#he's going on strike and moving to Hawaii

[flyboytracy]

[usafphantom2]

Why, 100 years later, the power of aircraft carriers is still incomparable

The U.S. response to the recent attack on Israel highlights the lasting usefulness of aircraft carriers.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/11/2023 - 18:57in Military, War Zones

On October 8, a few hours after the unprecedented attack on Israel, the Pentagon publicly resorted to its greatest military resource. While the clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists continued throughout southern Israel, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to enter the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The mobilization made it very clear that the U.S. had become aware of the crisis and was preparing to respond. He also made it clear that - despite recent pronouncements that question their value, given their surprising cost and vulnerability - aircraft carriers are still part of modern war.

HMS Argus, widely considered the first aircraft carrier in the world in the 1920s.

The aircraft carrier is just over a hundred years old. Initially conceived as a warship scout to locate the enemy fleet with its aircraft, the Imperial Japanese Navy demolished this concept during World War II, uniting several aircraft carriers to create an attack force with greater range and heavier attack capacity than a line of warships.

The attack on Pearl Harbor, when six aircraft carriers attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, catapulted the aircraft carrier to the top as the dominant weapons system in the seas.

When a weapon reaches the top of your domain, it is natural to assume that someday your reign will end. The Greek phalanx, the knight, the battleship, the warship and other weapons dominated the land and the sea, only to be set aside - violently and unceremoniously - by a new and innovative weapon. Aircraft carriers have remained at the top of the war in multiple domains for more than 80 years, and not even a new weapon has been designed that could replace them.

USS Liscome Bay transporting aircraft to San Diego on September 20, 1943. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Admirals like to point out that a Nimitz or Ford class aircraft carrier represents "4.5 acres of American sovereign territory". Aircraft carriers are owned by the U.S. government and are so large that they are effectively American territory - a floating island of American power that can move anywhere in the world's oceans. In addition, wherever they go, American territory remains, and their actions are not limited by anyone except the U.S. government... and the enemy.

This advantage is particularly evident in the Israel-Gaza crisis. The U.S. military maintains air bases around the world, but coverage is irregular. The closest American air base to Israel is the Incirlik air base in Turkey, at a distance of 300 miles away. Aircraft flying from Turkey to Israel would also have to fly over Syria, a hostile country with its own air force. Giving Syria ample space would require flying about 160 extra kilometers and fighter escorts, increasing the complexity of reaching Israel. Another layer of complexity is that the Turkish host government may not be politically in agreement with the U.S. government on the mission.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, on the other hand, can anchor in international waters off the coast of Israel and get as close as it wants (although not very close, since Hezbollah operates anti-ship missiles). Ford's four F/A-18E/F attack fighter squadrons have a straight and uninterrupted line to any point on the eastern Mediterranean coast. The U.S. government can order Ford to do everything it wants, including ordering it to combat, without the need for coordination with a host government. This ensures that the U.S. government, which is not exactly known for making quick decisions, can quickly take unilateral measures when necessary.

The current role of aircraft carriers includes the carrying out of air strikes against terrorist groups such as ISIS, Hezbollah and Hamas, and the dropping of guided bombs on enemies who cannot really react. This was true 20 years ago, when the end of the Cold War and September 11 changed the Pentagon's focus from the war between great powers to counter-insurgency. But although the mission has changed, the broad capabilities have remained the same and the aircraft carriers are still able to face threats on a broad spectrum, from ISIS to the People's Liberation Army of China.

Combat is not the only mission that aircraft carriers can perform. Aircraft carriers can carry out humanitarian assistance and humanitarian aid missions in real time, such as those carried out by the USS Ronald Reagan after the Fukushima earthquake in 2011. While Japan and the United States mobilized to rescue survivors and assess the damage, the Reagan served as a floating helipad for helicopters from both countries in an area where local airports and airfields were destroyed by earthquakes and tsunamis. Nothing else can function as a mobile and disaster-proof airfield as an aircraft carrier.

The U.S. government uses aircraft carriers to communicate with both friends and enemies, both as an instrument of assurance and intimidation. Although the aircraft carriers had not yet been invented when Teddy Roosevelt first said, "speak softly and carry a big club", they are the great club exemplified. Nothing draws more attention than a full-fledged aircraft carrier attack group arriving in the neighborhood, with 44 attack fighters, a cruiser and two destroyers in tow, and a nuclear-powered attack submarine prowling somewhere nearby.

Aircraft carriers can signal the intention like no other weapons system. If an attack submarine appears on your shore, you will probably have no idea that it is there. If a B-2 stealth bomber crew is training to attack targets in your country, you won't know unless they execute the mission. But if an aircraft carrier appears on your coast, it's impossible not to know. It is also a clear sign that you are on Washington's radar - and not in a good way.

From time to time the usefulness of aircraft carriers is questioned. Usually, it is only a matter of months before something, such as the ongoing crisis in Israel and Gaza, proves its usefulness again.

Aircraft carriers have their problems: they are expensive to buy, expensive to operate and expensive to discard when they end their useful life. Still, in a crisis, there is no other weapon system that can do so much before even firing a shot. Someday, something will replace the aircraft carrier - but that day is not today.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Tags: Military Aviationaircraft carrierUSN - United States Navy/U.S. NavyWar Zones - Middle East

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[irrolyphant]

Timothy Olyphant, 55, is an actor who starred in Deadwood, Live Free or Die Hard, and Justified. He will star in the FX miniseries Justified: City Primeval this fall and currently co-stars in the Max miniseries Full Circle. He spoke with Marc Myers before the actors strike.

TIMOTHY:

You couldn’t get me out of the pool when I was a kid. We lived next door to a swim and racket club in Modesto, Calif.

I began regular swim practice at age 6. My older brother, Andy, took to tennis, which probably helped us get along. We were competitive. Our younger brother, Matt, did a little bit of everything and eventually became a water-polo player.

I was born in Hawaii, but we moved to Modesto when I was 3. My dad, Bevan, worked for Del Monte and left to work at E&J Gallo Winery soon after we relocated to California. He started in bottling and worked his way up to vice president of production.

My mom, Katherine, was a full-time mom. She was the nurturing type. Whether I won or lost, she’d always talk about how well I competed or how beautiful a swimmer I was, never about whether I won or not. She’s very sweet and encouraging.

Just as I was starting high school, my parents divorced. After they split up, we quickly figured out who was responsible for what. For example, our dad didn’t really know how to do laundry or cook. If we were going over to his place, we’d probably be eating out.

When you’re young, any time your foundation gets rocked, it sets you back a bit. I’d been a good student when my parents were together, but there definitely was a dip after the divorce. I kind of saw what I could get away with and wound up just an okay student.

I wasn’t in school plays. I’m not sure I saw that side of me yet. Instead, I was at swim practice and hanging with my buddies. I also liked to draw a lot, which I suppose is how I expressed myself.

I was a solid swimmer in the Central Valley. I set a CIF SAC-Joaquin Section Record and wound up with an All America Swimming Certificate. By my senior year, I realized swimming was my ticket out of town and certainly the only way I’d get into a great university.

I worked hard. After USC saw the times I was posting, they called to recruit me for the team. When I flew out to USC on my recruit trip, I met with the dean of the architecture school. He said there was no way I could manage both the swim team’s practice schedule and the rigors of the architectural program.

I asked him about the art gallery downstairs. He said it was part of the fine-arts department. I didn’t even know you could get a degree in that. I met with the fine-arts dean and asked if I could be on the swim team. He said we’d work it out.

Majoring in fine arts for me was like winning the lottery. In high school, I’d get in trouble for drawing when I was supposed to be doing schoolwork. Now, in college, drawing was my schoolwork.

After my senior year, I left USC several electives shy of a degree and didn’t finish until the pandemic. But before I left, I met some drama majors who got me thinking about acting.

By then, my college girlfriend, Alexis, and I had married. We moved to Seal Beach, south of Los Angeles, where I coached swimming. To fulfill some of my electives I took an acting 101 class at UC Irvine. I had a ball. It was a language I understood immediately.

I read Stanislavsky’s and Sandy Meisner’s books on acting. I realized that it wasn’t a frivolous pursuit but a craft on par with how artists I admired approached painting and sculpture. I told Alexis I was thinking about pursuing acting rather than a master’s in fine art. She said, “Tim, just do something. Just pick one thing and do that.”

The guy who taught the intro class was a graduate student who recommended I study with Bill Esper at the Esper Studio in New York. Fortunately, Alexis’s dad lived there and let us move into his place.

My career has been many little steps—a lot of one step forward, two steps back. I’m not sure if there was any one role that really changed things, but landing the lead in “Justified,” in 2010, certainly helped things along.

Today, Alexis and I live in Los Angeles and have three grown kids. We moved in 15 years ago and love the house and neighborhood. I still draw and swim.

Breakfast is my favorite meal. I make steel-cut oatmeal in my rice cooker, which has a porridge setting. When I come home from swimming and have my oatmeal, I feel like I’m 8 again. And you know what? That feels pretty good.

—————

Timothy’s Digs:

Full Circle? I play Derek in the miniseries about a kidnapping gone awry and the family secrets exposed.

Blissful space? Sitting in a blue chair in the kitchen having coffee with my wife.

Cool buy? A painting by an artist I’ve admired for at least a decade or so.

Tennis? I play with my brother and oldest daughter. The fact that they play with me means the world.

Youngest daughter? Vivian. She’s an actress in the coming season of Justified: City Primeval.

[one-vivid-judgment]

Do you think ZhaoHan are VERY Dramatic when they are separated for a certain period of time ?

