LUCY: 300 yards to Aunt Sally’s! ETHEL: 200 yards! FRED: 100 yards! RICKY: Just around the bend! LUCY: You have just passed Aunt Sally’s. 

Liz is quite sure that George’s shortcut has gotten them lost. They stop to ask directions from a laid back filling station attendant (Milton Stark) who tells them they don’t want to go to Goosegrease Lake.  He suggests they go to the hot springs, instead. 

Oops! Milton Stark has trouble pronouncing ‘Goosegrease’ and  the audience is aware of his flub. When he asks Lucille Ball “What ya gonna do there?” She deliberately says “We’re gonna goose a grease”, instead of “grease a goose”, which causes more giggles from the cast and gales of laughter from the audience. 

FILLING STATION ATTENDANT: “You can’t get there from here!”

Next morning Liz wakes up and looks around.  She sees beautiful green grass and a little flag with the number 18 on it!  A golf ball comes crashing through the window. The policeman from who ticketed them earlier knocks on the trailer door. They have illegally camped out on the 18th green of the municipal golf course - only two miles from home!  Liz said they didn’t know where they were going. 

POLICEMAN: “Do you know where you’re going now?” LIZ: “Yes!  To Moosehead Lodge!” POLICEMAN: “No, to the city jail! Come on!”

End of Episode

[takingcourage]

Back to Bubbly

Pairing: Jaime x MC

Word Count: 2,800

Summary: After spending all of her free time at the hospital, Arden needs a break. Thankfully, Jaime’s got a plan to help her decompress. 

Note: This story started as a drabble based on @krishu213​​‘s request​ for “markets,” but very quickly got out of hand. If you can make it through the angsty beginning, I promise there’s fluff to be had by the end.  

Also, I offer my sincere apologies for how rough this is. I had a totally different fic on the docket for tonight, but ended up hashing this one out when I sat down to edit the other. Thanks for bearing with my shenanigans. 

Arden couldn’t tell how long the ventilator and her own breathing had been working in tandem. Breathe, click click, breathe, click click...Their combined rhythm was perpetual, disrupted only when the door of 227 was breached by some visitor. 

It hadn’t been like this the whole time her father had been in ICU. The first night she’d visited, she’d talked herself almost hoarse with the account of her trip with Ellen and their plans for uncovering Carmichael's schemes. When that story had ended, she'd resorted to telling him favorite memories from her childhood -- sharing secrets that he'd never heard in hopes that tales of her juvenile mischief could scandalize him out of his sleep. 

The night after that, she'd filled him in on the developments in her relationship with Jaime. I think we might actually start dating, dad. Can you believe it? Mom would have been so proud of herself for calling it all those years ago... She'd gone on until the tears came and prevented her from telling him anything further.

But tonight had been different. There was only so much ground that a one-sided conversation could cover. Desperate, she’d picked up a newspaper from one of the waiting rooms on the way up. Once she'd read all of the stories that were of interest, they'd tried to complete the crossword puzzle “together.” Although she still teetered the pencil between her finger and thumb, she’d conceded defeat some time ago. 

Knock, knock.

Arden glanced up at the disturbance, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the sensation of movement. 

“Miss Gale?” 

The nurse was one she recognized -- Gary or Jerry or something like that. Arden couldn’t quite remember. All the same, her tense brow eased a bit at the man’s pleasant expression. You’re in good hands, dad. 

Hand still on the door, the nurse continued. "I just wanted to give you a warning that visiting hours are ending in about five minutes."

"Thank you," she mumbled as she shoved the pencil back into her purse. 

"You're welcome." He slipped out of the room and Arden was alone once more. 

Well, not completely alone. 

Stretching legs that were weary from disuse, she stood beside the bed. She leaned over until her mouth hovered above his ear. 

"I love you, dad. I have to go now, but I'll be back tomorrow. I promise." Tears welled in her eyes as she kissed his brow. Fingering the strap on her purse, she took one final look at his prone figure. 

Each morning, she woke with resolve to bring him back from the darkness, calling on every higher power she'd ever heard of to work some kind of miracle. Each night, she tried to steel herself for the possibility that he would never wake up. 

The cycle was threatening to drive her insane. 

"Bye, dad."

Hating the finality, she added a hasty, "See you tomorrow," before she turned from his still form. 

You've got this, Arden. 

She took a deep breath through her nostrils, then pushed open the door. 

You can do this, you can do this, you can do this. Her lips formed the words over and over, but it didn’t make them true. 

On auto pilot, she made her way through the darkened hallways, pressing the button for the elevator without ever lifting her eyes from the floor. She hated how much the act of leaving the hospital felt like a relief -- hated even more the guilt that always accompanied that sense of relief. As long as there was any hope that he could recover, spending time anywhere else felt like giving up. 

She smacked away at the tears on her cheek. With her free hand, she checked the time on her phone to calculate how many hours there were before she could come and see him again.

Messages (2)

Distracted by the notification, she cleared the lock screen and tapped the appropriate icon. It came as little surprise that both texts were from Jaime. 

Hey, Arden. I know you're probably at the hospital, but I wondered if you’d like to do something tomorrow morning? I thought you might want a distraction.

If not, that's okay...you're probably exhausted and could use the extra sleep. Just let me know. 

Jaime was right: she was exhausted. But Arden knew herself well enough to understand that much of what she felt wasn't physical exhaustion. And those other types of exhaustion -- the emotional and the mental, especially -- were things she couldn’t relieve on her own. 

A few hours with him would probably do her a world of good.

After exiting the elevator, she stepped aside to tap out a quick response and switch her volume back on. 

I'd love to see you! I just need to be back at the hospital by 10:00. 

As she walked across the parking lot, her phone vibrated through the outer pocket of her purse. She checked the message once she’d made it into her car.

Great! Just shoot me a text when you wake up.

Turning the key in the ignition, Arden's lips curled into her first genuine smile of the day.

_______________________________________________________________________

Morning came earlier than Arden might have hoped, but she was fully awake once Opie managed to drag her out of bed. Pulling on her favorite jeans and a hoodie, she took the dog down to the patch of grass in front of her building. 

While the puppy sniffed around in the sidewalk, she sent a quick message to Jaime: Are you up?

His response came less than a minute later: Just got out of the shower. I can be there in twenty minutes?

See you then. : ) 

By the time she’d fed both animals and wrestled her hair into submission, the twenty minutes were nearly up. She’d just finished tying on her tennis shoes when she heard Jaime’s rap on the door. 

“Good morning!” Arden’s enthusiasm over seeing him lent a level of energy that she’d not felt in several days. 

Wasting no time, Jaime wrapped her in a tight hug. “It’s good to see you, Arden.”

"Mmmmph.” She relaxed into his shoulder, enjoying the prevalent scent of his body wash. 

“Did you just smell me?” he asked with a chuckle. 

“It’s a compliment,” she promised. “You just smell really good.” 

“I’ll take it.” He drew back with a smile, a strand of damp hair falling in front of his gorgeous brown eyes. “It's good to see you, Arden." 

Instead of answering, she lifted a hand to brush the hair away from his forehead. Jaime’s smile widened and she wished -- not for the first time -- that she still the power to know his thoughts. 

Opie jumped up on his pant leg, putting an end to the moment. 

“Is this little guy the reason you’re up so early?” Jaime inquired as he lavished affection on the energetic animal. 

“What can I say? Motherhood has changed me.” Arden rolled her eyes and reached for her purse. “But he should be good for another several hours now. Shall we go?”

They’d made it several miles down the road before he asked the question she’d known was coming. 

"How's your dad?"

Staring out the side window, she picked at the seam on her jeans. "Same as before.” With a deep breath through her nostrils, she tried to separate the events into days -- a challenging task within the hospital monotony. “Yesterday...I think it was yesterday, they told me he’s avoided getting any bedsores, so that’s a good thing.” 

He fell quiet, eyes fixed on the traffic light. Still, his free hand snuck over to her thigh. Her fingers curled around his palm, grateful for the show of support. 

"The nurses seemed pretty optimistic when I was there a couple of days ago. Nothing's changed?"

"It's just a waiting game, and not the fun kind."

"Waiting rarely is." The light turned green, and he lifted his hand to switch gears. "But if it's okay with you, I'd like to go with you when you see him today."

"I'd really like that." Somehow, the thought of having another person with her in that tiny room made it feel less claustrophobic. 

"So, about this morning," he narrated, turning onto a side street. "I figured you probably haven't been eating very well for the past few days."

Arden opened her mouth to object, but he beat her to the punch.

"Lemme guess... It's been a steady diet of Pop Tarts, Hot Pockets, and Kraft Mac and Cheese?"

"I had some SpaghettiOs yesterday."

He scoffed as he flicked on the blinker again. "You’re practically a poster child for the USDA."

Arden poked her tongue out in protest.

"Anyway, I was thinking we could stop by the farmers’ market and then head back to my place to make some breakfast. I've been craving fresh fruit and goodness knows how long it's been since you've had food that didn't come out of a box. Or a can," he added, sensing the objection before it even passed her lips.

"Does this mean we’re having pancakes?"

He pulled into an empty space, treating her to a cheesy smile as he put the car into park."I haven’t made them in a while, but I think this calls for it.” 

"You're amazing. I don't tell you that enough, but you really are."

"Just trying to look out for you." He cast aside his seatbelt and swayed toward her for a kiss.

As their lips met briefly, she wondered why it was that his version of looking out for her didn’t feel like a threat to her freedom. It was one of the many questions she’d spent the last week trying to answer, but she still came up short. 

He pulled away first, eyes sparkling as he exited the vehicle. "Let's go see what we can find."

“I’m hoping for honey,” she declared. “I wrote a story about some urban beekeeping efforts in Northbridge a few months ago, but I’ve never tried any of it.”  “Maybe that should be our first stop.” Jaime indicated a tent toward their left. A gingham tablecloth served as backdrop for the attractive display, and Arden couldn’t resist dashing ahead of him in her desire to examine the wares. 

First and foremost, her attention was drawn to the observation hive situated on the middle of the table. Crouching slightly, she fixed her eyes on the flurry of action in the center. Grateful as she was for the plate of glass that separated them, the tiny insects were remarkably compelling. 

“They’re amazing!” she hummed appreciatively as Jaime caught up. 

To humor her, he cast his eyes over the hive. 

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” the vendor assured as she completed a transaction with her previous customer. 

“No hurry.” 

Arden tore her eyes from the construction, considering the assortment of products being sold. Taking a beeswax candle in her palm, she passed the column under her nose. The faint sweet scent tickled her nose. 

“Do you have any questions? Anything I can help you with?” 

Jaime stretched out the pair of honey straws in his hand. “Did you want anything, Arden?”

“I think I’m good for now, but you’ll definitely see me again in future,” she promised with a nod at the vendor. 

As Jaime paid, she took one final look through the glass. “I wish I knew what they were thinking.”

Jaime pressed a kiss to her hair as they walked away. “Don’t ever change. Please.” 

Blushing, she sought his hand. But her fingers met a hard corner of plastic instead of his familiar skin. 

“This one’s for you,” he explained, passing her the stick of honey. 

She slipped the token into her purse, grateful to find his hand open to her on a second attempt. 

They spent the next half hour circulating through various stalls. There was a momentary twinge of guilt when she saw a man about her father’s age picking tomatoes across the tent from her, but Arden suppressed it quickly. Visiting hours haven’t started. There’s literally nothing you can do for him. She breathed more easily at the thought. 