If yes could you imagine how insufferable they would be then to people not used to their antics…

I imagine Tomi going to Yokohama with Ichiban and the rest of the gang before The Big FinaleTM but he barely gets to meet the rest of the crew that he witnesses Joon-gi straight up fucking sprinting towards Zhao and almost glues himself to him (in typical RGG fashion where every scene they are together they MUST be attached to the hip iykyk)

Like Tomi never saw the man move so damn fast outside of fights, he swore he only saw a blur of black and silver zoom past him 😭 (and everyone else, minus Kiryu and Chitose, are just kinda shrugging at him like yeah this is your average Tuesday Tomi, get used to it)

When I tell you my ZhaoHan wired brain on my current LAD replay keeps fixating on THAT little detail in literally every cutscene they appear in together  They’re about to sneak into Omi HQ and Joongi won’t stop looking at Zhao as he speaks. Always sitting together at the piano when I enter Survive. Sawashiro tries to leave Seiryu HQ after we beat his ass and who’s stopping him? These two. A whole party chat of just those two talking about meat buns with not even Ichi intervening. Ichi tells them about how he’s going to Osaka and Zhao and Joongi are literally standing together behind Saeko (also, in Spanish, Saeko calls Joongi ‘Geomijul boy’, and specifically in this scene, he calls him ‘sweetheart’ and I think that’s adorable). Seonhee calls for them and they show up at Survive together. These two literally gravitate towards one another and I don’t think they even realize it

I just imagine Joongi getting sulky because his best friend AND his boyfriend decided to go with Kiryu and leave him with all the boring paperwork, then booking a ticket to Hawaii that same night “Cause fuck you, that’s why”, and immediately regretting it a few days into his self-imposed vacation cause he can’t send Zhao any of the pics he’s taking, else Seonhee will find out (never mind the fact that Seonhee ALREADY knows his dramatic, neglected Bengal cat ass booked it to Hawaii) and he feels so lonely pre-meeting with the Ichigang.

Joongi strikes me as the introverted type who needs time to charge his social battery, and who has specific people he latches onto to help him recharge because they help him feel comforted/at ease, aka Zhao and Seonhee. Being without them makes him feel kinda sluggish and his battery charges up way slower, so when he’s back in Ijincho? Boy, he JUMPS Zhao and clings to him like a baby koala. Zhao is so used to it that he doesn’t even flinch at this point, just ‘aww’s and takes to a quiet corner.

Tomi and Chitose been knew Joongi was the ‘cool on the outside, big ass dork on the inside’ type but,,, they’ve never seen him this needy??? Meanwhile everyone else remains unimpressed cause “Yeah?? Haven’t you heard ‘Joongi Han on the streets, Kim Yeonsu on the sheets’? This happens every other day.”

[theresalwayselvis]

Hawaiian Wedding Song 

pairing: elvis x reader

summary: Elvis has been out of the army for a little while and you haven't spoken to him since he left. When you travel to Hawaii for your sisters wedding you get the reunion you were least expecting.

warnings: a little angst, a little fluff

note: My sister got married in Hawaii in May and I couldn't stop thinking about how I would have given anything to be in Hawaii with Elvis so this word vomit came out

Y/S/N - your sister's name

S/F/N - sister's fiancé's name

word count: 3,487

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

You couldn’t be happier when the plane you had been on for what felt like an eternity finally landed in paradise. You made your way from Memphis to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Your sister is getting married on the beach, hence why you rushed to get there as soon as you could. As her maid of honor, you wanted to make sure there was enough time to make her wedding day perfect. You had been waiting for this moment for years. Her and her boyfriend had been dating for close to a decade, finally deciding to get married in the same spot they got engaged a few years prior on a family vacation. 

 

Not to mention this would be the first time you are seeing your sister in person since you parted with her on this island. She decided to tell you she and (S/F/N) were moving to Honolulu for his job, thinking she would be softening the blow by breaking the news to you while baiting in the bright Hawaiian sun. Although you were upset, you had always been closer to your sister than anyone, and you were so happy for her. You were able to hold yourself together especially with the help of your boyfriend. Your family adored him so naturally he had come along on the vacation. He was just as excited as you were about (Y/S/N) getting engaged. He just adored her. He knew how much she meant to you, so he made sure to keep a great relationship with her. Even if that weren’t the case, it was so hard not to love her charismatic personality and striking beauty. Knowing you weren’t going home with everyone you came with was a pill made easier to swallow knowing you would still have the other half of your heart with you. 

 

Little did you know you wouldn’t just be losing the comfort of having your sister nearby, but you would be losing the love of your life as well before the year was out. Christmas wasn’t the same without the one you shared it with your whole life. Making the most of your first incomplete holiday was made thoroughly impossible when that sudden knock on the door sounded through the living room lit by the fireplace. The hands that were holding you close were soon shaking with a letter enclosed within them. A letter that would shatter your perfect reality and leave you alone. Sure, you had your friends and your other family, and for that you were grateful. Grateful, but a shell of your once happy self, nonetheless. The two people who knew you the best, brought out the best in you and filled your days with true happiness, were suddenly ripped away from you. You felt helpless. Alone. Inconsolable. The opposite of what you were feeling at this very moment coming face to face with (Y/S/N). 

 

“(Y/N)!” Your sister shouted as she saw you approaching her on the tarmac. She ran to you with open arms, engulfing you in a tight embrace before pulling away and placing a lei around your neck. 

 

“Why thank you, ma’am,” You beamed down at her with a giggle. 

 

Although you were the younger sister, you stood a few inches taller. (Y/S/N) always joked saying it didn’t matter if she was older or not, she always looked up to you. An angel on earth she would call you. You couldn’t help but tear up a little, remembering how much you cared for the girl in front of you. You knew the feeling was reciprocated, which is what made your relationship even more special. 

 

“I missed you so much,” You smiled through your tears, pulling her in for another embrace. 

 

“I missed you more,” She sighed as she pulled away to look at you, “You’ve gotten prettier, if that’s even possible.” 

 

You rolled your eyes, knowing she was just excited to see a familiar face. It never really dawned on you that it must get lonely for her here. Living in your own little slice of heaven isn’t all it’s cracked up to be when there’s no one there to manage your demons. 

 

“Let’s get you to the house, I know (S/F/N) is just dying to see you!” 

 

You got in your sisters little black convertible and started the journey to her home. Her home, it’s still strange to think of how separate your lives have become in such a short amount of time. Although those two years felt as though they spanned a lifetime, in the scheme of it all they’re so minuscule. It seems your sister was thinking similarly when she cleared her throat as if to work up the courage to ask you what’s on her mind. 

 

“So…have you um…. have you talked to him?” She spoke slowly, not sure if she should be afraid of your reaction. 

 

“Not since he stopped calling, no,” You responded shortly. 

 

Another long pause, followed by an eyebrow raise, followed by, “Well, he was in the army, he may have been a little busy.” 

 

“Oh, he was in the army, I didn’t realize that,” You scoffed sarcastically. If it had been a case of simply becoming too busy, then you would have understood. You couldn’t imagine the stress he must have felt being away from home under those circumstances. You are not an unreasonable woman. You are, however, a jealous one. 

 

“He was busy alright,” You rolled your eyes, remembering the articles and photos you had seen in the paper of your boyfriend with a pretty young thing. 

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” She asked with a laugh, not being able to hold in the way your tone made her giggle. 

 

“You didn’t see? It was in the papers. He found himself a new girl. She’s younger, and beautiful, and….and….well I guess that’s all I have to say,” You huffed out. 

 

You had spent way too many nights upset, mourning a story without an ending. You didn’t need closure, you needed revenge. You needed to make sure everyone saw how good you looked, how well you were doing without him. It worked at home. It worked with those who saw you out in public. It even worked with most of your friends. Here though, on a small island with the one person who knows you best in the world, you knew your tough exterior would slip. 

 

“I’m alright I promise. This is about you remember. So, stop asking me questions and start telling me when to pick up the dresses,” I responded with a laugh, trying to distract her with talk of wedding planning. 

 

It had worked considering she told me when to pick up the dresses, as well as a list of other errands I set out to complete early the next morning. You made your way into town, picking up odds and ends from shops before making your way into the boutique where your sister had picked out the dresses for the wedding party. 

 

Unbeknownst to you, a very familiar face was sitting down across the street at a cafe. You had absolutely no clue Elvis was in Hawaii, on the very same island you were, filming a movie. The very small island in case that point hasn’t been driven home yet. Elvis looked up and spotted you, nearly giving himself whiplash from the double take he was forced into. His mouth hung open, too shocked to have seen you here to even gather his thoughts. The first place he expected to run into you was a spot you both frequented back home in Memphis, not an island in the middle of the ocean 4,000 miles away. Even Jerry snapping his fingers in front of his face did little to help. 

 

“Hey EP,” Jerry whistled trying to catch his attention, “What in the world are you lookin’ at that’s got you so flustered?” 

 

Elvis just pointed to your figure standing in the window of the shop, admiring the dresses with a bright smile on your face. 

 

“No way…(Y/N)? You don’ think she’s…,” Jerry was quickly interrupted. 

 

“Oh, I sure as hell do. What does that lil girl think she’s doing running away to get married?” Elvis quickly jumped to the conclusion. 

He watched as you walked through the door, not missing the giddy smile adorning your face as you continued to admire the dresses in your arms. The same smile that he would do anything to see at one point. The scrunch of your nose that would make his heart skip a beat. The light in your eyes that took his breath away. He’s reminded of how much he loved you once. How much he still loves you judging on how green he turns at the mere thought of you being anyone else’s girl. 

 

“Well, are you gonna go talk to her or what?” Jerry rushed out, hoping to snap Elvis out of it before you went on your way. 

 

Elvis gaped at him incredulously as a scoff left his lips, “She clearly hasn’t had a fire under her seat about talkin’ to me, so I reckon I’ll just give her what she wants and leave her be.” 

 

Jerry rolled his eyes and audibly groaned, “You two are unbelievable.” 

 ⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

“How do the centerpieces look, Ollie?” You inquired, looking towards the best man for any sort of feedback seeing as he was the only one who showed up to help you.

He looked between you and the table for a moment, “Oh yeah, the centerpieces. They look…like centerpieces.” 

“Thank you for that, Oliver. I knew I could count on you,” you deadpanned. 

Oliver walked over to you and rested a comforting hand on your shoulder, “Stop stressing out so much, you’re making yourself sick. Everything is perfect. How could it not be? You’ve been obsessing over it all week.” 

You were about to respond when you heard one of the employees walking over, leading a group of people over to a table so they could sit and eat. 

“Please excuse the mess, Mr. Presley. The set up for a party is underway.” 

Your head snapped up at the mention of his name. Turning towards the voice you heard, your gaze settled upon the person you were least expecting to run into. His long legs being perfectly hugged by the tailored pants he adorned. A few buttons on his pressed shirt were undone, exposing his perfectly tanned chest. That was enough to make your breath catch in your throat. But the sight of the girl he had on his arm really knocked the wind out of you. She was alluring with her jet-black curls and perfectly painted red lips. You were stunned, but not to silence. 

“Elvis what are you-,” you started. 

“Y/N I-,” Elvis rushed out at the same time.

You just stared at each other for a moment before he began again, “Can we talk?”

You nodded, excusing yourself from a very confused Oliver as you made your way to the sliding glass door behind you that led out to the beach. 

You turned to look at him, fidgeting with your hands, something you always do when you are anxious. You stopped when his eyes traveled down to look at your interlocked fingers. He knew your tells, but you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. 

“What are you doing here?” You asked meekly, afraid of how your voice would sound.

“I’m filming a movie here. It’s called Blue Hawaii. I’ve been lining up a lot of acting jobs since I got out of the service,” he licked his lips, one of his nervous habits you have picked up on. 

“I thought you would be with…oh what’s her name? The pretty young thing you picked up while you were over there. Looks like you’ve moved on with another beauty. Yet again, people always did say you moved fast,” You raised your eyebrows expectedly, waiting for his reaction. 

“Priscilla? We were just keeping each other company while we were away from home ‘sall. And the girl with me is my co-star, Joan. Ain’t nothing going on between us.”

You hummed in response, not fully believing the picture he was painting before you.

“Is that why I didn’t hear from you when I got home? You were avoiding me like the plague because you thought I brought another girl back with me?” 

You avoided his eyes as they were trying to search yours. Yes, that’s exactly what you were saying. But his exacerbated tone was causing you to have second thoughts. 

“I admit, I was mighty lonely over there. I may have had a wandering eye. Okay, more than that. But I never would have thought about bringing anyone else home. You were my girl, my best girl, and the only thought I had was getting home to you,” He admitted. You knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep to himself while he was gone. Two years is a long time, especially for someone like Elvis. You had accepted that, but you didn’t expect to see all the headlines about him and his new mistress abroad. 

You didn’t know what to say to him. You were still hurt and angry but seeing him confirmed all the thoughts you kept buried. The thoughts everyone around could read on your face whenever he was mentioned. You were not over him. You never had been, and you never will be. You loved him so deeply he was branded onto your soul like a tattoo. The most beautiful line work anyone would ever see.

“Hey angel, can you say something please?”

“I just…there’s so much that could be said. I pictured this moment a million times, seeing you again after you were gone for so long. I never expected it to be like this,” You confessed, tears already forming in your eyes. 

“I know you-,” he began, but you were nowhere near finished.

“Let me get this out. I was so broken up over you, hell I still am. I kept thinking one day it won’t hurt anymore, but I thought about you every day. I always think about you when something good happens to me and it breaks my heart that you’re the one person I want to share things with, but I can’t. I tried to move on, I really did. But the thought of saying I love you to anyone else seems impossible. You never left me. You’re like a…a…a weed or something. A beautiful weed, like queen Anne’s lace, but a weed. I would pick the thought of you out, but it would just keep growing back,” you finished, a little out of breath and completely vulnerable. 

“I never stopped thinking about you either,” He began as he took a step closer to you, “I’ve never been as good with words as you are, but I had the same thoughts. When I got these movie deals it took everything in me not to call you and tell you about it,” He had a sad smile. Elvis walked up to you and brushed the tears off your face, “I guess I missed my chance. That guy in there with his hands all over you, is that who you’re marrying?” 

You widened your eyes, confused as to why he thought you would be marrying Oliver, “What? No, that’s Oliver. He’s the best man in Y/S/N’s wedding. She’s getting married tomorrow, right here on the beach. I’ve been here all week getting everything ready. I’m not engaged to Oliver, or anyone for that matter.”

“Y/S/N is getting married? Wow isn’t that something. To S/F/N I hope,” Elvis said jokingly. 

“Yes, to S/F/N. You could…um well…you could come if you want if you aren’t busy.”

“Even if I was, I would drop everything. I wouldn’t want to miss that for the world,” You knew Elvis missed your family. He thought of your sister as his as well. You knew he would do anything for the two of you. 

“Okay well the wedding is at 4 tomorrow under the cliff just down a ways.”

“I’ll be there,” He gave you a toothy grin, the one he always flashes when he’s excited about something.

You nodded and turned to walk back to the restaurant when he stopped you. 

“Hey Y/N,” You turned around to face him once again, “I’m glad you aren’t engaged to anyone. You’re still my best girl.” You grinned, turning, and walking away to hide the blush on your face. 

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

You didn’t tell your family Elvis was coming to the wedding. You were going with the idea that you wanted it to be a surprise, but you really didn’t know what to say to them. You were just wrapping your head around the conversation you had with him the previous night. You had no time to gather any of your thoughts about that right now. You were standing up at the altar, waiting for your father to walk your sister down the aisle. As you were scanning the back of the sea of guests looking for her grand arrival, you spotted Elvis sitting in the very back, probably not wanting to bring any attention to himself. You locked eyes with him and smiled. The genuine warmth you saw in his eyes as he smiled back eased any lingering doubts you had. The two of you had missed each other, and all that matters now is you had found your way back to each other.

The wedding had gone exactly as you planned. The well-oiled machine you built was well worth it, especially when all the guests came up to you and complimented the work you had done. As you were finishing up the chat you were having with your aunt, you spotted Elvis leaning against a tree watching you. You made your way over to him, making sure the long pink dress you had on didn’t get ruined by the sand at your feet. 

“You look beautiful,” He complimented. 

“Thank you, kind sir. Are you ready to head over to the party? Just a heads up, I didn’t tell anyone you were here. Y/S/N may be a little mad at you for upstaging her night.”

“Nah, she’ll be so happy to see me she won’t even have time to be mad.” 

You were so glad that was actually the case. As you and Elvis walked into the party hand in hand, the shocked look on your sister’s face was priceless. 

“Elvis?! What? How? Come here,” She pulled him into a tight hug which he eagerly returned. 

“What in the world are you doing here?” She asked as she took a good look at him. In the few years he had been separated from all of you he had changed. Nothing major or significant, but changes, nonetheless. He was still the same beautiful boy you all know and love. 

“I’m here filming a movie. I ran into Y/N yesterday and after we got to talking, she invited me. Did you really think I would miss your wedding?” He asked, making one of his infamous goofy faces making you and your sister laugh.

“You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here. Hell, I’m just happy to see the two of you spending time together again. You two belong together, and Y/N don’t give me that look you know I’m right.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” you playfully rolled your eyes. 

Just then a slow song started playing and Elvis asked you to dance. 

“How cliché,” you giggled as he bowed and offered you his hand. 

“I don’t want to let you go again,” Elvis spoke as he swayed to the song with you. 

“I know, but I’ll be there waiting when you get home. And this time, I may just answer the phone when you call.”

“No, I mean I want you to stay here with me until I finish filming. Then we can go home together. You can come with me to Graceland. I don’t want to be away from you anymore. We spent too much time apart, we have a lot to make up for,” He said into your ear before he kissed the side of your head. 

“You’re right, I was dreading leaving the sunshine. I guess it’s an added bonus I get to be with you,” You joked. 

“Very funny. You get the sunshine, me, and more time with your sister. It’s like I’m a miracle worker or something.”

“Alright, so make some magic happen,” You challenged him, leaning closer and brushing your nose against his. 

He leaned in and kissed you. It felt as if the world stopped. All your worries melted away. The stress of this past week, and the heartbreaking loneliness of the last few years without him. You were right where you needed to be, and he was going to do anything it took to make sure you stayed there. 

[sonyaheaneycategoryromance]

(via A New Duet Coming Soon!)

DR. KNOX PETERS grabbed the soda from the bar and pointed to the back wall. “Game of darts? Loser buys the next round?” Jackson Peters, his best friend, roommate and for all the purposes Knox cared about, brother, rolled his eyes. “You haven’t lost a game since before we met in the boys’ home. That hustle might work on the unsuspecting but come on, Knox.” They’d been thrown together in foster care. Bunkmates because of a shared last name. A twist of fate that led to a lifelong friendship. “Fine. Winner buys the drinks.” His buddy was down. Had been down since he returned from Hawaii almost a year ago now. The longest melancholy streak ever. After a vacation. And he wouldn’t tell Knox why. “If you want to play darts, you can just ask me to play darts.” Jackson held up the beer he’d been nursing for the past hour in a mock toast. Knox rolled his eyes before heading to the dartboard. Jackson was right; it wasn’t much of a competition. Knox had started playing darts as part of a hustle for one of his less than stellar foster parents. His eye for detail and need for perfection driving him to master the skill, even though his foster father was using it to fleece money from unsuspecting bar patrons.

The fact that the underage Knox was allowed in the bar and on a first-name basis with the bartender should have been a major red flag. But it never seemed to register with the people his foster father targeted. Knox passed Jackson the set of red darts. Jackson stepped to the line and tossed the first dart, landing close to the bull’s-eye. But not close enough. That was something Knox loved about Jackson. The man had never beaten him at a game. But he never gave up trying. Never threw a game intentionally to make it go quicker. The game progressed as it normally did. A few people stepped up to watch them toss the darts. “Such precision!” A young white woman clapped as she moved toward Jackson. His brother wasn’t going to win, but the black man was beyond attractive. Still, Knox knew the beauty’s attempt was doomed to failure. Jackson had never been a playboy, but the man had enjoyed regular dates. Something else that had stopped after the vacation. “She was cute.” Knox grabbed his dart from the bull’s-eye. “You should ask her out.” Jackson tilted the beer bottle in his direction again. Knox shook his head. He’d dated three women since becoming a surgeon. All three had broken up with him when he made it clear that his patients were his first priority. That wasn’t fair to them. He understood that. In a relationship, your partner deserved to know that they were first in your life. Maybe something was broken in him that he seemed incapable of giving that. The universe battered him in his early days. Abandoned by his mother at eight, in and out of foster care until he’d aged out. Hell, he’d graduated high school top of his class to prove to his last foster family that he wasn’t a loser. Not that they’d ever known. They’d dropped him at the boys’ home after he failed eighth grade English. Never mind that he’d spent the year hopeful his mother would finally regain custody only to learn she’d actually given up all parental rights. Not an excuse for failure, however. They’d promptly forgotten him. Knox would never forget, though. He’d been the best at nearly everything he’d done since. “She didn’t hit on me. She hit on you. Getting out a bit more wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen.” Knox tossed another dart. Bull’s-eye. “I’m not the only one who could do to spend more time out of the hospital.” Jackson threw his dart, striking into the heart of the board where only Knox’s darts found purchase—usually. “Bull’s-eye.”