By the time they were ready to leave, she was practically floating. When they reached Jaime’s house, she was lighter than air. 

“You ready for some coffee?” he asked as they entered his small kitchen. “I’ll get some going before I start on the pancakes.”

“Coffee sounds great. I’ll go ahead and wash the berries?” Jaime responded by surrendering the cartons to her hands. 

Arden found his colander easily and quickly set about cleaning the fruit in his sink. She snuck a glance over her shoulder while she rinsed, skin warming at the sight of him puttering around in the cabinets. 

He was no master chef, but he knew his way around a kitchen, which was more than could be said for herself. Her own culinary skills left much to be desired. 

Berries washed, she hopped onto a clear panel of the countertop, content to watch his efforts. “Let me know if I can help with anything,” she offered when he handed off her mug of fresh coffee. 

“Just keep me company. It’s been a while since I’ve made pancakes.” 

She took a long sip from the mug. Perfection. “I’m shocked. I thought Saturday pancakes were Lewis-family tradition?”

Flour in hand, he looked up at her with a wry smile. “They were. But traditions aren’t much fun when you’re living alone.” 

Cheeks burning, Arden drained another mouthful to buy herself some strategizing time. Of course they’re not, you idiot. Why’d you have to bring that up? 

She was opening her mouth to bumble an apology when he saved her. 

“And that’s why I’m glad you came around today so I’d have someone to make them for.” He lifted the mixing bowl and made a point of angling away from her. “But I am going to have to ask you to close your eyes for a minute. Paula would never forgive me if I let you in on her secret ingredient.” 

Although she complied with the demand, she couldn’t help laughing at his serious demeanor. 

Whatever the tricks of Paula’s recipe, it made for the best pancakes Arden had ever had. Even the many memories she had of eating them in childhood couldn’t measure up to the plate of perfection she devoured at Jaime’s dining room table. 

"That good, huh?" He joked, arching a brow at the empty dish in front of her. 

"Can you cook for me every weekend?"

He gave her a funny look as he snapped the lid back on the bottle of syrup. "That could probably be arranged."

Gathering up their dishes, she followed him into the kitchen. "I could pay you back with kisses."

He paused, leaning against the cabinet to look her in the eye. When she turned toward him, his own gaze was narrowed in amusement. "Do your all of your kisses require some kind of trade?"

Arden deposited the plates in the empty sink, taking a moment to rinse her sticky fingertips before she replied to his query.

"Not for you, they don't. You can have them as often as you'd like."

"Not for me? Are there others you're in the habit of kissing?"

"Not at the moment.” She gave a breathy laugh at his insinuation, but then turned serious. “And maybe never again."

Jaime took her cue, arms opening wide for her to step into his embrace. She kissed him heartily, feeling the ache of uncertainty and fear slip away under his persistent lips. 

As long as she was in his arms, she didn’t have to worry about having all of the answers. Guilt was no longer weighing her down. But more than that, she was struck by the assurance that she didn’t have to face the world alone. 

He stopped her with a gentle hand. "We should probably keep moving if we want to make it to the hospital by 10:00."

“I know.” Although she agreed with his line of thinking, her desire and her better sense were very much at odds with one another. Reluctant to let him go, she lowered her arms to wrap around his waist. 

“But before we leave, thank you. Truly.” There was a familiar pressure building at the corners of her eyes. She flicked them down to avoid crying. “The last few days have been torture, but this morning was perfect. I think I really needed this.”  

“I did too.” His own tears glistened when he pulled away from her. “And I really mean it, Arden. I’m here for whatever you need.” 

In the midst of all the whatevers life had thrown at her, she was beginning to wonder if he was all she really needed. 

[everlark-your-own-adventure]

Powder Keg - Ch 7

Welcome back to the adventure we’re all everlarking together! Fallen behind in the story? Here are the previous chapters: 

Chapter 1 /// Chapter 2 /// Chapter 3 /// Chapter 4 /// Chapter 5 /// Chapter 6

Last week found our darlings rescued from old Hans cave and Katniss transported for medical care. More revelations ensued, and you, everlarkers, voted for her to accept Peeta’s offer to rebuild their friendship on a foundation of honesty and trust.

This week, the lovely and talented @notanislander continues our adventure.  As always, you have 48 hours to vote, until noon, Wednesday, December the 20th. Remember, vote in the comments or reblogs, not in the tags! And as always, share with your friends, more voices = more fun! Ready? Here we go… grab your favourite warm beverage and settle in for our weekly trip to Mt. Mockingjay…

Trust. It's something that doesn't come easily to me. When my father died, my mother went into a severe depression, something she struggles with to this day. In my head, I know she is doing the best she can, but in my heart, I am still that ten- or eleven-year-old girl wishing her mother would talk to her, even look at her.

It’s something I didn’t have with Peeta three years ago. If I had trusted him, I might have given him a chance to explain the situation. I might have stopped to listen when he told me about Bristel’s brother. But I didn’t. I did what I always do - I ran. I thought it was easier to keep my heart locked up tight and I almost convinced myself of that too. Right up until the cave. That’s when I realized something. My life has been a shadow since I walked away from Peeta three years ago. Sure I had Prim, and I had Gale, but what else did I have? A life? No. A future to look forward to? No. I just existed.

I’m sentenced to a week of “bed rest” by both my mother and the Emergency Room doctor. Peeta behaves so nicely. Every morning, he stops by our house on his way to the ski lodge with fresh baked cheese buns in hand. I’m surprised he remembers how much I love them, and they taste just as good as ever.

He carries me downstairs everyday, but never stays too long since he needs to get to work. He comes by in the evenings too, freshly showered and so happy to help my mother out with any small thing. He even helps Prim with her English term paper on To Kill a Mockingbird. And he always saves time to just talk with me. Sometimes he’ll bring his sketchbook over and we’ll sit quietly while he makes sketches of the resort, my house, trees, whatever he’s thinking about. “It helps calm me down after a full day at the lodge,” he tells me. “I like people, but sometimes it gets a bit much, you know? So this helps refocus me.” We might even watch a movie on Netflix, and then, just before he heads home, he carries me up to my room.

By the end of the week, I’m going stir-crazy. I need to get out, start making money again. No matter how my mother argues, I know we need the money and being off for a week just before the holidays certainly isn’t helping our situation, which was dire to begin with.

“Katniss, stop!” my mother chastises. “I have an interview at the drop-in clinic tomorrow. They need another nurse and I think this will be a good fit.” My mother’s eternal optimism is tempered only by my eternal pessimism, which were both brought about by her depression. I know full well what can happen if my mother gets too much bad news, so I am always prepared for the worst. Luckily, it seems Prim is oblivious to it all.

“Katniss,” she whispers later, when we are alone in our shared room, “This job is going to workout for mom. I really think it is.” It seems Prim has inherited the sunny side as well.

“I hope so little duck. Because missing this week without pay is not helping one bit.” I snap back; angry at myself, angry at the Lodge, angry at pretty much everyone.

Everyone, that is, except Peeta, which is both a change and a revelation to me all at once. I’ve been so angry with him for three years, that to not be angry now takes me aback. Why am I not angry at him? In some ways, my anger would be justified. I mean, he did distract me and cause me to fall. Didn’t he? Or did I imagine that? I’m not sure anymore. I’m not sure of a lot, to be honest.

Having barely survived the torturous week of bed rest, I am finally able to be back at the lodge. When Peeta heard I was going back to work, he insisted that he would pick me up every morning and drive me back home in the evenings. I told him he didn’t need to, that my mother could do it, but he just smiled and told me it was no problem. So I gave up and accepted his kindness. “Isn’t this nice? Just you and me in the truck? Kind of like old times!” he says with a smile.

“Yeah, old times,” I smile back, hoping he isn’t thinking of how those ‘old times’ ended up. I am hoping for a very different ending this time around.

I’ve almost come to accept the fact that I’ll be working in the snack bar all winter to make up for the lost wages I was getting as a ski instructor. I wasn’t a great instructor, but at least I was earning something more than minimum wage. I am trying really hard to not feel sorry for myself right now, but it isn’t easy.

I look out the window and watch Peeta and Gale work with the group of elementary students, the very ones who caused me to sprain my knee in the first place. Their teacher, Madge, is flirting with Gale, which is intriguing because I thought she had a thing for Peeta. “Hmmm, watching from the window might not be such a bad thing altogether,” I say quietly to myself.

I’m lost in speculation when Johanna says from behind me, “What’s so interesting out there, Brainless?”

“Geez Jo!” I jump at her voice, and take a big breath to calm down. “Not much. Unless you count that teacher, Madge, who was flirting with Peeta, but now seems to have turned her attention full on to Gale.” I tell her, a bit of conspiracy in my tone.

“Oh really? Do tell?” Jo does love to have her own bit of gossip, especially when it involves instructors and clients. “She’s just his type too,” she says knowingly. “Look at him smile at her. I smell a bit of a romance blooming!”

We share a laugh at Gale’s expense, knowing full well that the look on Gale’s face means exactly what Jo is insinuating. He loves the attention he’s getting from Ms. Undersee as much as Ms. Undersee loves giving it.

It comes as no surprise then, that as the kids are getting back on the bus after their final lesson, I spy Gale tapping what I assume is his number into Madge’s phone. It does come as a surprise when I see Peeta laughing at Gale as the bus pulls away and they begin to make their way to the lodge. Gale good naturedly punches Peeta in the arm. When did these two become such good friends? A lot seems to have happened since I was off. Should I be worried? Somehow I think I should.

“Katniss!” Gale bellows, coming into the snack bar. “It’s good to see you up and about! Care for a race later on today?”

I look at him, dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“Oh, now you’re backing off,” he taunts. “How many times have you told me you could beat me skiing down the mountain, even if you had a broken leg? Now’s your chance to test that theory!”

Gale seems too happy. He and that Madge lady are definitely getting together. “Oh, I’d do it, but you’d lose and then you’d go home crying to your mommy. She’d call up my mom for picking on you, and then I’d get in trouble for skiing on this knee,” I tell him with a grin. “Or would you call up Ms. Undersee to complain instead?”

That gets him. He narrows his eyes at me and scowls, “Who told you?”

“Uh, uh, uh! A girl never reveals her sources. But tell me Gale, was Peeta jealous? Because she was flirting awfully hard with him until YOU came along!” I laugh.

“Hey Everdeen! Leave me out of this!” Peeta calls, stomping into the lodge and making his way to the snack counter. “I don’t know what you said, but I heard my name, and I know from that tone of voice it wasn’t anything good!”

The lodge patrons are taking in all of this good natured ribbing and I can see their smiles. It’s then I realize that people enjoy seeing and being a part of a team that genuinely like each other. I guess it really is contagious.

“Ms. Everdeen!” I look down to see Maggie, one of the younger children I taught before my accident. “May I have another hot chocolate? Here’s the money for it!”

“Sure, Miss Maggie,” I smile.

As I prepare her drink, she says, “I can’t wait until you’re back teaching skiing again. You were my favorite instructor! You never made me do the hard stuff until I was ready!”

I’m not sure how to respond to this. I look to Peeta, who is watching the entire exchange. He just smiles at me. The young girl’s mother comes up behind her and says, “We do miss you Katniss. You are the only instructor Maggie talks about,” and she hands me a $20 bill. “Keep the change, Katniss. You deserve it.” And she and Maggie walk away, leaving me with my mouth open.