[roydeezed]

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 9: The JOJOLands - Chapter Round-Up (Chapter 3)

I saw this chapter as soon as it came out but I waited to talk about it because I wanted some thoughts to marinate and others to crystallize. I don’t want to spoil anything so find my thoughts below the “Keep reading”, see ya down there!

Right off the bat, Araki blesses us with this bold spread of Jodio crossing Rohan’s compound with Rohan right there. We’ll get back to Jodio soon but can I talk about how amazing the art has been for Jojolands? Araki feels at the peak of his game and the energy reminds me a lot of Oda at the height of Wano arc. Near the end of Jojolion the art was quite rightly pretty cramped, it did a great job of showing the suffocating nature of Wonder of U and the Calamities. But now, Araki gets to let loose and really give us a sense of the openness of Hawaii. It’s betriful and almost every page has incredibly striking art. 

Now going back to Jodio. He’s absolutely fearless. He doesn’t have a sense of risk for himself and that makes him bold. He knows that if he’s caught now it’ll only be him that suffers the consequences. Or he thinks that, as he doesn’t know about Heaven’s door. This disregard for consequences also makes him very confident and he needs to be able to pull off a heist right under Rohan’s nose. Jodio actually gets more nervous seeing Rohan’s art than he does hiding in plain sight.

Dragona and crew make their way into the house and Usagi sees a cat loitering around. By the way, I want to stop and admire the art again. Whereas the wide open shots are beautiful, these character centric panels drip with so much personality. Paco’s looking ahead, Dragona’s on the lookout for trouble and Usagi has already been distracted. 

Dragona warns them not to steal anything but they’re already deep into the loot. These guys are liabilities. But what they’re stealing also reveals a lot about them. Usagi is pure Id, stealing what appears to be bottles of champagne. Paco on the other hand, seems to be going for cash and easily sellable artifacts like small statues and clocks. Dragona warns them off again. For the second time. Usagi drops it and focuses on something else.

Usagi is really careless, again, he’s the biggest liability they have. He cuts up a painting and doesn’t bother to cover up the damage. Paco on the other hand still pockets the cash. It seems like to me that Paco is desperate for money. He’s probably going through some unfortunate circumstances related to it as he is quite often agreeable to playing the quiet soldier while having a pretty big personality. Right away, I love these Jobro’s so much. We haven’t had such a solid supporting cast, in my opinion, since Part 6. Gyro was obviously in a class of his own but he was just one character. Right out of the gate we have three strong supporting characters and an incredibly strong antagonist that will no doubt turn into an ally in Rohan.

And speaking of Rohan, I really like this idea of different sects of stands developing. One in Japan and one in America. Like a disease, it spreads from person to person and consigns them to a bizarre life whether they want it or not. It’s just like the Jostar legacy. We get a scene setting up what I’m assuming is the main plot of the story where these four will team up with Rohan to fulfill whatever his objective is. 

Then we get the cat. It’s peak cat design. It’s implied it’s a stand as they can all see it and they never considered that it might not be. If so, it’s a brilliant way to show that Rohan has powers to the main cast and it also seems to bring the two groups together against a common third enemy. However, if it’s a Iggy situation, then I would be sooooo down for that. A cat stand user that just does whatever it wants would be beautiful. I could cry just thinking about it. Araki, you beautiful weird bastard, please make it come true.

Moving on, I want to touch on this incredible sense of tension Araki’s been able to build. The paneling and the page layout lends itself to creating such a cinematic sense of tension it feels like it’s borrowed straight from the best thrillers. Actually Jojolands does remind me of Thief a lot so far. Araki has always been good with horror but I’m glad he’s also putting so much focus into tension, it’s such an integral part of heists. 

And then we see Rohan get past Jodio as he was too absorbed in what he was looking at. And we see Jodio sweat. Which he didn’t while walking in plain sight of Rohan. So what makes this any different? Two things I’d say. The first is his sense of personal responsibility where he doesn’t want to be responsible for other misfortunes or maybe more specifically Dragona’s, i’m not sure yet. And the second being that he screwed up. It’s a mistake and he doesn’t like making those. 

Jodio warns them and notices that the cat isn’t Rohan’s. At the same time Paco and Usagi find the safe and pressure Dragona to open it while Jodio pleads to leave. This speaks to Jodio’s careful nature but also reveals a lot about Dragona when they cave. Dragona has to be the leader of a bunch of wildcards and does their best to keep them in check. And has so far made the correct decisions but it looks to be getting to them. I think that’s why Jodio might step in, to hep Dragona with the burden, especially of Usagi, who seems to exacerbate Paco’s desire’s too. Dragona also seemed to be a capable leader before Usagi came along. I can’t help but feel like Usagi was meant to sabotage them and maybe use his power to steal away a copy of the diamond if possible.

Rohan attempts to go inside but Jodio distracts with his stand which we learn a little more about. It seems like sharp needles are at the ends of the rain drops. Like pine needles or something. Finally they get the diamond but see what looks like an equally important piece of volcanic rock in the safe, which is probably a big piece of the plot’s puzzle. As they leave they get attacked by the cat and Jodio realizes Rohan can see stands. This was a great tension filled chapter that unveiled a lot about the characters and set up pretty well for what seems to be the plot of this part.  I don’t want to speculate too much so I’ll leave it at that and see y’all next time!

[webbedphantom]

11/20 - Night Terrors

"GAH!!"

He jolted up from his bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily and grasping at his bedding with shaking hands as he took in his surroundings.

That dream again..?

"... yeah."

It had been a full year since that night in interrogation, since the brutal beating he'd taken, since he had to convince a woman he barely knew to smuggle him out of the building so his childhood friend wouldn't shoot him in the head.

He'd had nightmares of that night before. Several times, in fact. But it had been a while since the last time, to the point that he'd fooled himself into thinking he'd gotten over it. But how could he have? When those scars were still there, the only ones he couldn't heal.

Each time he had the dream, he felt every hit like it was happening all over again, felt the interrogator's hand gripping his hair or his foot striking against he knee. Even now that he was awake, he still felt echos of the pain, especially in his wrists, which remembered all too clearly the bruises the cuffs had left.

It's alright... You're safe.

He didn't respond at first, just rubbing his fingers over his wrist, trying to soothe an ache that was no longer there. Things were different now. He was stronger, faster, he could swing through the air with the grace of trained acrobat, could heal any wound his enemies inflicted upon him.

Yet every time he had this dream... he felt helpless.

Do you want to talk about it..?

He sighed. "What's the point? You're in my head, you know what I'm thinking."

I didn't mean to me.

He was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. He had a point, he could call one of his friends. If anyone would know what he was going through, or could at least understand why he felt the way he did, it was them.

But then he picked up his phone, and saw what time it was, the digital clock reading 4:17 AM as it sat atop a picture of him and those very same friends, standing in the airport before their trip to Hawaii. A picture that normally brought a smile to his face, now sat under a painful notice of exactly why he couldn't do that. He couldn't bother them with his troubles, not at this hour anyway.

"... I think I just need some air."

He slowly got up from his bed, summoning his costume as he did so, before opening the window and leaping out into the night. ________________________________

This was more like it.

The wind rushing past him as he flew through the skyline, the adrenaline surging through his veins as dived towards the ground, the satisfaction of firing a webline to catch him and turn that downward velocity into forward momentum. There was nothing else like it in the world.

He felt lighter than air, like all the stresses and worries that weighed him down were cast aside, letting him soar through the streets without a care in the world.

Up here he was safe. Up here he was free.

... though, that freedom came at a price. He'd been swinging around for almost an hour, which worked up quite an appetite. He had skipped breakfast after all.

He landed on the side of a nearby building, pulling out his phone to check what places nearby would serve breakfast at this hour. Though, he'd barely gotten to check the results before something else caught his attention.

"MOVE IT, &@$%#!!"

He look down towards a mostly empty sidewalk to see a man in a suit shove past a woman on her way to work. His voice sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place it at first.

"The hell is your problem!?" The woman yelled back.

The man turned around to face her. "I'm a cop! I don't got time to wait for your slow ass!"

And it was then that he saw his face, the same face he'd seen in his nightmares over and over again. This was his interrogator, one of the men who beat him half to death, who despite Shido's confession, as well as his own testimony, got off scot free due to a lack of evidence.

His fist clenched at his side, his chest tightening as the memories of that night surged back into his head, though out of fear or anger he couldn't tell.

This man had hurt him, drugged him, tortured him, haunted his dreams for an entire year, and he didn't get so much as a slap on the wrist.

And that last fact sent him into a blind rage, any fear that he felt turning to a burning hatred and fury.

"YOU!!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs. Before he knew it, he had leaped off the wall and tackled the man to the ground. There was a visible fear in his eyes. He knew exactly who this was. After all, he was with the group that brought him in.

"You put me through hell-" The Spider grabbed his arm and effortlessly broke it, causing him to scream in pain. "-for your damn confession-" Then he struck the man's face repeatedly, punching over and over and over. If Arséne hadn't limited his strength, he'd have caved in his skull. He wasn't holding back. He couldn't hold back. "-AND YOU JUST GOT AWAY WITH IT!!"

The man's face was now battered and bruised, desperately pleading through busted lips and a broken nose. "Puhleese... don't-"

"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULD!!"

"Ah hab a kid!! Puhleese! Ahll do anythin!!"

The Spider glared at the man for a moment before slamming his fist down into the sidewalk beside his head, cracking the pavement and leaving a small crater behind.

"Quit your job." The Spider spit back, leaning down to glare right in his face. "Leave town and never come back. Your days in law enforcement are done."

"Yesh!!" The man said with a pitiful laugh, doing his best to nod his head. "Ah will!! Ah pwobmise!!"

"You'd better." The Spider replied in a sinister tone. "Because if you don't, there is nothing on this Earth that will save you from me."

Then the Spider stood up, fired a webline, and swung away. _________________________

He landed on an empty rooftop, and almost immediately collapsed onto it, falling to his knees, his entire body shaking as tears began to pool inside his mask, which he quickly took off. Then what was once a few stray tears became full on sobs. It was more than just who he had seen, more than the memories he was forced to relive. It was that anger, that seething hatred, and the things that hatred almost made him do... things that he wanted to do.

It terrified him.

This carried on for a few minutes, but eventually... he knew what he needed to do.

He sat down, pulled out his phone... and after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves... worked up the courage to dial her number.

"H-Hey Makoto... I'm sorry to bother you, but... I need to talk to someone." ____________________

Well, that was... traumatic. Hope you liked this random little drabble. When I saw what day it was, the idea just came to mind, and I HAD to write it. The concept was just way too interesting for me to not.

Also if anyone wants to turn that phone call into an actual thread, let me know! I went with Makoto, since she made the most sense to me (plus both of my ships are with Makos so-) but he could've called any of the thieves

[insomniac-astronomer]

Natasha Romanoff x Reader: Apologize

I strike again, second night in a row. I'm really glad everyone's on a Natasha kick right now. Pro-tip: If you go to Disneyland and meet the character and fangirl wayyyy too hard, she'll give you a hug. And I don't care that it's fake, NATASHA ROMANOFF GAVE ME A HUG DAMMIT.

Can I just get one request? Pleeeeaase? It would make my whole month ❤️ took me a whole hour to write this fic, it would mean a lot!

Description: Reader has a habit of apologizing way too much. 4 times you apologize and 1 time she apologizes to you. And I'm just trying out this format of fanfic.

Pronouns: neutral! No pronouns used!

WARNINGS: writing while being concussed and feeling like shit, totally not based on how my attractive coworker told me not to say sorry today, no but seriously none

*not my gif* I love her endgame hair, can I be a redhead so I can do it too pls

You speed down the hall, anxiously trying to remember where Tony said the kitchen was. Day 2 as an official (and very very lost) Avenger: not going so great.

You duck around corners, not even sure if you're on the right floor. Tony Stark doesn't need to put a directory for his own house because he lives here. But some people don't and you sure as hell wished you weren't going to be stuck here for training for who knows how long-

Suddenly, you slam into someone. You feel your eyes widen and your face turn into a grimace.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" You immediately sputter, taking large steps backward. "I should've watched where I was going-"

"No, it's my bad, I was looking down." The voice of Natasha Romanoff responds.

Ah, shit. Of everyone you could've ran into, it had to be the one you most admired (and the prettiest one but lol you're so out of her league that you're not going to even go there). Force of habit, you continue to say "no, it's my fault. I'm so sorry-"

"Hey." She gently cuts you off. "Doesn't matter. You okay?"

You nod while asking "are you?"

"Yep. It's all good." She smiles.

"Okay, I'm sorry." You give her a little smile in return.

"Stop apologizing. Where are you trying to go, anyway? This hallway's a dead end."

💫

The quinjet after a rough mission is always the last place you want to be. But here you are.

Tony is asking you about mission details while writing stuff down. The rest of the team is crammed around this ridiculously small table, pressed up against the jet's walls so you can collaborate on how to deal with Nick Fury when you land.

"Alright team, let's take five so we can all cool down." Tony throws his pen angrily on the desk. Steve folds his arms and walks away.

You screwed up the mission. Of course you did. And immediately Tony wanted to place all of the blame on you because you're the newest and the youngest. Frozen in your guilt and shame, you are completely zoned.

"Excuse me," Natasha says, trying to move past you to get out from behind the table.

You move quickly. "Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" She just looks at you and you dart your eyes away.

"I was in your way."

"You don't need to apologize for that."

"Yeah I do," you fiddle with the cuff of your suit.

Without another word, she walks away.

💫

After a month, Tony's impromptu vacation to Hawaii with Pepper, several bottles of expensive wine to Nick Fury's office, and Cap's new collection of 50 broken punching bags, the team made up and decided to have a movie night.

You were so glad that no one was yelling at you anymore. They still don't trust you, but at least they're not mad. In fact, you were so relieved, that all of the stress of the last month started to sink in. You struggling to keep your eyes open after so many sleepless nights. Ten minutes into the movie and you're already out of it.

You fall asleep for like five minutes and jolt back awake. Your head had landed on the shoulder next to you. Natasha.

"I'm so sorry." You whisper to her.

"Hm?" She looks at you.

"For falling asleep on you." You clarify.

"Oh, I had no idea." Her attention is back on the movie.

"Oh, sorry."

In the dim light of the movie screen, she gives you a look that definitely says stop apologizing. But before you think she's mad at you, you catch a glimpse of her smile.

💫

Steve asked you out. And you don't know what to do. You ran away. You can hear his footsteps as he tries to find you.

You spy Natasha's room and knock on the door. You hear a faint "yeah?" and you're already inside.

Natasha raises her eyebrows at your wild state. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, Steve asked me out and I ran away- just saw your door so- yeah, sorry."

"Wow, two sorrys in the same sentence, that's a new record." She teases you.

You smile sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Is sorry your default setting?" She laughs just slightly and your heart pounds. A little giggle escapes you. Shit, you didn't mean to do that out loud.

Giving into your feelings just a little bit, you walk further into the room. She gestures to the empty space on her bed next to her. You sit down very anxiously.

"Steve asked you out?" She questions, turning her gaze to you.

"Yeah," you sigh.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! I just ran!" You shout a little louder than you mean to. "Sorry."

"No sorrying allowed in my room." She turns on her side to face you. She looks so relaxed.

"Sor-"

"Don't you dare." Her smile lights up your heart.

You feel yourself start to relax, too. Your eyes meet her's and you suddenly don't feel scared to hold the contact. Her eyes are really pretty, actually.

Before you loose your nerve, you start to say "Nat-"

"You know what," she cuts you off. "You should say yes to Steve."

All of the comfort that was there disappears. Her cold voice shocked you back into reality.

"Oh," you look away from her, a little pang of disappointment in your heart. "Okay."

You stand up and leave the room.

💫

You are right in the middle of a bowl of ramen and an episode of your guilty pleasure show when your door busts open. Literally. Slams into the wall and everything.

You lean forward to see who came to disturb you and see Natasha closing the door behind her.

"Y/N, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you to say yes to Steve!" She speaks very quickly.

"What?" You set the bowl down on your nightstand and wait for her to walk over. "Start again, slower. And you don't have to yell."

She exhales loudly. "Okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you to say yes to Steve. I just panicked."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to ask you out myself." Natasha is the one who can't make eye contact this time.

"Really?" You try to sound interested but not too excited but also not too serious.

"Yeah. I was going to and then I panicked and I just said something stupid to make you leave. I'm sorry."

"Hey," you gesture for her to sit next to you. "No sorrying allowed in my room, either."

You see her smile a little bit, her shoulders full of tension.

"And of course I'll go out with you." You finish.

Her smile widens and she turns to you. Her hand reaches up and holds your cheek. She starts to lean in-

"Wait, I was just eating ramen." You stop.

"That's okay," she leans closer. "I like ramen."

Thanks for reading. Don't steal, this is a threat (just kidding, but not really). Also, comment if you have a guilty pleasure show, or if it's just me. Mine's Jane the Virgin and I know don't know anyone else who has even heard of the show.

Buy me a coffee?

[freehawaii]

NOVEMBER FREE HAWAII NEWS - MAUI FIRE SURVIVORS - WHERE ARE THEY TO GO?

Mauiʻs Continuing Recovery, What The Pacific Way Is In Times Of Tragedy, Significant Recent Progress For Hawaii At The United Nations & Kumu Hinaʻs Mana`o

The November “Free Hawaii News” show airing tonight, November 3rd at 6 PM on Olelo Television Channel 53 on Oahu and online at FreeHawaiiNews.com reports on the ongoing difficulties Mauiʻs fire victims and their families face in being displaced by the fires.

“The people of West Maui and Lahaina while very brave, strong and resolute are nevertheless facing a fight for survival every single day,” states Free Hawaii News co-host Hinaleimoana Wong.

“With all of Maui now completely re-opened ahead of schedule, they can see that state and county governments have broken their promises to them and have prioritized for-profit businesses over the well-being of fire victims. Many are already being told their best option is to move off island entirely, either within Hawai`i or to cities in the United States such as Las Vegas.

“With several eye-witness reports, we get a first hand experience of what West-side and Lahaina residents are going through,” remarked Free Hawaii News co-host Leon Siu. “Just seeing these reports had a profound and emotional impact on both my co-host Hina Wong and me and we know it will also affect Free Hawaii News viewers the same way.”

Our November show also features an explanation of what important role the Pacific Way plays when tragedy strikes. We also have a report detailing significant and new progress for Hawaii at the United Nations as well as our popular segment, Kumu Hinaʻs Mana`o.

Brought to you by the Koani Foundation, Free Hawaii News airs every month on Ōlelo Television on Oahu and on all neighbor islands. Check local listings for times.

The purpose of the show is to present Hawaiian or kanaka maoli perspectives on a broad range of topics and issues affecting the Hawaiian Islands, the Pacific and the world.

Hinaleimoana Wong is a kumu hula, filmmaker, cultural activist, Hawaiian language speaker, preservationist and community leader. She has served as a member of the O`ahu Island Burial Council.

Leon Siu has for many years served as Foreign Minister of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He is active in that role at the United Nations in both New York City and Geneva, Switzerland. Besides being a diplomat, he is also an award-winning musician, composer and political analyst.

“Free Hawaii News” is online at FreeHawaiiNews.com, Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites.

[kylo-wrecked]

@brooklynislandgirl :// { cont'd from this utter treasure good-bye i am gone }

— ☾ —

"You don't think…?" 

Now he recoils somewhat, drawing in his chin and retreating into himself momentarily like a fox ducking in its sandy den. Hands don't, though. They stay; they wait. He barely breathes.

"Why?" he asks finally. Speech pours out of him. "Why'd you come out here in the first place, Beth? You gonna..." 

He breathes or tries to. There isn't enough air in Mos Espa to fill Ben's lungs, it's got his chest in a vice, and every breath hurts something stupid. When he looks at her, Ben is striking in his resemblance to the red slash portrait he's never seen. 

"You gonna leave? Gonna tell me when you do, or am I gonna look up and see another face in your window someday?"

Sometimes he passed by her suite, vying for a glimpse of her profile or hands as she painted—that's when she wasn't at his or outdoors. Living her life, wherever that was. If he could, he'd watch her for a while before rambling on or before she noticed, although he always thought she could sense him standing there. 

When she doesn't answer, Ben digs his thumbs deeper into her hips, feeling, almost nobbing, her bones, which aren't far out of reach under Beth's butterfly skin. 

"You don't think what? Mm? You don't think I understand?" 

He always felt stupid around Beth. Big and bungling. There isn't enough air in his lungs for anger, but he shakes her a little. He shakes her the way young kids handle rag-dolls and stuffed animals, with more force than intended because they love it so much and want it to be real. 