“Better close your mouth before the flies get in,” Jo says to me. Then she heads back into the office, laughing all the way.

The days go by, and it seems like no time has passed when I have my three week follow-up appointment. Peeta offers to take me in, since my mother now has full-time work at the clinic. “I would take the time off,” she says, but Peeta interrupts her.

“It’s no problem for me, Mrs. Everdeen. I already have the day off, and Katniss and I would be spending it together anyway.”

Which is true. We do seem to spend everyday together. And most evenings too.

My mother concedes, and after Peeta goes home that night she makes sure to stop in my room. “Katniss, I really like that boy. I hope you do too, because I would hate to see both of you so heartbroken again.”

“I do like him, Mom,” I say with a shy smile. I don’t know if I’ve ever talked boys with my mother. I think I should feel awkward, but I am glad to have a chance to talk this whole thing through with someone. “But we’re just friends right now. We’re working on making our friendship stronger.”

“That’s good dear, but I can tell by the way he looks at you that he thinks of you as much more than that.” I blush at this, but don’t interrupt her. “Don’t waste your life waiting for me and Prim, OK? Take a chance on love. I may not be the best example, but it really is worth it. I wouldn’t trade the years I had with your father for anything. Please think about this,” she advises me. And I do.

I fall asleep to thoughts of Peeta - not Peeta my friend, but Peeta my lover. I have pushed these types of ideas out of my mind for three years. Now, I am openly inviting them in again. And just like that, it hits me. I love Peeta Mellark. I love him. He’s coming to pick me up to take me to the doctor tomorrow, and I am pretty sure the doctor is going to give me a clean bill of health. Which means I can drive my own car again. I won’t be as shut in as I was. Peeta won’t need to stop by and see me anymore. He won’t have an excuse. I’ll be driving myself to and from Mt. Mockingjay every day.

So what do I do? Do I take that risk to tell Peeta my feelings? Or do I hold them in, hoping he speaks first? What if my mother is wrong? What if he doesn’t feel the same way about me? Or what if he does, but thinks I don’t, so he stops coming by or stopping to see me? Do I tell him or not? What do I do?

[geth-consensus]

I was inspired to spend every moment free I had at work today writing instead of studying. But I had so much fun imagining these characters I wanted to share it.

A Dance of Fire and Flowers The wind threatened to whisk the hat from her head but she didn't care, the rush of the wind was worth it. She soared through the air aloft on wings of magic, dancing lights that gleamed like stars danced around her, just wanting to be close to her. All below her were upturned faces as the people of the town diverted there gaze to see her dance through the air. Her dress white as snow fluttered around her and seemed to shine in the dazzling sun, she was a marvel and she knew it. That had of course been her intent, to spread joy she must be joy, and she felt no more joyous then when sailing upon the winds. Suddenly a powerful gust blustered into her scattering the dancing lights and tearing away her hat, which danced a brief while in the jaws of the whirlwind that had ensnared it before plunging towards the city below as if dragged by an invisible tether. Lyanna laughed as she dove after it, the world surged up to meet her as she saw a hand stretch up from a rooftop below and snatch her hat out of the air. She slowed herself and alighted upon an opposing roof top. "Why do you insist on wearing this misshapen thing? It's so gaudy." said Vaelia as she stretched the hat from it's top attempting to smooth out the jagged creases that had formed over it's long life. As soon as she released it however the hat simply bounced back to being just as jagged as before. "I prefer to say it has character." said Lyanna. "I suppose that's one way of putting it" Vaelia said flicking it over in her hands, despite it's age the hat seemed to glow just as brightly as the day it had been stitched together. Lyanna flicked her wrists and the hat jerked from Vaelia's grasp and seemed to jaunt merrily across the gap between roofs before coming to sit softly upon her head once more. "I've never heard you have any complaints about the way I dress before, what's with the sudden criticism."  "Oh I have nothing against the way you dress, I find that all rather elegant" she said. "It's the way you showboat in front of crowds that agonizes me."   "You never seem to take issue when I do so when we're alone, is it that you might be jealous" Lyanna teased. Vaelia looked like she flushed but it was hard to tell beneath her deep tanned skin, "Me? Jealous? Hah, that's rich. I just don't think you should be so flamboyant all the time, it ill befits your reputation."   "My reputation? What could better suit she who fended off the shadows then to revel and be jubilant at that fact, and to ensure the people of this world still live with merriment within there hearts." Vaelia rolled her eyes and sighed "You'll never change will you."   "You wouldn't love me if I did" Lyanna said smiling across at her.   "I suppose not, but were the lights really a necessary addition?"   "I didn't summon them you know, they simply joined me in my revels"   "Of course they did...well, if you're insistent upon attracting all eyes to you then at least make a show of it"   "Oh, you have something in mind do you?"   "As a matter of fact I do" Vaelia said grinning "Let's spar, you and me, in the middle of town"   "Spar, you mean like a duel? With our blades?" Lyanna asked surprised. "And with magic, just like we do on our ventures together, we'll put on a performance the like of which this town will never forget!" she said with a devilish smirk. "Well, when you put it like that, how could I ever refuse" Lyanna smirked back. "Roll up! Roll up!" Vaelia cried "Come see the once in a lifetime duel between the one who banished the darkness, and she who tamed a dragon! I promise you all a performance you'll one day regale to your grandchildren!" she turned with a flourish from her psotion atop the fountain side to highlight Lyanna standing among the gathered crowd. "Here we have Lyanna, banisher of shadows, wielder and forger of Firebrand! The blade of fire, forged into steel, with which she has slain more monsters of the night then I could ever hope to count." at which Lyanna pulled her blade from it's sheathe and brandished it above her head. It shimmered in the light of the sun, glowing orange, yellow, and red and seemed to look like it was flowing all along the the curved arc of the sword. She twirled it around in her hand it looked like she now held a flame itself between her fingers. Lyanna then bounded forward and jumped up to Vaelia's side atop the fountain and gestured to her from down on one knee "And here is Vaelia, she who conquered death itself and bound the soul of a dragon to her own! A women so fierce I've seen her wrestle a gorilla into submission! Chosen by the dual blades Petal & Thorn themselves, destined as the only worthy wielder!" Two curved short blades flashed through the air as Vaelia pulled them loose of her back, one shone as a bright silvery steel with ornate decoration winding there way along the blade. The other was darkened silver, with sharp lined patterns adorning it's surface. The two then jumped down from the fountain and sauntered away from each other for about 20 feet before turning to face one another blades in hand."And now ladies and genetlemen-" Vaelia announced, "-the duel you've all been waiting for!" Lyanna finished. Lyanna seemed to suddenly glide forward without visibly moving her feet, Firebrand held to her chest pointed right for Vaelia. She moved to deflect the incoming blade but Lyanna anticipated this by lowering herself to sweep under the deflection. Without thought Vaelia leaped up and over Lyanna, rotated so she landed on one hand and pushed off again to land on her feet. She had barely landed when she had to lean back to dodge a slashing blow. Leaning back up swiftly she jabbed with Thorn in her right hand to slice her only to find air as Lyanna now fluttered 10 feet above her. Lyanna laughed joyously and seized upon Vaelia's surprise to dive down upon her with another slash, to suddenly find herself in the embrace of Petal as the blades clanged against each other. However her downward charge could not be stopped and she pushed her way down into the blade forcing Vaelia to dance backward away from the blow and letting her land softly upon the ground. Vaelia would giver her no reprieve though as she charged forward, blades flashing like a whirlwind in her hand, forcing Lyanna to back up quickly. As quickly as she was being forced back though Vaelia was keeping pace with her, without even space to raise Firebrand she resorted to the one option she had. Magic. Thrusting her arms forward she summoned a gale that shoved Vaelia back and down to her knees. Seizing her opportunity she pressed forward slashing down toward as Vaelia struggled to regain her footing, with nothing left to her Vaelia lifted her arm to block and the sword struck it dead centre. Her head rang as the blade bounced off her arm, the sound of metal on metal leaving a chattering cacophony in Vaelia's ears. The sliced ruins of her tunic falling away to reveal the metal gauntlet that encased her entire right arm. Lyanna doubled back from the force of the reverberations passing through her blade allowing Vaelia to again press the attack, calling upon her own inner power she reinforced herself with her own inane power so that every sweep of her Petal left a track of crimson flames in it's wake, and a dazzle of lightning following swiftly behind Thorn. Sweeping forward she lunged Petal towards Lyanna for it to plunge straight into the side of Firebrand, causing the blade to in turn catch fire as well. Lyanna jumped back as Firebrand suddenly found itself wreathed in flames, the blade and flames turning to a deep shade of blue as she fed power into it increasing the strength to an inferno. Raising it swiftly above her head she freed the flames and allowed them to cascade down and around, encircling her with a barrier of blazing sapphire. If this was to be a show she though then it deserved to have a certain flourish to it. "Afraid to face me I see! See how she cowers people, hiding behind her blue curtains, terrified to face me" Vaelia declared to the crowd surrounding them. Lyanna merely chuckled to herself and then amplifying her voice she announced over the roar of the flames "I hide from no one, this is no shelter, it is a cocoon! Soon I shall rise out of it more glamorous then you can imagine!"

Vaelia grinned, it had been a while since they'd had this much fun together. "Is that so! Then let us unveil this new form without further a due!" she said as she crossed her blades together as tendrils of green energy, pure magic, blossomed forth from the unions and blasted the wall of flames diminishing them until at last they exploded outward revealing a white gold phoenix that looked like it was truly made of fire, the patterns dancing around it's feathers matched that of Firebrand. It soared up high and then tore towards the ground producing an undulating melody that echoed across the town, it aimed itself at Vaelia who in turn rose her metal cased arm as an ethereal flame shrouded her arm before it suddenly leapt upward and away from her, taking on the visage of a grand gold dragon, and roaring it's glory it surged ahead towards the phoenix.

A second sun shone bright where the two collided, drowning the world in light. The song of the phoenix and the roar of the dragon mingled to a form a music that could elate the hearts of all who heard it. The light blinked and vanished in an explosion of colour that fled higher and higher into the sky forming an arc, birthing a rainbow. Below it, atop the fountain's statues stood Lyanna and Vaelia, a hand each raised high and beaming as they soaked in the wonderment of the crowd. This was her goal in life Lyanna thought to herself, not to be the bane of darkness, or the hunter of monsters, but to bring light and joy to the world. She would pursue that goal with Vaelia by her side, she knew it in her heart, this was there destiny.

[mubal4]

Time on the Trails – Humphrey’s Peak

 A week or so ago, I finished up reading How to Stop the Pain by Dr. James B. Richards.  He had a quote that seems right for this story, “if it is worth doing, then it is worth doing wrong until I can learn to do it right.”  That quote is funny to me considering this was my 2nd attempt to summit Humphrey’s Peak.  I captured my first try in my blog here, a few weeks ago.  Humphrey’s Peak is the highest mountain in AZ, sitting at roughly 12,630-ish feet.  You can see the sign in the one photo of me at the top with the marking: my apologies for the pasty white old-man thighs.  It was an awkward stance and I will get to the reasoning in a bit 😊.  Yes, on this attempt, I did make the summit, using Humphrey’s trail this time.  Last go around, I tried the Weatherford Trail to Humphrey’s, and I got stopped because of the feet of now that seemed to swallow up the trail right before the intersection to the top.  Oh well, after that first time, I figured there would be more chances over the summer when the snow melts.  