She is real, he thinks. This is real.

Ben relaxes his hands; he breathes again. But even the voice in his head doesn't sound convinced, and there comes a swell of doubt in his heart, so searing in its pain that he gets a little lightheaded.

Beth's real, it says. Love may be, too. And she may love you, but so what? Love never stops anyone from leaving. Love offers no reprieve from loneliness, never saves anyone from death. Love puts the gun in your hand. And people don't belong to each other.

Truman Capote put it best in that sad little book he wrote, the one they made a big sappy movie out of. He can remember Holly Golightly almost by heart: 'We don't belong to each other... I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together.' 

It might've been the last book he read before he dropped out of school and everything happened. At Dontamo, he leafed through manuals and old encyclopedias about things that no longer exist, like printing presses. Just facts, items that can't be interpreted or manipulated, function logically, and can be easily fixed or retrofitted when broken. He always kept a dictionary around, too, where allowed, mostly in the reading room, because the day he got out, he'd need to read like someone with at least a 6th-grade education. 

If only he knew how little it'd matter.

In Breakfast at Tiffany's, Holly Golightly doesn't go to prison for telling Sally Tomato about the *snow* blowing in from California. They don't hand Holly her outmoded camel coat and sunglasses at reception and tell her she better get back to turning tricks because no one worth their salt would ever give her a chance at a reasonable life. Holly goes to Brasil or Africa or something like that. When she gets the mean reds, she disappears. Kind of like Beth. 

For a while, Ben thought he'd follow her anywhere. All over the world, chasing her. Heck, much as he hates the concept of islands, he'd follow her back to the mythical land of Hawaii. Much as he hates cities, he'd drive to Coruscant, that frightening, glistening maw. Then somewhere along the line, he remembered there were places Beth could go, and he couldn't. 

Love has never conquered all. Yet love keeps him anchored, keeps him breathing, and his lips moving around the broken glass edges of his speech.

How he's always hated words, how they always twisted him around.

"You don't think I want you? You don't think I—" 

Perched as she is on his thighs and coiled up around his hips, Ben still towers. When she tilts her face at him, however, he shrinks like he's been stabbed again.

"—I do," he says, bringing down on Beth's green-and-honey the ore of his every unspoken hope.

[newstfionline]

Monday, August 8, 2022

17 missing, 121 hurt, 1 dead in fire at Cuban oil facility (AP) A fire set off by a lightning strike at an oil storage facility raged uncontrolled in the Cuban city of Matanzas, where four explosions and flames injured 121 people and left 17 firefighters missing. Cuban authorities said a unidentified body had been found late Saturday. Firefighters and other specialists were still trying to quell the blaze at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, where the fire began during a thunderstorm Friday night, the Ministry of Energy and Mines tweeted. Authorities said about 800 people were evacuated from the Dubrocq neighborhood closest to the fire.

Ex-rebel sworn in as Colombia’s president in historic shift (AP) Colombia’s first leftist president will be sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups. Sen. Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla group, won the presidential election in June by beating conservative parties that offered moderate changes to the market-friendly economy, but failed to connect with voters frustrated by rising poverty and violence against human rights leaders and environmental groups in rural areas. Petro is part of a growing group of leftist politicians and political outsiders who have been winning elections in Latin America since the pandemic broke out and hurt incumbents who struggled with its economic aftershocks.

Shift in war’s front seen as grain leaves Ukraine; plant hit (Washington Post) Six more ships carrying agricultural cargo held up by the war in Ukraine received authorization Sunday to leave the country’s Black Sea coast as analysts warned that Russia was moving troops and equipment in the direction of the southern port cities to stave off a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukraine and Russia also accused each other of shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The loaded vessels were cleared to depart from Chornomorsk and Odesa, according to the Joint Coordination Center, which oversees an international deal intended to get some 20 million tons of grain out of Ukraine to feed millions going hungry in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

Russian men, dying in war, leave many families sad, angry and silent (Washington Post) When Yevgeny Chubarin told his mother he was joining the Russian army to fight against Ukraine, she cried and begged him not to go. But his exhilaration shone through. By May 15, he had an AK-47 and was on his way. The 24-year-old stone-factory worker was killed the next day. Stories like his are taboo in Russia, where the wrenching grief of many families is buried beneath the triumphant bombast of state media. The war is portrayed as an existential struggle for survival, against “Nazis” as well as NATO, and a virtual news blackout about the bloody toll underscores Kremlin anxiety. The number of war dead is a state secret. It is a crime to question the invasion or criticize the military. Independent journalists who speak to bereaved relatives or cover funerals have been arrested and told that showing such “tears and suffering” is bad for public morale. Authorities have ordered some online memorial pages to be shut down. The Kremlin’s priority has been to prevent angry voices of mourning families and antiwar activists from coming together and gaining traction.

Covid lockdown strands 80,000 tourists in 'China's Hawaii' (CNN) Around 80,000 tourists are stranded in the popular resort city of Sanya on China's tropical Hainan island after authorities announced lockdown measures to stem an outbreak of Covid-19. Public transportation was suspended and people's movements inside the city were restricted from early Saturday morning, authorities said. Stranded tourists are required to stay for seven days and clear five Covid-19 tests before leaving. Deputy mayor He Shigang on Friday said around 80,000 tourists remained in the city. All those currently in Sanya as well as people who have been to the city since July 23 were not allowed to leave Hainan province after 6 pm local time on Saturday, provincial authorities said. The restrictions come at the height of the summer tourism season for the island province, a popular destination often called China's Hawaii for its sandy beaches, tropical forests and high-end hotels.

Chinese Military Drills Aim to Awe (NYT) China’s military continued on Saturday to menace Taiwan with a series of drills, a show of force intended not only to intimidate Taiwan and the United States, but also to appease a domestic audience that had seemed disappointed by what it perceived as an insufficiently bellicose posture. In what has been as much a series of propaganda exercises as military ones, China over the past few days has threatened territory that Taiwan considers its own more directly than ever before. During the drills, announced in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan earlier this week, Chinese missiles have landed in the waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan, and dozens of military planes have repeatedly crossed the informal median line in the Taiwan Strait that divides the island from the mainland. Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Saturday that Chinese military aircraft and ships in the strait appeared to be simulating an attack on the main island of Taiwan. Chinese state media covered the exercises breathlessly, and the response from much of Chinese social media was ecstatic.

Iraq broils in dangerous 120-degree heat as power grid shuts down (Washington Post) Extreme heat is paralyzing Iraq, forcing shutdowns in the overstretched power grid as authorities extend public holidays to protect employees from 125-degree temperatures. Iraq ranks fifth on the list of countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and it is heating faster than much of the globe. Almost 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the country is ill-equipped to cope with the strain. In the southern provinces of Basra, Dhi Qar and Maysan, authorities said Saturday that the electricity grid had lost power for a second night in a row, plunging millions of homes into darkness through the sweltering night. Food spoiled in fridges. Parents put their children in the car and drove for hours—the air conditioning in their vehicles was the only way to stay cool. But as forecasts indicated that most Iraqi provinces were likely to witness temperatures of around 120 degrees or higher this week, the electricity grid is not the only public service faltering. Farming and fishing, two crucial pillars in the state’s attempts to move away from reliance on oil revenue, are being pummeled by drought. Overstretched hospitals are treating cases of heatstroke or breathing difficulties that have probably been worsened by toxic fumes trapped in the air, doctors say.

Israeli airstrike kills 2nd top Islamic Jihad commander (AP) An Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, authorities said Sunday, its second leader to be slain amid an escalating cross-border conflict. The killing late Saturday of Khaled Mansour, who led the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad’s operations in the southern Gaza Strip, came a day after another Israeli strike killed the militant’s commander in the north. Already, the fighting has killed at least 29 Palestinians and seen hundreds of rockets fired toward Israel in the worst violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since the end of an 11-day war in 2021.

Just 2 Minutes of Walking After a Meal Is Surprisingly Good for You (NYT) Walking after a meal, conventional wisdom says, helps clear your mind and aids in digestion. Scientists have also found that going for a 15-minute walk after a meal can reduce blood sugar levels, which can help ward off complications such as Type 2 diabetes. But, as it turns out, even just a few minutes of walking can activate these benefits. In a meta-analysis, recently published in the journal Sports Medicine, researchers looked at the results of seven studies that compared the effects of sitting versus standing or walking on measures of heart health, including insulin and blood sugar levels. They found that light walking after a meal, in increments of as little as two to five minutes, had a significant impact in moderating blood sugar levels. “Each small thing you do will have benefits, even if it is a small step,” said Dr. Kershaw Patel, a preventive cardiologist at Houston Methodist Hospital who was not involved in the study.

[blueroses789]

From Green to Blue

Chapter 7: Confrontation

Next chapter: Darkness before the light

You suddenly feel nothing.

Chapter kind of short.

Warnings:

Angst

Smut

Mental health crisis

MDNI: 18 plus

Understanding what you were trying to do, complied. 

“You know, if you're not doing anything, we can go up to my parents cottage.” 

“Really? Will they be okay with it?” 

“Of course. I take friends up there all the time. Plus they're in Hawaii for an event.” 

“Hey everyone.” Hannah had an arm wrapped around Eren’s waist. His hand was on her shoulder. The sight brought back memories of when you were in her place. For one moment you and Eren made eye contact. 

As usual, cold green eyes. 

Mikasa and Jean moved farther down the booth so that Eren and Hannah could sit. 

Oh fuck. 

Eren was sitting directly opposite from you. Now that he was right in front of you, it was hard to say anything. Coming here had been about confronting him. Now, it seemed like a bad idea. What made you think this was a good idea? 

“Hi, my names Hitch.” Connie’s girlfriend introduced herself. Hannah smiled and started to strike up a conversation. Did Hitch like Hannah more than you? 

“Calm down. She’s just being nice.” You thought. 

“So what are you guys planning to do for Christmas?” Hitch Asked. 

“I’m going to meet Eren’s parents.” Hannah smiled. You could see her eyes on you, with a slight smile. Your insides tightened painfully. So it seemed she had fully replaced you. 

Dinner was mainly Hannah and Hitch getting to know one another. You didn’t think that Hitch knew Hannah had once been your friend. But you didn’t think it was a good idea. Instead, you focused on your food. It was like you were blocking everything out but your food. Just eat and ignore everything around you. 