 My intent was to get up here prior to my race in mid-July but wasn’t sure how long it would take for that snow to be gone (there was a ton) and if I would be able to fit it in with other commitments we had with the family and training.  Last weekend however, I heard from a few friends that the snow was mostly gone and there were a few folks I knew that made the summit via Humphrey’s trail.  That gave me some hope that I might be able to get up there before the race.  I’ve been working on getting a lot of vertical climbing in these last few weeks in preparation and this adventure certainly doesn’t disappoint with over 3500 feet of gain.  Plus, being at over 9500 feet the entire 10+ miles and mostly over 10,000 is great training for being at high elevation, which the race will promise. Throughout the week, I didn’t think about it much more and had a few options to contemplate.  I could do Humphrey’s, but it is about a 5 hour round trip drive and I hadn’t been sleeping well at all the last few weeks.  I was hoping to “sleep in” on Saturday and the thought of getting up at 4am again wasn’t ideal 😊.  Friday night, Robin and I thought about some ideas but we did decide the getting some extra rest would be best since I’ve been putting a lot of time in training and needed to get some sleep, or at least try.  We both got up early, that would be Bear’s doing (our 4-month-old pup) but we had a nice morning with the dog, reading, meditating, kind of just taking it easy.  The forecast down in Phoenix was calling for 105* and it was already 9am so the idea of getting in any vert training in the valley here was becoming less attractive. So, it was either do Mount Ord again, or, make the trek up to Humphrey’s, both promising much cooler temps.  We decided what the hell, I will head up to Flagstaff to see if I could kick Mr. Humphrey in the jimmy!!!  (old Beavis and Butthead reference 😊).  

 This is when things began to get a bit, as we like to say, “not ideal.”  I checked the forecast and it was going to be in the low 60’s – beautiful. However, they were calling for 25 mph winds in Flagstaff.  Flagstaff sits at roughly 7,000 feet so it was certain winds would be much higher on the way up.  Good news is, I came better prepared gear-wise than last time 😊.  On the drive up, unfortunately, there was an accident, as well as on the way back down.  This is something that happens often driving up and down I-17 in AZ.  There are some options to turnoff and circumvent the delays, but I’ve found it is just best to wait.  Therefore, my 5 hour round trip, ended up being around 7.5.  It happens and, although I was a bit frustrated at first, I let it go.  In reality, sitting still in traffic for a few hours was much easier than the gale force winds that we experienced!!!  The Humphrey’s Peak trailhead sits at the parking lot for Snowbowl ski area.  As I pulled into the lot, right around 2pm, it was full. I figured there was going to be a ton of folks on this trail and may make it difficult navigating the top (without the winds). As I stepped onto the trail, I looked up to see Mr. Humphrey smiling at me and may have heard him say, “come get some.”  Haha – these are things that go through my mind 😊.  The first few miles, all a gradual climb up was good and are mostly in the shadows of Aspen and pine trees, so you get a little bit of a canopy. There was a good amount of people, but not overcrowded.  This part of the trail reminded me a bit of the Appalachian Trail in PA with many roots and rocks.  It was good thoughts for the first couple of miles.  As the climb continued, I began to hear the wind whipping the tops of the pine trees around.  As I got higher, there were some remnants of snow but nothing like the last time…..but that wind was howling. Just about at mile 4, as you begin past the tree line, this was where the wind began punching me in the face.  I had no idea how fast it was going but it almost knocked me over a few times.  The last 1.25 miles is all above tree line walking along the ridgeline, entirely exposed, for the most part.  However, the views are amazing.  You can see some of the shots in the pictures.  I was able to see part of the trail that I tried 3 weeks earlier and you can see most of the snow was gone.  Gave me some hope that I would be able to try that route again soon, ideally without the freeking wind.  The last ¼ mile I was pretty much crawling, trying not to blow off the mountain.  It is almost like walking on a spine, just 12,000 feet up in the air with high winds.  The last few feet I stood up and the wind, blew me up the rest of the way until I got behind this makeshift wall and almost fell into the lap of the 4 hours that were enjoying the views.  And those views man, incredibly.  It is a 360* shot all round the area.  It was definitely worth the traffic, wind, and climbing.  I got my token picture at the top with the sign and yes, you can see my thighs and I am at a weird stance, that is because the wind was blowing so fast that I wanted to make sure I didn’t blow over.  When I checked the forecast later that night, I saw the recordings were approximately 60 mph at the ski resort down below, about 3500 feet. So, maybe 75 mph at the top? Who knows but they were crazy?  A few of us set off back down at the same time and we were almost slidding down……you remember growing up when we sat on our butts and slid down the stairs?  It was the same thing…..only on the top of a mountain, with high winds, and rocks every where :O!

 The way down was uneventful, for the most part.  Did see a rescue going on.  A woman fell and banged up her ankle bad.  They thought it may have been broken.  Stayed for a bit as the EMT’s did their work and getting things set to carry her down the mountain.  It was going to be about 3 miles down, strapped to a board that they were going to be carrying here.  God bless those folks, hard core.  I did see a sweet family, what looked to be like the grandfather and 4 of the grandkids. Could have been a boyfriend/girlfriend within that group but 4 kids, early 20’s or so, and what I could only imagine their grandfather.  They made it to the top and I thought it was just great, seeing them all together. Rest of the way was smooth sailing and was looking forward to cracking a beer and watching the sun come down from the Snowbowl parking lot.  Unfortunately, as I got to the car and began changing gear, the wind was still blowing like crazy. At that point, the beer, and the wind, didn’t sound great and I just wanted to get in the car and head home. As I mentioned, I hit an accident, about a 2-hour backup on the way home so didn’t get back to late.  It was a great training day and good test all around.  To be able to get to experience that mountain and those views. Definitely worth doing it all wrong the first time, and even in some cases this time.

 Gotcha this time Mr. Humphrey

[everlarkficexchange]

Zero Hour

[Promt 88]:I love soulmates fics ! Anything with Everlark being soulmates and finding each other -finally :) thank you ! - anonymous

Written By: Mega-AuLover

A/N: this monstrosity you can thank @xerxia31 for. There were several Soulmate Prompts and the one I wanted was taken by another author, whom I personally stalk, but she was talking about a wedding and I thought a wedding no…soulless mindless Zombies..I think I made tea come out of Xerxia’s nose :) but seriously thank you for saving the life of this story. To my beta who I have a serious writers crush on @alliswell21 you and I both know how much awe I am in over your writing skillzzz. 

Rated: T  

PART ONE - ZERO HOUR:

They were known as the living dead. Zombies  created by the Capitol who didn’t find their true love. Katniss Everdeen watched one of them from her window, walking slowly, a mask of indifference on its colorless face. He was followed by Darius, one of the nicer Peacekeepers.

She glanced down at her arm, the cause of such a creature, was the tracker embedded under the tattoo they had to get printed on their arm. It was a control measure put in by the Capitol after the war.

At the age of twelve, all children received a tattoo with their initials and age.  It was the first step to show the ever presence and dominance of the Capitol. At 18, they were brought to the school yard to be outfitted with their trackers.

The tracker remained silent until they met their soulmate.  When you met your soulmate, the tracker would glow showing their initials for exactly  8 hours, in which you had to connect with your mate and register with the local magistrate.

The magistrate  were the only ones with the authority  to remove the tracker.

If you missed the 8 hour window, the kill switch would activate. An electrical discharge was sent from the tracker directly to your brain, a sort of modern day lobotomy.

Everyone strived to find their life partner, afraid of becoming a poor soulless creature, just as her sister, Primrose, called them.

Primrose was right, the mateless walked the earth with no purpose other than to do the dangerous jobs the Capitol assigned them. They blew up the caverns in the mines, tested new machinery, the lucky few became slaves to a Capitolite or wealthy member of the society. They were kept far away from the regular folk and guarded by Peacekeepers.

“Hey Catnip,” Gale knocked on the window pane bringing her out of her thoughts.

Katniss smiled at her friend, hunting partner , and soon to be in-law. This morning both families were overjoyed about the nuptials She waved him inside. “Hey Gale.”

Gale was twenty six, tall and very good looking. There were rumors about his prowess in the bedroom, though she didn’t care much about the stories.

He entered the room, and filled it. He was a little over six feet tall, one of the tallest men in The Seam. “So Primrose finally got you to wear a dress.”

Katniss grimaced,”It’s like putting lipstick on a pig, Gale.”

Gale chuckled. “You should see my dad, he didn’t want to wear a suit, but you know my mom.”

Hazelle Hawthorne was a force to be reckoned with.

“Vick wanted me to give this to Prim.” Gale extended the package he held in his hand.

“Thanks,” she took the package from him. “I’m sure whatever Vick cooked up, Prim is going to love it.”

Everyone thought Katniss was going to be Gale’s soulmate, but it was never meant to be. Katniss was thankful that the odds were in her favor.

“I can’t believe my baby brother is getting hitched before me.”

When Vick turned eighteen the previous day, no one was surprised  his tracker showed Prim’s initials. The entire Hawthorne clan came to the Everdeen home, to confirm Vick’s initials showed  on Prim’s arm. Both families ran to the Seam magistrate to have the trackers deactivated and removed. Katniss had been so happy to see the darn devices removed from Prim and Vick’s arms.

Because they were from the Seam, they needed to fill out the wedding certificate at the Justice Building on the other side of the in the Merchant quarter.

“Me either. It’s insane that Prim’s all grown up.”

Gale laughed, “Yeah , Rory and I have been ribbing on Vick all day with the older woman bit. It’s just funny that even though Prim’s like two years older than him, she still manages to look younger.”

“You Hawthorne men look old, or have you forgotten that when we met in the woods, you were 14 but looked like you were 18. I mean right now you look like you can be someone’s grandfather. Now that we’re talking about it, you’ve looked like a grandpa since the day you turned 16.”

“Hardy, har, har,” Gale snickered, pointing to his tracker, it read 26. Gale had worn his tracker for the past 14 years.  A constant reminder that the Capitol owned him.

“Well you can’t help it old man,” Katniss joked back.  

“Old man? you’re  practically an old lady yourself. How old are you? 24? that’s ancient by Seam standard’s.”

Gale was right, no one in the Seam waited this long. There was only two occasions where a person never found their soulmate.

“Maybe you and I are the new Goat Man and Ripper.”

“Well I do know my way around a distillery, and you do have a Goat.”

“Lady does not qualify as a goat, she’s more of a pet.”

“Remember when you bought Lady for Prim?”

“You mean with the money we got from the stag I got with my arrow, that you claimed you shot?” Katniss crossed her arms over her chest.

“I still say my arrow was the one that got him.”

“Gale you and I both know you’re no marksmith. You can’t shoot down a full grown bear standing 20 yards away.”

“Man those were great good old days.” Gale wistfully uttered, his days were now spent in the mines.

So much had changed since she was a child. She looked behind her to see the empty rocking chair. It reminded her of harder times. 

According to many, becoming soulless was the worst fate someone in Panem could have. But Katniss had seen a different kid of desperation.

She had seen what happened to soulmate when their love was taken away. Her mother had found her soulmate in a man from District 12’s Seam side. Fate brought them together and for a long time they were happy, until he was taken away by illness.

“How is your dad feeling?”

“Good, if he could stay away from Haymitch and Ripper’s liquor. My maw says he drives her insane, he says she drives him to drink.”

“Your mom then says drive, what drive, we don’t even have a car.” They said together. It was an old joke between them.

Gale’s father had survived the great illness thanks to her mother. The Hawthorne’s were lucky. Many were not.

Katniss was eleven when the great epidemic filtered through District 12 and beyond. It affected the Seam the greatest especially those poor souls loveless creatures. When her father became infected, her mother, a healer, tried everything she knew to help save him but her father was too far gone.  He died shortly after the diagnosis.

Her mother never fully recovered.

“Listen I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in less than twenty minutes. Who knew someday you’d be my sister.”

Katniss shook her head, “I guess somethings are meant to be Gale.”

She closed the door and from her vantage point she watched him flirt with Mrs. Andrews. She was glad they were not a match, she and Gale were too alike. They were more like siblings then lovers.

Her mind swirled with images from the past. The constant hunger, the near death, the death of her father, and the loss of the care of her mother.

It became very clear no one cared about dying children, or the sick people of The Seam. The Capitol was more concerned with its own plans. They tightened security around the wall that was erected after the great rebellion was neutralized. The wall cut through the land separating the privileged and the poor.  The vendors lived in the Merchant Quarters and the workers and the poor lived in the ghettos.

In District 12 they called it the Seam. In District 2 Darius a Peacekeeper said the ghetto was known as the Dungeon.

“Katniss.”

Hearing her sisters words brought Katniss out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Prim dressed in white. “You look beautiful.”

“Never as pretty as you.”

“Oh here, Vick sent this to you.”

Prim blushed as she reached for the box. She opened it and gasped. “Bread! real bread for toasting!”

“Bread?” Katniss wondered where Vick had gotten it. There wasn’t a bakery in the Seam, it wasn’t allowed. But once a month. The Baker sold his goods outside of the gate door, but most of the time the bread was stale. Gale would trade with him, when they got a good haul. The last time she’d tasted fresh bread was when that boy had given her bread./

“It’s still warm Katniss,” Prim touched he bread reverently.

“Can I smell it, “ Katniss asked recalling smelling the scent of freshly baked bread. The smell of fresh crust and flaky interior had never left her.  

“Sure, do you remember the last time we had fresh bread Katniss. It was a miracle. We were so hungry.”

Katniss recalled how empty their stomachs were on that hollow day.

Her last resort was to sneak into the Merchant side and rummage in trash cans for food. She found nothing and as she was giving up, a boy appeared by the window. He nodded at her then a few moments later a commotion  from within the walls of the house.

She remembered hearing the painful cry of a child, before the door of the back yard opened. It had been the blond boy who’d seen her through the window. He had a welt on his face and his big blue eyes held unshed tears. But his chin didn’t tremble as he ran out and gave her two loaves of burnt bread.

Katniss had never been able to forget that boy. She’d never seen him again. However, no matter what the Capitol did to divide them,  in her heart she could never forget that boy.

That single act of kindness gave her the strength to carry on. To remember her father’s generosity, his dexterity, and his abilities to hunt. Katniss looked down at her wrist, the glaring zeros poised to begin at any moment.

“It was a miracle, Prim. And today we have another one. Vick and the rest of the Hawthorne’s will be here at any moment.  Why don’t you go get mother?”

“Don’t worry, Katniss, someday you’ll find your soulmate.”

Katniss hid her grimace. “Don’t worry about me little duck, today you’re going to sign the official paperwork, precisely at 1:00 in the afternoon and we’ll have a toasting afterwards.”

“I know! I’m so happy!” Her sister couldn’t contain her joy. She was as bright and as delicate as the yellow flowers she was named after.

“Katniss don’t forget your pass.”

“Don't’ worry. I will not forget.” Katniss put on the long sleeve jacket that went with the dress. Katniss was shorter than her mother so the sleeves reached the tip of her fingers, she didn’t mind, she was always cold. She was glad it had pockets.

PART TWO - RACE BEGINS:

Prim turned to their mother, “Isn’t it a great day for a wedding mom?”

Their mom slowly nodded. “Yes dear.”

It really was a breathtaking day, there wasn’t a rain cloud in the sky. It was warm, with a pleasant breeze. It was a the perfect day for a wedding.

“It’s really happening,” Prim squealed when she saw Vick arriving.  

Tears gathered in her eyes, as she watched her sister take in Vick in his suit. He was handsome, as handsome as the rest of the Hawthornes. He was tall like his brother Gale, but his eyes were kinder. His smile softer, and unlike Gale who sported a beard and mustache, Vick always had a five o’clock shadow.

“You look amazing,” Vick softly said taking Primrose’s hands in his. 

“Thank you for the bread.” She offered.

“Every bride should have fresh bread on her wedding day.”

“Okay, everyone time to get moving,” Hazelle, Gale’s mom interrupted the tender moment between Prim and Vick.

“Yeah some of us are hungry,” Rory shouted.

“When aren’t you hungry?” Gale muttered.

Katniss chuckled. She wondered how long Gale and Rory would go before one tried to hurt the other.

As they made their way through the Seam, many stepped outside to softly hum the bride’s song.

This was a special time in a young person’s life when the future seemed limitless.

Katniss was the curmudgeon trailing in the back with the full knowledge that life was filled with more hurt than good.

As they approached the wall, the streets became busier since it was the day the merchants sold their wares to the inhabitants of the Seam.  Everywhere Katniss looked there were men, and she was filled with dread and panic as she saw two young people looking at their trackers as they time slowly ticked down.

The tracker would automatically start when she was near her mate. She took deep even breaths as she followed the wedding party.

When they arrived at the wall,  the sun in the sky indicated it was noon. Katniss heard Rue’s song being of the giant clock-tower as it struck twelve. She’d never seen it but she heard it all of her life.  On a cold winter’s day the bell could be hear in the Seam, it chimed on the hour.

They stood long in the long line waiting patiently to go up into the small wall border crossing outpost. They moved slowly until they reached where the gate was between the Merchant and the Seam. Katniss kept didn’t really look around but the smell of bread caught her attention.   

The baker was at the wall, with a tall man with curly blond hair. They looked alike, Katniss assumed he was the baker’s son. He reminded her of the young boy who had given her the bread.  When he looked in her direction, Katniss swiftly looked the other way.

“Peeta, please give the lady her bread,” his father admonished.

Katniss glanced at him once more when his attention was turned to the woman in front of him. He was broad shouldered, his arms were muscular, and his hands were large but they were careful enough to gently hand the woman her bread. His actions caused her to smile.

“Next,” the Peacekeeper called out.

“Come on Katniss,” Posey, Gale’s baby sister called.

Katniss joined the group as they were allowed in the building. Prim was ahead of them with Vick.  

Her sister  had her hand linked with Vick, as they spoke with the Peacekeeper. “State the nature of your visit.”

“We are getting married,” Vick’s deep voice boomed. “Our trackers were removed yesterday by the Seam Magistrate.”

The Peacekeeper checked their passes. “Congratulations on your nuptials, may the odds be  in your favor.”

“Thank you,” Prim gushed.

One by one they went through the checkpoints. They were all in a festive mood as they entered past the checkpoints and headed toward the Justice Building. Katniss paused at the looming clocktower, it’s shadow cast the town square in darkness.  When they arrived they discovered their appointment was set back a hour.

The small party waited in the lobby of the building waiting to be called to sign the paperwork.  They had all of the time in the world.

“Only fifteen more minutes before we’re married,” Vick said quietly for Prim to hear, but Katniss overheard it.

Her sister gazed up at Vick and her pale blue eyes shined with happiness. Katniss swallowed as she recalled the harshness she had to experience. Their mother Lillian stood just feet away, a pale shadow of the woman she’d been.  

Katniss shuddered the at the prospect of becoming someone like her mother. It was why she’d  decided to not interact with men. She didn’t want to find her soul mate. Her mother Lillian, had slowly come back from her depression,but there were days she returned  to the rocking chair.

In the beginning, her mother spent months in her rocking chair simply existing, without words, vacantly staring out into the void. Katniss barely got her to eat or bathe. At age eleven, Katniss had become an adult, taking on the responsibilities that were beyond her years. She tried, but with the illness no one opened their doors to orphaned children.

“Everdeen and Hawthorne,” a young woman called out with a clipboard.

“Yes?” Prim stood up.

“Thank you for your patience. As a reward, you’ve been selected to have a wedding ceremony by the Head Magistrate.”

Only a few received this honor. It was fitting that it should be Prim and Vick. “Thank you,” Prim whispered.

“This way, please.”

Everyone followed the woman into the Head Magistrate’s office.

The head magistrate was a woman with mile high pink hair and an outfit that had white doves all over it.

“Welcome, welcome.” The woman stood and she had the strangest shoes Katniss had ever seen. “I am Head Magistrate Effie Trinket.”

“A pleasure ma’am,” Vick nodded.

“Oh my, you are a tall one,” Effie said as she looked up at Vick. Her eyes scanned all four Hawthorne men. “You certain are a handsome lot.”

Gale grinned, and Katniss rolled her eyes.

“Are we ready for the ceremony?”

Prim eagerly nodded.

“Good you stand here my dear,” Effie instructed Prim and then turned her attention to Vick, “ and your beloved over here.”

All the attention was on Primrose and Vick as they solemnly stood before their families and the Head Magistrate.

“Dearly beloved we’ve come together to witness  this woman, Primrose Everdeen join this man, Vick Hawthorne, in the sacred bond of marriage.” Addressing the groom and bride, she asked, “Are you ready to take the vows to uphold the laws of marriage as decreed in the statues of Panem?”

“We do,” Prim and Vic said united.

“Do you promise to keep the other in health and in sickness. To stand by the other in good times and harsh times?”

Katniss watched Gale’s parents exchange loving looks. Her mother turned pale. Katniss lowered her head and glanced down at her shoes, tucking her hands in her jacket’s pocket.

“We do,” Prim and Vick replied.

“The by the power vested in me, by our beloved President, Corilanius Snow, and the Country of Panem, I now pronounce you, husband and wife.” Effie Trinket joyfully exclaimed, “You may kiss the bride.!

Katniss looked away as Prim and Vick kissed.

“Now if you could please sign the certificate.”

Katniss watched as her sister wrote Primrose Everdeen for the last time. It was a bittersweet moment. She was losing her sister to someone else. Albeit it was to Vick, and he was moving in with them, but things were changing.

Maybe she should start thinking of it as gaining a brother, instead of losing his baby sister.

“Who are the two witnesses?” Effie Trinket asked.

Katniss stepped forward with Gale.

Gale signed first and handed the pen to her. Katniss took the pen, and pushed down her sleeves. Smiling she glanced up at her friends and family as she poised to sign her name. But everyone looked shocked and ashen. Katniss frowned.

Her first instinct was to search for Prim to make sure she was alright. Prim’s eyes were wide, her face pale.  Her sister had clamped her hand over her mouth and was pointing to her arm. Katniss glanced down at herself, that’s when she noticed the timer on the tracker had begun it’s count down.

Everything in the room became still as it suddenly dawned on Katniss, her race had begun.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LIZ LEARNS TO DRIVE

November 13, 1948

“Liz Learns To Drive” (aka “Liz's Driving License” and “Liz Learns to Drive”)    is episode #16 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on November 13, 1948.