“Woah Y/n. Remember to breath.” Eren smirked. You stopped, fork clattering to the table. Eren had already turned his attention to Hannah. But the atmosphere had changed. Mikasa glared at Eren while Hitch had fallen silent. 

“So Mikasa, what are you and Jean?” Hannah asked. 

“ Going to see his parents.” Mikasa wasn’t looking at Hannah, instead opting to gaze outside at the cars passing by. 

“Same here! It seems we’re all spending the holidays with our partners. Oh, sorry, most of us.” Hannah didn’t even need to look at you. But it was obvious who the comment was meant for. The edge of Eren’s lips twitched. 

“Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” It was taking everything in you to not scream at her. Your hands shook slightly. 

“Yes. You already told us.” Hannah’s face flushed. She had turned to you, at first thinking it was you who said it. But within seconds it registered. Armin was smiling at her, showing his teeth. 

Hannah wasn’t so smug anymore. Instead she looked at Eren. 

“What was that for?” Eren glared at Armin.  

“What? She already said it several times.” Armin shrugged. You weren’t sure whether to laugh or not. It was shocking to see Armin like this. Usually he was so nice. But you weren’t complaining.  

“Excuse me.’ Hannah’s eyes glossed over, bottom lip trembling. 

What? What right did she have to cry? Only a moment ago she was rubbing her relationship with Eren in your face.                             

“That's enough.” Mikasa’s gray eyes stared everyone down. Armin’s gaze looked away from his friends and focused on you. Hannah shrinked back and it seemed that even Eren didn’t want to argue with Mikasa. Once she was sure everyone had stopped, Mikasa finally looked away. 

The cheerful mood was gone. Instead, you all sat in an uncomfortable silence. It was suddenly hard to eat. Every time Eren’s eyes landed on you, your throat would seize up, making it impossible to eat. This was all a mistake. A terrible, stupid mistake. What made you think that this was a good idea. Hannah didn’t care and any feelings Eren might have had were gone. 

It hit you. He didn’t love you. Likely hadn’t for some time now. Somewhere in you, there had been hope. Maybe he would regret his decision and come back to you. But it seemed everything was going his way. A beautiful girlfriend, doing well in his job. And then there was you. Single and miserable. Just like your mother. Guess that made Eren like your father in a way. Neglectful and unfeeling. You remembered all the days looking out the window. Daydreaming that he might come home. Eventually, you had come to the realization that your father was gone. Now Eren was gone. 

It had taken you this long to come to that conclusion. Seeing the way he looked at her broke something in you. Like a line being severed. One moment your heart ached for him, wanted him. The next. Nothing. 

A hand touched your elbow. Armin was looking at Jean, speaking to him. But his hand pressed itself against you comfortingly. You allowed yourself to rest now. Suddenly you felt so, so tired. Right then you would like to sleep. To just lay your head down and sleep. It was like aging several years in just a moment. 

“Are you okay?” Armin whispered. You could see Hannah lean into Eren. 

“Just tired.” 

“Want to leave?” 

“Soon.” A yawn broke free. Everyone looked at you.

“Sorry.” You said. A throbbing pain was suddenly appearing in your head. 

“Maybe you should go home.” Hannah said 

“You’d like that wouldn’t you.” Tired and with a sore head, you really weren’t in the mood for any of Hannah’s shit. Or anyones for that matter. 

Hitch looked confused. In her defense, Hitch had no idea Hannah had been your friend. 

You grabbed your bag. It was probably time to go. Taking your cue, Armin followed suit. 

“You guys are already going?” Jean looked disappointed. 

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night.” You just wanted to leave. It was like your body was falling back into nothingness. And you longed to do so. 

It was so stupid to come here. As you packed up, Hannah had started a conversation with Hitch. 

“So how did you two meet?’ Hitch asked. Hannah laughed, making it feel like nails were running down your back. Hiding your shivers, you tried to tune her out. 

“Just through friends.” Hannah answered quickly. 

“Through me, actually.” If Hannah wanted to flaunt her relationship in front of you, then she might as well be honest. A smile spread over Eren’s face. 

“Yes Y/n. But we got together after I left you, remember?” Cooly, you looked at him. Was he really trying to act like what he did was okay. 

“Well I don’t know if I can take your word for it. I mean, you were seeing her for a while. Wouldn’t put it past you. 

“Stop it!” Hannah snapped.

“Stop what?” You smirked. It was like lightning had gone off in your chest. Suddenly that fear was gone. You didn’t really care anymore how they felt. 

“You….. just leave!” People were starting to satire. Hannah was on her feet, fists clenched. You laughed. 

“Oh? Are you going to hit me? I know you hit Biannca a few days ago.” 

“What?!” Mikasa had her eyes fixed on Hannah. 

“ I’m not surprised. I mean after sleeping with her friend's ex, what else is she capable of?” Hannah was now crying. Tears spilling down her cheeks. Eren stood up. His hand fastened around your collar. Pulling you close, he forced your head right next to his. 

“You shut up right now Y/n. And apologize.” The next second Eren was thrown back, hitting his seat. With a look of disgust on your face, you whipped your shirt. 

“Don’t touch me, that's disgusting. Don’t know who else you’ve touched with those fingers. Armin, can we leave?” Without complaint, he followed you to the counter.

“I’m paying.” Armin was quick to whip out his card before you could act. It was a relief. You were finally leaving. 

“We’ll just say bye to everyone and leave.” Armin told you. It didn’t matter. You could finally leave. 

But just as you and Armin reached the exit, Hannah walked up to you. Raising an eyebrow, you just stared at her.  

“You know, this is the reason he left you. Your a fucking toxic bitch.” You laughed. 

“At least my ex didn’t cheat on me.” And with that, you left. 

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[railingsofsorrow]

Can I please please request one where freya and rebekah find their youngest sister (human) heavily injured and they both try to stay calm but they’re hysterical. They try to keep her awake by talking to her and telling her their favorite memories. Please make it as angsty as you want

The Taste Of Your Own Tongue

[requested]

summary: No one can strike a nerve in an Original unless they let them. Except for Y/N Mikaelson. She has the power to bring peace and hurricane within the family in seconds. There is no in-between.

pairing: platonic!rebekah mikaelson x platonic!freya mikaelson x mikaelson!reader

word count: 1.9K

warnings/content: description of injury and blood; cursing; siblings arguments; but also !siblings bonding!; klaus is an ass in this one

A/N: it's longer than I expected. hope you like it, dear anon <3 and sorry for taking too long, the inspiration wasn't coming for this one. instead of freya and rebekah telling her the memories, I made her remember them by herself. hope you don't mind.

➶ ➷

“You will not dictate my life as you do to everyone else, Klaus Mikaelson!”

Y/N Mikaelson was pissed. And she had every right to be. She didn't know that being a human in a family full of vampires with a hero complex implied that she needed to be controlled at all times.

“You can't date them.” “You can't leave home today.” Every day was a new order.

She was so done.

“Y/N...” Elijah tries to mediate peacefully. But she yanks her arm away from his reach.

“No, Elijah. Why do you always take his side on everything?” She snapped, eyeing both of them. When her eyes stop on Klaus, who had a scowl plastered on his face, her orbs darkened slightly, “And I can go anywhere I want. I can travel to Paris, I can move to Hawaii. The only place I don't wanna be is here, you know why? Because you suffocate me, Klaus! I might be human but at least I don't pause my life to get paranoid over enemies that don't even exist!”

He scoffed, throwing his arms around completely annoyed by her antics. Once Y/N slammed the door shut, he rolled his eyes. Elijah gave him a look.

“Oh, let her go, will ya? Bloody nineteen-year-old can get as far away from this house as she wants. Better for my sanity!” The hybrid exclaimed, going upstairs while ignoring the worry on his chest. If she doesn't want my help, then so be it.

As soon as night arrived in New Orleans, Freya felt a shiver down her spine. Everything was too quiet. The silence was deafening and she didn't know why.

“Where the hell is Y/N?” Rebekah's unhappy voice echoed throughout the compound.

“Ask Klaus.” Elijah took a sip of his scotch, unnerved.

“Probably went to a circus for her screaming pitch show. Why?” Klaus knowledged the upcoming question before Rebekah could shriek a word.

The blond Original huffed, snatching the cup from Elijah's hand to gulp down the rest. Her frustration was up the roof. “She took my bloody bracelet that's why! I told her a thousand times to not mess with my stuff—” Rebekah was cut short by Freya entering the room with a hand holding her necklace tightly.

“Something's happened to Y/N. I- I can feel it.”

Rebekah eyed the pitch-black stone on her sister's necklace. Many years ago Freya had created a spell that connected the girl to the stone, just in case she was in any danger. Now, it was slightly burning her fingers and that did not mean she was safe.

“Let's go.” Breaking the heavy silence that was installed in the room, Rebekah took Freya's forearm guiding her out of the compound and into the streets. The childish fight already forgotten for her sister's safety came first. Always. They needed to find Y/N.

“Couldn't she wait until after the full moon to act like a kid? Such a convenient time...” Rebekah grunted the last part under her breath. They were searching around the woods for about half an hour, she was starting to think Freya's spell hadn't worked out that well and was playing tricks instead. “Freya, are you sure—”

“Oh, my god.”

Both girls froze on their step upon the scene before their eyes: Y/N Mikaelson was laid in a pool of blood with ripped clothes and several bruises and cuts around her whole body. And her leg. Her leg displayed a werewolf bite right below her knee.

Freya was the first one to run to the passed-out girl, quickly managing to check her pulse. She could barely focus her enhanced hearing on it from afar after seeing the state of her sister. “She's alive. Uh,” Looking around desperately, Freya couldn't point out what she was searching for.

“What?” Rebekah prompted nervously, still staring at the bite marks on her leg. It was getting infected. They needed to do something, fast. “Freya!” She nudged her older sister out of the daydream she was inserted in.

Freya blinked away her tears, trying to control her shaking breath as she searched for a healing spell in her mind. Why was it so hard for the words to come to her right now? Right when she needed them?

Y/N Mikaelson was everyone's weak spot. It was common knowledge that the human girl was off limits to mess with on the whole town of New Orleans. Every citizen knew that, specially the Mikaelson's enemies. That didn't mean they didn't chose to risk their necks on trying to hurt the girl. It had never happened.

Until now.

“We have to keep her awake, Rebekah.”