Synopsis ~ George teaches Liz to drive and she immediately gets in an accident. Through a communications mix-up, George thinks Liz has intentionally run over George's high school sweetheart, Myra Ponsenby!

Note: This episode was aired before the characters names were changed from Cugat to Cooper. It was also before Jell-O came aboard to sponsor the show and before the regular cast featured Bea Benadaret and Gale Gordon as the Atterburys.

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cugat) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. “My Favorite Husband” eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cugat) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

John Hiestand (Cory Cartwright) served as the announcer for the radio show “Let George Do It” from 1946 to 1950. In 1955 he did an episode of “Our Miss Brooks” opposite Gale Gordon.

Bea Benadaret (Woman Driver) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.

Frank Nelson (Officer Frank Nelson) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”.  Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs. His trademark was playing clerks and other working stiffs, suddenly turning to Benny with a drawn out “Yeeeeeeeeees?” Nelson appeared in 11 episodes of “I Love Lucy”, including three as quiz master Freddy Fillmore, and two as Ralph Ramsey, plus appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” - making him the only actor to play two different recurring roles on “I Love Lucy.” Nelson returned to the role of the frazzled Train Conductor for an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1963. This marks his final appearance on a Lucille Ball sitcom.

Herb Vigran (Sergeant Martin Lewis, Homicide Squad) made several appearances on “My Favorite Husband.” He would later play Jule, Ricky’s music union agent on two episodes of “I Love Lucy”. He would go on to play Joe (and Mrs. Trumbull’s nephew), the washing machine repairman in “Never Do Business With Friends” (S2;E31) and Al Sparks, the publicity man who hires Lucy and Ethel to play Martians on top of the Empire State Building in “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23). Of his 350 screen roles, he also made six appearances on “The Lucy Show.”

The name Martin Lewis may be a tribute to the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, who first performed together in 1946, and went their separate ways ten years later. 

THE EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “It is morning, and Katie the maid has just put breakfast on the table and Liz and George are sitting down to it.”

George is reluctant to read the paper at the table after Liz’s previous chastisement about ignoring her at breakfast. This time, she encourages him to pick up the newspaper and when he does, she has torn a hole through the center so she can see him and he can read the news! 

Lucy Ricardo also had the same complaint about Ricky on “I Love Lucy”!

LIZ: “I’m looking at you through an automobile ad. The new Nash has blue eyes for headlights. And your ears look like both doors are wide open.”

Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1916 to 1957. In 1938 Nash debuted the heating and ventilation system which is still used today. The aerodynamic 1949 Nash Airflyte was the first car of an advanced design introduced by the company after the war. Nash went out of business in February 1954. 

Katie says she had the same problem with her first husband, Clarence. As a last resort, she set his newspaper on fire! 

In “Be A Pal” (ILL S1;E2), Lucy also tries setting fire to the newspaper to get her husband’s attention! Considering all the trouble Desi had to assure the studio audience’s safety for the Los Angels Fire Department, it is amazing this stunt was allowed! 

Through his ‘holy’ newspaper, George reads about his old college girlfriend, Myra Ponsenby. Liz is unenthusiastic. 

LIZ: “What’s new in Lower Slobbovia?” 

In “First Stop” (ILL S4;E14) Fred Mertz calls One Oak Cabins “Lower Slobbovia,” which is a term first used in 1946 by Al Capp in his comic strip "Li'l Abner” to describe a place that was unenlightened and socially backward.

Liz is clearly jealous and wishes Myra would “drop dead” claiming there isn’t room enough for the both of them in town. George says the article claims she is driving into town in her new imported car called a Zebra [a fictional car].  

LIZ: “I’m glad she’s got a car. It was dangerous riding around on that broomstick.”

Myra is married to Mr. Minky the peanut king, who Liz insists she married for his money. Tired of hearing about Myra, Liz begs George for another driving lesson. The last time he gave her a lesson she drove their Hudson into someone’s kitchen!  

The Hudson Motor Car Company made automobiles in Detroit, Michigan from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was discontinued in 1957.

George gives in and promises to give her a lesson on the back roads after work. When he gets home, she tells him she practiced before he got there, but forgot to open the garage door!  Liz finally finds the starter (after trying the cigarette lighter and the radio). Then she has trouble finding the clutch. George is foaming at the mouth in anxiety. 

Liz finally gets the car on the road - but the wrong side!  They nearly have a collision!  George gets frustrated and Liz dissolves into tears. 

Much of the driving lesson dialogue and situations were recycled in the episode “Safe Driving Week” in October 1950. In it, George is elected town Safety Chairman just when Liz creates havoc on the roads. 

Later, Cory Cartwright volunteers to help Liz pass her driving test. He wishes her luck, as she goes into the police station to get her driver’s license. 

NELSON: “Name?” LIZ: “Elizabeth Cugat.” NELSON: “Address?” LIZ: “321 Bundy.” NELSON: “Race?”  LIZ: “Of course not!  I don’t even have a driver’s license!”

After much rhetorical to-ing and fro-ing, he takes her fingerprints and gives her the eye test:

NELSON: “Read the letters on the wall over there.” LIZ: “M-E-N.”

The eye test and fingerprinting that Liz undergoes are repeated when Lucy Carter helps her son Craig get a license in a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Somehow Liz passes the driving test and gets her license. Naturally she gets in an accident on the way home with Cory. The car is a wreck, but they are okay. The other driver is a woman (Bea Benadaret) who says she will call her lawyer and the police. 

Liz doesn’t know what she will say to George about the damage to the car. Cory agrees to help her get it fixed before George finds out. 

When “Lucy Learns To Drive” (ILL S4;E12) in 1955, she also has an accident after her first lesson. Like Liz, she has to come up with a story so that her favorite husband doesn’t get angry!

When Liz finally gets home, George tells her that Myra Ponsenby has been reported missing. Liz couldn’t care less, but George wants to know why she’s so late home and is acting so peculiar. The phone rings and George eavesdrops on her conversation about the car. Not knowing to whom or what she’s talking about, George believes that his wife has done away with Myra! 

LIZ (on the phone): “You know how George feels about that old wreck. That wasn’t the first time she’d been hit. Did you see all those dents in her trunk? And her rear bumper was in pretty bad shape, too. Wasn’t it awful? I thought she’d never stop yelling. And all I did was hit her with the front wheels.”

An overheard telephone conversation on the very first filmed “I Love Lucy” episode in 1951 convinces Lucy that Ricky is going to murder her!  Of course, Ricky is merely talking about ‘getting rid’ of his girl singer, Joanne. 

George, thinking Liz is a murderer, emerges from hiding to confront her. Clueless, Liz doesn’t know what all the fuss is about, but George is sure she will ‘get the chair’!  Just then the doorbell rings and it is Sergeant Lewis (Herb Vigran), of the homicide squad. A worried Liz hides in the kitchen while George answers the door. After a moment of doubt, Liz decides to give herself up.  She tells the Sergeant to arrest her! 

Down at the police station, Liz is confronted by the policeman who issued her driver’s license, who has now transferred to homicide. The questions he asks mirror those of the driving test earlier in the day.  Liz decides to tell him the whole story, thinking she’s confessing to a traffic accident and not a murder! 

NELSON: “What did you do with the body?”

LIZ: “I had them jack it up and haul it away on a truck.”

Frank Nelson also played a policeman named Nelson in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (ILL S2;E30) in 1953. In it, Lucy and Ethel are mistaken for  Sticky Fingers Sal and Pickpocket Pearl. The dialogue is different, but also features rapid fire questions and answers between Ball and Nelson. 

The telephone rings and it is announced that Myra Ponsenby has been found alive!  She was in jail after speeding through a small town and arrested. 

In “Tennessee Bound” (ILL S4;E15) new driver Lucy Ricardo also sped through a small town (Bent Fork) and was arrested! 

After a moment, Liz suddenly realizes that that they assumed she murdered Myra!  Liz laughs, knowing that she will now get the car fixed without any fuss!

In the usual bedtime tag, Liz is up late reading a murder mystery. George spoils the ending so he can get some sleep: the butler did it.  George says the butler killed his wife because she talked too much when he was trying to go to sleep!

LIZ: “Ohhhh!  Goodnight, George.”

[the-master-cylinder]

  I Eat Cannibals (1980) Ted Nicolaou’s forgotten action comedy. This was to be the “the most ferocious story of revenge ever filmed.”

Leatherbabies (1984) Story unknown at this time.

Alter Ego (1985) Directed by Peter Manoogian (Arena), another early Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson effort that was to star Jeffrey Byron (of Empire’s The Dungeonmaster) as a sci-fi hero pitched halfway between Mandroid and Jack Deth. The film never got beyond initial planning due to lack of interest from international buyers. Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator) and Rob Goethals (Swamp Thing) were also attached as producer & writer at a stage prior to Bilson/De Meo coming on board.

Crimelord (1985) Some kind of crime/cop movie .

Decapitron (1986)  Interchangeable technology is a popular theme at Empire. One of the more ambitious films is Decapitron, currently subtitled “The Devastation Creation” and also written by Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson. The Decapitron is a robot with five different heads: a surveillance head, which is an extremely sophisticated information gathering and observation device, an omnitech head, which is an all-purpose utility-super analyzer unit useful for biochemical breakdowns, medical diagnosis and crime detection; a humanoid head, which can simulate the appearance of any human male in his mid-thirties; a war head with advanced firepower, and finally, a doomsday head, the ultimate weapon of last resort.

The film was to be directed by Peter Manoogian, however, following the collapse of Empire Studios in 1989, and no doubt fueled by the cool reception given to Empire’s other ‘big’ picture Robot Jox, the script was finally shelved. Bilson & De Meo then went on to write the screenplay for the Disney’s The Rocketeer in 1991. The character of Decapitron was, however, to re-appear in micro-form as one of the puppets in Jeff Burr’s entry in the Full Moon killer toy franchise Puppet Master 4 and Puppet Master 5.

Paul De Meo acknowledges that “Decapitron” is an outgrowth of Eliminators, which was an intriguing idea. Charles Band wanted to go further with it. While the Mandroid is half man, half machine, the Decapitron is all robot. Unlike the Terminator, he’s the good guy. He has a kid sidekick, and they go into a city which has its own rules there’s been a plague in the city and it is under quarantine. The inhabitants are survivors of a biological disaster.”

Bilson and De Meo believe that a good sense of humor delicately applied can compensate for a less than generous budget. Trancers derives humor from its bizarre situation and future slang. In Eliminators, the Mandroid keeps commenting on how unbelievable and comic-book-like the whole thing is, putting the audience on his side. De Meo is aware that the proper tone for a picture is important. He and Bilson like to add humor but they are making action pictures, not comedies. Also, I may be wrong, but I remember hearing this film would’ve been Charles Band’s most expensive picture ever.

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Why then are you spending $10 million on Decapitron? Charles Band: If one or two pictures out of 25 cost that much and all the rest average $2-3 million, we’re still pretty true to our formula. There are pictures that will cost more only because of what it’ll take to make them. It’s not because we’re putting in a $4 million star or spending a million dollars on a director. Decapitron has huge amounts of special effects, pyrotechnics, pieces of city blocks getting blown up it’s just an expensive movie to make. Sometimes a project comes along that we’re so excited about that we want to do it justice. Many pictures we make are designed to be made on a budget, but we don’t want to short- change the story or the movie itself. You can make, in theory, a brilliant horror film if your location is a house. You don’t need $20 million and a lot of special effects. On From Beyond, for example, we have not only John Buechler, who is our close effects associate involved, but we have three other FX teams, too. There’s a huge amount of special effects half the budget of this expensive picture Is going to effects. But again, if your picture takes place In a house in this case, a very large house it’s limited in many potential costs. But If your picture takes place in the future on some planet, in Los Angeles on city streets, with many effects, it costs money. In the case of Decapitron and one other picture that we’ll be announcing soon, the budgets are up there. But everything else is averaged out at about $3 million.

“I did read the DECAPITRON script. It was pretty good though there was a fundamental flaw in the premise. The central character was supposed to carry 5 or 6 replacement heads capable of different functions. Since, in reality, the heads would be masks worn by an actor, they would have to be larger than normal. The script described him carrying them in something the size of a briefcase when it would really have to be the size of a footlocker. Imagine a character dodging bullets and running through action scenes lugging something that big!” – Kenneth J. Hall (film-maker)

  Barbarian Women (1986) Another sword and sorcery film, probably set in the future or another dimension.

Bloodless (1986) Jungle/Ancient horror maybe. Slasher or vampire. Anyone got anything?

Journeys Through The Darkzone (1986) Written by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo (Eliminators), I got nothing much on this. The title was used later as a tagline for Trancers 4.

Show No Mercy (1986) Would be action flick directed by Peter Manoogian.

Tomb (1986) Unmade jungle thriller.

Murdercycle (1986) Originally titled BATTLE BIKES, info is unknown on this version, but fans would later see this art and title recycled for a future Full Moon release about soldiers fighting a robotic alien.

Vulcana (1986) Action/fantasy about a warrior woman.

Charles Band & Jack Kirby Unfilmed Projects

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Mindmaster (1986) involves a scientist who is caught in an accident which leaves him debilitated, and must use a thought-controlled robot he invented to stop a crazed fellow scientist.

Doctor Mortalis (1986) is an all-powerful wizard, the leader of a secret sect of sorcerers known as The Dark Order. His faithful sidekick, “Egghead,” is a witty half-human, half computer genius who possesses fantastic special powers.

Legion of Doom This was going to be Charles Band’s superhero team movie. He once stated that films like Mandroid and Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight were efforts to slowly build characters for a team movie. So it’s entirely possible Dark Angel and Doctor Mordrid could have been on the team as well in this movie.

Berserker (1986) Unfilmed A big fan of RE-ANIMATOR, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stuart Gordon and Dennis Paoli wrote BERSERKER, about a bodybuilder who abuses steroids and becomes a mutant.

Bloody Bess (1987) Unfilmed Stuart Gordon planned this adventure movie around the time he was making From Beyond, and also first attempting to raise a decent budget for his pet project The Shadow Over Innsmouth. It was to star Jeffrey Combs, and Barbara Crampton as a female pirate, out to drink rum, steal gold, and generally show the boys a thing or two about buckling swashes. Rumour has it ex-Empire director Renny Harlin (Prison, Die Hard 2) must have liked the idea, since he lifted it for his 1995 box-office bomb Cutthroat Island, which I have never bothered to watch.

Pand Evil (1987) To be produced and directed by Gorman Bechard (Psychos In Love, Cemetery High).

Fiends (1987) Info not known at this time.

  PULSEPOUNDERS (1988) Incomplete An unfinished Empire Pictures film directed by Charles Band, and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, Jeffrey Combs, Barbra Crampton, and Richard Moll.

Here’s what I’ve heard Charles Band had to say about PulsePounders: “PULSEPOUNDERS is completely shot, it just needs post-production,” says Band. “I still hope to get it out of the mess it’s tangled up in and release it. David Gale is terrific in it, and with him gone now, it’s all the more reason to get it out where people can see him one last time.”

Now here’s what Jeffrey Combs had to say: “Pulsepounders is a real curiosity,” Combs says. “It’s a movie – or a segment of a trilogy – that i did back in the 1980’s while over in Italy. As far as I knew, that movie never got finished. Empire Pictures, Charlie Band’s company at that time, tanked. So that film was in pieces and incomplete, and so far as I’d heard just lost in the wars. Now it’s showing up on the internet as something that’s coming out. I did my segment soon after Re-Animator with Barbara Crampton, the late David Gale and David Warner. Other than the dailies I saw at the time, I never heard or saw anything about it again until information about it suddenly turned up on the internet. So who knws about that. Maybe the next time I talk to Charlie Band, I’ll ask him about it.”

“I was in a segment called ‘The Evil Clergyman‘, based on a Lovecraft story, Combs continues. “They did a short Trancers / Jack Deth story “Trancers: City of Lost Angels” which Helen Hunt was in. And they did one more with Richard Moll, based on another Empire Pictures movie [Dungeonmaster] that had been successful. So it would have been three little odd and hastily connected pieces. They’d all been shot, but they were never able to finish them up.

Zombie Hotel (1989) “Spend a night with the Living Dead.” Subspecies director Ted Nicolaou was set to direct.

Apparatus (1989) A Futuristic thriller that was to have been directed by Larry Cohen (It’s Alive) that apparently concerned “Big Brother'” types controlling the masses through apparatus attached to their bodies. Abandoned also when Empire Pictures folded.

Hotel Dick (1989) Another Empire comedy to be produced by Frank Yablans (Buy & Cell, The Caller).

Bimbo Barbeque (1989) A planned sequel to Assault of the Killer Bimbos, a girls on the run sex comedy that inspired THELMA & LOUISE. It’s mentioned in ASSAULT’s end credits.

Entangled (1989) Would’ve been produced by Irwin Yablans (Halloween).

Floater (1989) Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 & 2) signed on to make a $6 million supernatural thriller, one of Band’s occasional attempts at ‘top-drawer’ quality product. Again, the project was abandoned when Empire ceased. Tobe went on to direct Spontaneous Combustion instead.

Subterraneans (1989) Heard this was to be the first of a trilogy about a culture of small evolved apes that live in the NYC Subway Tunnels.

Empire Films Never Made Undated

Arsenal A no doubt action adventure.

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Cassex Virtual reality sex comedy.

The Colony Apparently about yuppie witches.

Dolls 2 Director of the original Stuart Gordon was, at one point, very interested in directing a sequel. The initial storyline would have followed surviving characters Judy and Ralph back to Boston in which Ralph would have indeed married Judy’s mother and they would all become a family. Until, one day Judy would receive a box sent from England which would contain the toy makers, Gabriel and Hilary, as dolls. Gabriel was played by Guy Rolfe (Andre Toulon in Puppet Master 3, 4, 5, 7) by the way. It’s unknown to me why it was never made.

InHuman Info unknown at this time.

  L.A.B.C. Anyone got anything? I suspect this to be a post-apocalyptic film, which were big in the 1980’s.

Parasite II Following the Charles Band/Demi Moore original, the sequel never hit the script stage after Embassy Pictures fell apart. According to the poster below, actor Robert Glaudini was expected to return.

Shadows and Whispers Unknown about this possibly erotic thriller, to be directed by David Schmoeller (Crawlspace).

Space Sluts in the Slammer Possibly part of Charlie’s uncredited erotic Sci-Fi adventures like Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity.

Strange Magic I got nothing other than this poster. “The King of Evil is dead. Long live the Queen.”

-tomboftheunproducedhorrormovie

The History of Empire Films Part Seven – Films Never Made (1980-1989) I Eat Cannibals (1980) Ted Nicolaou's forgotten action comedy. This was to be the "the most ferocious story of revenge ever filmed."

[dragoninatardis]

H.R. 620: ADA Education and Reform Act

 Note: This is a copy of the issue archive I put together on H.R. 620 for my Argument class.

Background Information and Context:

 From Segregation to Civil Rights: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

 Summary: This is an article from the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law (2011), which gives summaries of both the general purpose and the individual sections of the ADA. It also provides the entire text of the law itself. It explains Title I as applying to employment discrimination, Title II as applying to public services, Title III to private businesses, and Title IV to telecommunications, while Title V contains “technical and miscellaneous provisions”.

 Rational: I found this article in the Context section of the Opposing Viewpoints website. It provides the text of the original law, as well as a solid understanding of it in layman’s terms, without any particular bias. Since the issue here is an amendment to the original law, many arguments will hinge on the original text.

 The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

Summary: This article from the Opposing Viewpoints Archive Collection talks about the history of the ADA, including some of the pieces of legislation and Supreme Court cases which addressed the rights of disabled people prior to the ADA. It also talks about some of the work done by advocates and activists in order to pass the ADA, and the amendments made to it in 2008. This is an unbiased source which provides context for the current argument.

 Rational: This article helps provide an understanding of why the ADA exists in the first place, and how it came to be, which is especially important given that one of the primary arguments against H.R.620 is that it undermines the ADA itself.  

 H.R.620 – ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017

Summary: The Congress website provides information on H.R.620, including a summary, a copy of the bill’s text, and information on where the bill is in the legislative process. It also lists the sponsor, Representative Ted Poe. The summary lists the requirements that the bill introduces for complaints and legal action taken against businesses which violate the ADA accessibility codes.

 Rational: I’m including this because it provides the actual text,        important for both creating and verifying arguments, and because it provides other basic information about what is happening with the bill.

 ADA Title III Lawsuits Increase by 37 Percent in 2016

Summary: Minh N. Vu, Kristina M. Launey, and Susan Ryan authored this article, hosted by the Seyfarth ADA Title III News & Insights Blog, on the increase in ADA Title III lawsuits in 2016. They have been reporting on the increase in Title III lawsuits since 2013, and they link to a previous article on the subject. The article contains graphs showing how the numbers have increased over the last few years, and charting the number of lawsuits in each of the top ten states in 2016. They also talk a little about those plaintiffs who filed more than 100 lawsuits, and mention attempts made by members of both the Senate and House to introduce the ADA Education and Reform Act.

Rational: The primary argument in favor of H.R. 620 has to do with ADA lawsuits, so this article provides important background.      

 Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Summary: This website from the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ provides both materials to assist and inform people about how to meet ADA regulations, and details about how to get further assistance, including the number of the ADA information line. Documents are divided into four categories: Law/Regulations, Design Standards, Technical Assistance Materials (which includes checklists, a guide for small businesses, and several videos), and Enforcement, which provides an extensive case history. The website also includes information on how to file an ADA complaint, linked here for convenience, and on the ADA Mediation Program.

 Rational: Many of the arguments made against H.R. 620 make the point that this program exists to assist businesses in meeting ADA requirements, so this website is important in understanding those arguments. The mediation program is also frequently referenced, particularly in the Civil Rights Division’s open letter.

  Arguments

 The Civil Rights Division’s Comments on the “ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017” (H.R.620)

 Summary: In this open letter, the Civil Rights Division provides three extensive and well-articulated arguments against H.R.620. Firstly, they say, they themselves provide plenty of resources to help small business owners to meet ADA regulations. They also say that the bill changes the enforcement of the ADA in ways which are both unnecessary and harmful, particularly given that the ADA regulations have existed for 27 years, and that they already provide an adequate mediation program for ADA based complaints against businesses. As a division of the Department of Justice, they have extensive experience and a close perspective.

 Rational: Since they are themselves mediators and are supposed to be relatively unbiased, their argument carries a different kind of weight than it would coming from individuals personally effected by the law.

 Congress Wants to Change the Americans With Disabilities Act to Undermine the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities

 Summary: This article was written for the ACLU by Tyler Ray and Vania Leveille, and published in early September of 2017. It takes a much more emotional tone than the statement from the Civil Rights Division. It is an argument intended to convince people that H.R.620 must be stopped, using both pathos and ethos, and also endeavors to persuade the House Judicial Committee to vote no on the bill (this was unsuccessful). It argues that businesses already resist the ADA and that much of public life is inaccessible, and that the changes H.R.620 would make to the enforcement of the ADA go against how other civil rights laws are enforced. It says that all incentive for proactive efforts toward accommodation is removed, and that disabled people deserve access to public life. It provides a passionate, multipronged argument: an ethical argument based on precedent regarding the enforcement of civil rights legislation, and an emotional and moral argument regarding the human rights and lives of disabled people.

 Rational: The ACLU is a well-known, if controversial, organization, which may give weight to their opinion (or opinions endorsed by them), and this argument differs significantly in tone and content from the argument written by the Civil Rights Division.

 Letter to California Delegation Regarding H.R.620

 Summary: This letter from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, signed by a long list of organizations, argues that H.R.620 will not solve the problem it claims to address, that of unethical “drive-by” ADA lawsuits which ruin small businesses. It points out that ADA itself does not allow for damages to be paid to disabled people, only for access barriers to be addressed. It also argues that the bill encourages businesses to wait until a complaint is made, rather than taking steps pro-actively to make sure they are accessible. The letter claims that the way in which the bill is worded limits complaints to the accessibility of the entrance, and that even when problems are corrected, disabled people may still be denied access.

Rational: This argument directly addresses the primary argument for the bill (drive-by litigation), and points out issues in the wording that other arguments do not.

 The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017: It’s Time to Restore the Integrity of the ADA

           Summary: This letter from the ARDC Resort Owners Coalition, signed by 19 business associations and collectives, attempts to persuade members of Congress to support H.R.620. It argues that the bill will “restore the integrity” of the ADA by fighting spurious “drive-by” lawsuits, which it says are being filed by unethical attorneys who are more interested in profit than in access. The letter also suggests that ADA violations can be addressed more effectively when businesses are simply notified of the problem. Finally, they argue that H.R.620 will provide an effective remedy to these problems without undermining the rights of disabled individuals secured by the ADA.

Rational: This letter presents a supporting argument for H.R.620, unlike the other arguments in this archive. Since it is signed by numerous organizations, it can be considered representative of a common argument for the bill.

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[yi-dashi]

The Smoke Burned Black Over Bahrl

— two.

“You were wearing them upside down, you know.”

For a moment, the words washed over Yi as he tried to make himself comfortable. Though the smooth outcrop was wide enough for two to sit, it didn’t make the wind any less intimidating up so high.

“Huh..?”

“The Seven Lenses of Insight. A simple mistake. I was thinking of mounting them in a helmet, even if that’s a quaint solution.”

“Oh. Ah…” He pulled the bulky piece of machinery over his head, his amethyst eyes taking in its peculiarities before he set it upon his lap, “It doesn’t seem to work less, whether you wear it one way or the other.”

“And what do you see with them, Young Master?”

For whatever reason the curt question stuck into him, steeling his face against the view of the world below. A world so vast and distant that it plucked against the strings of his imagination. The joy of the unknown was there, though so too was the terror of things he would never know, now they were engulfed in flame. Out there lay the guilt of being able to fight, and the anguish of people who could not.

“Vulnerability.” Yi offered, though his uncertain tone betrayed his forced cordiality.

“Interesting,” Doran took his thick, braided beard in his hand, “I would have thought you’d say, ‘Well honestly, Master Doran, out there I see my distain for authority, and I’ve about broken all the teapots that Wuju has to offer at this point.’ Something like that.”

“Master.” The then student bit the inside of his cheek, quashing any outbursts before they had a chance to fly, “… It’s more than that. You know it’s more than that.”

“Do I? Are you claiming to know the function of my mind?”

“That… You—”

“— Though, I suppose I can’t know the function of your mind either, and that’s certainly been a puzzle.” Yi took a half breath to quip something back, but his Elder merely raised his voice over anything he tried to say, “What I really want to know, then, is what you’ll see once you’re down there, and you look up this way. Will you see a future up here, or will the smoke blind you to anything but the present?”

Yi’s brow unwound. Agitation became confusion. He’d never heard any of his Masters misspeak, or at the very least say something without clear intent behind every word. But the implication of being down in the faraway lands one day, or any day,

“… What do you mean, ‘When I’m down there?’ ”

“I’ve known you for every moment of your life, Yi. In fact, I’ve known your mother for every moment of her life, and her father, and even his mother. I’ve known a Yi for as long as I’ve been here, and I know the spirit behind the name.” Against all the seriousness of his façade, and the statuesque property of his stance, the Master broke character for just a moment. He looked at Yi out the corner of his eye, his lips pursing for a moment, “A Yi never makes a good Wuju student, because a Yi is somehow honour bound to their sense of adventure. That’s why the Yi family are our bladesmiths, and the entertainers of our Lowlander guests. That’s why they aren’t Wuju students.”

“But I am.” Yi blurted out, to which Doran equally exclaimed,

“I know, yet I’m sure your spirit has already decided what you want. You’ve already made up your mind, yet the Wuju student is here in my loft. The Wuju Student breaks in. He skirts the rules, and is generally miserable. You’re trying your hardest to fulfill your spirit while maintaining Wuju law. You can’t do both, Young Master. You’ve made an utter fool of yourself over these last weeks.”

The agitation crept back. Yi almost jumped off his stool, ready to shout back with a red-hot temper, but caught himself with clenched fists. If anything, it was the way the lenses clunked against their casings that alerted him to his ire. Somehow, the rhythmic adjusting brought him back down, and he could take his breaths in step with them. That wasn’t to say he didn’t feel attacked, but he at least took time to break down the feeling. His Master seemed to return to his previous state by the time he opened his mouth again. Unfeeling and distant; who was he to talk about one’s duty and one’s spirit?

“Why are you talking like I’m not forbidden from stepping a foot off this mountain? It’s not as if I have a choice to do what’s right. None of this matters.”

“You’re right.” Doran replied with a slight shrug, “This mountain is surely guarded at all hours by the hundreds of Wuju Masters we certainly have.”

“What?”

“The Masters we hide away, of course. Those ones that will physically draw a sword against you to enforce our decree.”

“Why are you…” Yi shook his head, “… What?”

“There’s this one delusion you hold, that’s stopping you from thinking clearly about all the options laid before you. Consider it a moment, then tell me when you understand. I’d rather see you thinking critically – making the right choice from a reasoned standpoint – than hiding behind arguably fake ultimatums. It can be damned what any of us Master say. What we say, and reality, are different, aren’t they?”

And Yi took his time as the gale whipped up from the swell below. The iron boxes out to sea inched closer, and the fires still burned, and people still suffered some unimaginable crisis. He took in the continuing disaster so far away, and he searched for some hidden command or lesson. Yet, the longer he thought, the more it seemed so simple.

“No one is to stop me,” He muttered to himself, “if I venture down the mountain? No one is to actually chain me, or fight me, if I try?”

“Congratulations, Young Master. You have remembered the very function of this School. Words above all other solutions, and action as less than a last resort. Anyone who stands against you is just as bad as you are.” Yi didn’t see the Master’s hand lash out, but he felt the sting when the Craftsman’s grasp wrapped around his wrist. The pain stole his gaze, and his eyes widened as they locked with the Old Master’s, “So stop using words as an excuse to act out. I’m tired of you shouting from templetops, and self-harming through tribunal punishment. You’re a Wuju Bladesman, at least right now, with a Wuju sense of mind. You know you have a choice to stay, or to go. Your choices are yours, but don’t pretend like this, or any of your stunts, are accomplishing anything. Indecision aids no cause but one that disrupts you, me, and all other disciples.”

Yi dared not try to break the grip, in part for fear of falling to his death, but also because of the sensation that he deserved it. Pinpricks shot up and down his fingers, but that was little against the unknowable expression of his mentor. Something akin to frustration, but with a note of sadness below the surface. He supposed he must have been looking into a mirror. Frustrated sadness was a good way to describe how he’d felt up until this moment. The feeling was slowly lifting however, replaced instead with what felt like… begrudging empowerment? Who could even know how to feel, in times like this?

“So, I’ll ask you again.” Doran continued, his calloused hand slipping away from Yi’s wrist, “Slowly, this time: When, or if, you go down there, will you see a future anywhere? Surely right now you can see your future down there, but what about once that future is your present? What then? Would you rather be assured in a future here, or uncertain in a future down below?”

“… I’d rather do what I think is right.” This time, Yi let the first thought out his mouth that came to mind, regardless of if he felt it ill considered. If he couldn’t explain away what he felt because he’d been ordered not to feel it, then he could only offer his heart, “Whether there’s a future in it is not a factor for me. I look down there, and I see a problem. I will look up here, and Wuju will continue on without me, as it has always done. The time to plan the rest of my life is after hard work is done, whether Wuju is a part of it or not. Who else is going to do it?”

“That’s stupid,” The Artificer sighed, “but it’s something Yi Hui would say, isn’t it? This School is too amoral and timeless for you. You’re just like your mother, eh?”

“The present is the only time we can take action. I cannot change the past, and the future is the sum of too many working parts to perfectly predict. You should understand that better than anyone.”

“I’ll not argue analogy with you at length, because I’m getting cold and we’ll be here all day. All I can say is that a machine with unknowable parts is not a machine, but an abomination. Reality has knowable parts, and can be known in all ways. Even if they are the function of mind, which I’ve yet to find all the working parts in. Just because you’re not aware of the parts, doesn’t mean they can’t be known eventually.”

“Absolute awareness in all things…”

“Including awareness of the things you can do wrong in this life, so that you won’t do them.” The desperation of the last comment had Yi cocking an eyebrow. Yet Doran was still and considered in his presentation, and rose from his stool with the same collected poise, “Doing something, while knowing there will be a negative gain for you, is idiotic. Gallantry, by nature, is one sided, because once you surrender to it there’s never an end. That’s not even beginning to consider the sanctity of what you know, and what should be done with it.”

“Master Doran.” He too stood tall, as his wind-spun hair flew about his face, “I’m so sorry, but I cannot agree with that. I understand what you are saying, but I can’t bring myself to agree.”

“Then I’ve said my piece. You know that the choice is binary. No more of this mucking about. Make your choice and live with it…”

“Yes, Master.” With a sombre dip of his back, Yi offered the last bow he could imagine giving to any of his teachers. As he bent down, he held the lenses in both hands towards their craftsman. Instead of feeling the weight lift, he heard the pad of Doran’s feet against the stone,

“Keep them, and go. I made them for you, anyway. You’ll find the helmet for them somewhere amongst the mess you’ve made. I also suggest you don’t be seen in the catacombs, if you’ve taken anything I’ve said to heart.”

Stunned, Yi merely hunched there for a moment. Eventually, he stared at the goggles as they looked back at him, ticking still. He thought it might have been a test, so it seemed right to set them down and go. But he stared, and so did they. They’d been party to the discussion, and seemed to know what he truly felt. Truly a Doran’s craft, so he put them around his neck once more. Giving one last glance to the smoke, burning black in the sky, he turned on his heels and walked back into the mountain.

Get a helmet, commission his parents for armour, and live for the present.