“Okay, okay. I'll—,” Rebekah moved away a strand that was in the girl's eyelash. “Hey, Y/N? You need to stay here, alright? Don't follow any light or nothing of the sorts.” Freya rolled her eyes as she took the youngest hands into her own. She was cold. Too cold for a human. “Remember that time you pushed Kol because he was pissing you off and as a payback he pushed your boyfriend out if a balcony?” The tactic she was using was to bring back a memory that she despised so she would wake up and scold her for it.

Freya felt Y/N's fingers twich.

“Here, let me try something.” She adjusted to be in Rebekah's previous position, so she could press her fingers in Y/N's temple. Freya mumbled words in a whisper, making the girl stir and moan in pain.

“You're hurting her.” Rebekah frowned.

“No, I'm healing her. At least until we take her home. If we as much as move her here we might make it worst. I'm slowing down the bite effect.”

Inside Y/N's head, there was a buzz that wouldn't stop and she was slipping in and out of unconsciousness. As cold fingers pressed against the side of her head, she completely fell into darkness.

Y/N felt bad about plucking out the flowers from their garden. She was ripping then from their lives. She wondered if they felt any pain? But, for her sister, she'd do anything. Even if Rebekah was already the prettiest woman she had ever seen without flowers in her hair.

“You don't have to be human for people to like you, you know?” Y/N lets out softly, admiring her job through the mirror after finishing.

Rebekah smiled, looking at her hair in contentment.

“I know. If I could—”

“... you'd go back to being human.” Y/N completes her sentence, squeezing her shoulder. “I know. Maybe after this whole mess you will.” She referred to the deal her sister had made with Elijah for the vampire cure.

“You think I could do it?” Rebekah turned to her with hopeful eyes, “Be human for one night, I mean?”

Y/N grinned, intertwining their fingers and kissing her forehead, “You could be whoever you wanted to be, Beks. And I'll love you no matter what.”

Blood started to pour out of her mouth as Y/N caughed. Freya didn't budge as her eyes were closed during the enchantment. Rebekah grimaced, tightening her hold on Y/N's hand. Now she knew her blood didn't help with he healing since she had just threw it up.

“Could you make me fly?”

Freya stopped reading and glanced up. “What?”

“With magic. Can you make me fly?” Y/N got into the room completely, flickering her fingers through some witchcraft books with curiosity. “If you think about it, I'm the only one in the family that doesn't have any gift. It would be cool to fly, wouldn't it?”

Freya chuckles, shaking her head. “You have a lot of gifts.”

“Name one, Freya. Just one. And it can't be above average grades on math.” She gave her a stern look, which made Freya laugh.

“No, I can't make you fly. But I can teach some things.”

“Cool things?”

Freya rolled her eyes and closed the book, “Whatever you define as ‘cool things’, Y/N.”

“This will slow down the process,” Freya explained to Rebekah as she withdrew her hands after finishing the spell. “We need to take her to Klaus.”

Her subconscious carried out all of the old memories with her family as a way to keep her grounded for a while.

“We'll be okay, right?” Her voice sounded broken. In a way, it resembled her heart. Finn Mikaelson was gone. Again. Despite all their disparities, he was still her brother and she would always miss him.

No one reacted for a long minute. And then, Elijah let out a sigh, “Yes. We will.”

“Always and forever,” Klaus muttered, raising a glass of wine. Soon everyone followed.

“Always and forever.”

Rebekah nods, getting on her knees to take Y/N into her arms.

“Be careful! She's really hurt.”

Rebekah provided a confused look, “Why are you standing there? We need to go.”

“Can you take her home?”

Rebekah studies her eyes for a moment, detecting a glimpse of something she was way too familiar with to not recognize.

“Yes.” Rebekah let out, “Be careful.”

Oh, and she was. But the wolf responsible for that didn't live to howl during another full moon.

Sunlight tickled her eyelashes as she drifted away from her dreams and into reality. Y/N groaned, covering her face with her arms. Who leaves the curtains open?!

“That is for you to learn to not mess with my stuff again.”

The teenager gasped, almost falling off the bed when someone spoke beside her. Rebekah was giving her an amused look.

“What?”

The blonde rolled her eyes, turning her interest to her nails. “How's that bite going, by the way?”

Y/N froze in midst of getting out of bed. As she scanned her body for injuries, nothing was found. She let out a shaky breath; all the memories coming together inside her head. A pool of tears welled up and she didn't fight them. Rebekah was by her side in a second.

“No, don't cry. You're okay.” The vampire reassured, wiping away her cheeks. Y/N started to sob violently and Rebekah didn't find another alternative other than hug her. “Shh. I got you, baby sis. You're safe.”

In between hiccups, she tried to apologize. “I'm- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—”

“I know. It's okay. You're okay, hm?” Rebekah cupped her cheeks so she would meet her eyes, “You're at home. Safe and sound. See? It's alright, Y/N.”

“Just don't scare us like that again.” Freya blurted out by the door, causing both to look over. She smiled softly at them. “We might hover a lot... And we'll manage that. But, Y/N. We love you, that's the only reason why we do that. If anything happens, we'd never forgive ourselves.”

Y/N nodded weakly, resting her forehead on Rebekah's shoulder as the older one slipped her fingers through her hair. “I know. I'm sorry. I overreacted, it was stupid.”

“You still need to stop treating me like a kid.” She mumbled.

Freya and Rebekah glanced at each other, “We know.”

“It would make it easier if you stopped acting like one, too.”

Y/N whined as Rebekah smirked, “And stop stealing my stuff!”

“It looks better on me anyway!”

And just like that, everything was back to normal. Well, the most normal the Mikaelson household could afford.

[tobiosmilktea]

umpah umpah! smau

↪︎ bokuto x f!reader x iwaizumi

[033] — epilogue!

masterlist | prev. | next

a/n: this is definitely not my best writing cause my brain was going brr the entire time i was writing this, but i honestly can’t believed i have finished yet another smau! 🥳 ✨if i’m being completely honest this smau took a complete turn to what i was initially planning,, but it ended up not being that bad. i certainly feel like this smau would’ve been a lot better if i didn’t have school preoccupying me 24/7, but i’m still really proud of this. thank you guys for reading and dealing with this messy, messy smau!! ☺️

a year flew by faster than you had hoped. Two weeks turned into a month, a month turned into six, and six months turned into a year. A lot of things can happen within a year. Hell, a shit ton of things can happen within six months, yet here you were, all glammed up in your best dress at the move premiere of love cemetery.

you hadn’t felt this nervous in ages. the quickening of your pulse, the rapidly beating heart, to your pals that perspired as the seconds ticked on by. akaashi stood by you this whole time as your gaze keeps looking over to the guest list as if it were to magically change if you were too look away for one second. akaashi had been by your side, your moral support and the absolute backbone of your sanity the moment you and the team landed in los angeles a year ago. he noticed everything about you. he was one of your best friends, how could he not notice the way you were suddenly quiet and not excited right now?

he laid a careful hand on the small of your back to comfort you, leaning over to the same list of guests you were worrying about. “are you worried about who i invited again?”

“i’m more worried they’re not coming.” you confess without a single beat missed.

“oh, they will,” he assured you confidently. there was even a rising smirk in his expression when he let go of you, “have a little bit of faith in me will you? i was the one who got you back in touch with them.”

you huff playfully, rolling your eyes as you recalled the strange feeling of isolation over six months ago when you landed in la. it was in no doubt the longest flight of your life, lasting a good fifteen hours if you counted the two hour layover in hawaii due to reckless turbulence (it was one of the scariest flights in your life too). you had read their texts then, drowning in the sudden downpour of emotions when you read their words, i love you.

it almost didn’t seem real. you swore it had to have been the fatigue playing games on you as you couldn’t sleep for the life of you on the plane. yeah, maybe that was it, you excused. you were so desperate for their messages to be a figment of your imagination, you literally tried everything—turning your phone on and off, asking sugawara for eye droplets, and even ignored it until you were back on the plane and landed in los angeles. it had to be fake, please be fake. yet, in the back of your head you knew damn well it wasn’t.

there was a plaguing thought within you, one that’s so destructive and degenerative that you hated the fact you thought this way. but it wasn’t like you could help it. insecurity was a troublesome venom that coursed through your veins everyday and there didn’t seem to be an antidote to your own self-destruction. 

you loved them both, but you weren’t entirely sure if you had enough love to give for the both of them, let alone one. iwaizumi and bokuto’s feelings confused you to the core. you broke their hearts, yet how could they still love you so dearly?

you didn’t know the answer nor did you have time to even find it.

the film crew stayed in los angeles for two weeks and filmed over the course of that time period. days were filled with twelve hour shoots and a tight film schedule. being the author of the work itself, you were a major part of the production alongside the director. he trusted your vision and you’d often find yourself staying on set the entire day while kaori and the rest of the ddd team felt like they were on vacation. your only free time during that time was the ten minute holy grails in between takes that you were able to check social media.

you simply didn’t have the time to think about them. and yet they were like haunting ghosts that followed you relentlessly. every time you checked twitter or instagram, you would see every post, every tweet, every story. all of which would send your heart spiraling and tugging.

you missed them. but it wasn’t like you could do anything about it. you couldn’t possibly strike up conversation with any of them after completely ignoring their calls and texts for weeks. you had to have an odd amount of audacity to do that, and you simply didn’t have the guts to do so. if anything, the only lasting form of communication between you and the boys was the ringing notification that you liked each other’s posts.

it was quite the sad reality.

the film set then transferred to new york city, where the next two weeks would be filled with yet another plethora of twelve hour work days. fortunately for you, the rest of the ddd team were pulling a bit more of their weight, helping you on the creative side of things, yet still having the time to do all the fun touristy things whilst in the city.

you could remember the way your heart lit up seeing iwaizumi and bokuto’s names beneath who saw your story. it was a video of you and your team at the lady liberty statue. in it, kaori and yuko were chomping down on gigantic $2 street hot dogs, sugawara was yelling at semi for getting in the way of his film camera, while akaashi was complaining that the wind kept knocking down his green lady liberty hat.

it was strange thinking how fast things can change. within the first week, you were always up for an adventure in the city when the days were filled with work, but as the week progressed, your social meter decreased more and more. 

loneliness hit you then. it was a peculiar type of loneliness, the type that you felt alone despite being surrounded by your closest friends and working on your dream project. you figured you were just homesick the way everyone else was getting all ready for a night out going bar hopping while you sat in the living room of your hotel room in your pajamas.

“are you sure you don’t want to come with us, (y/n)?” kaori asked you, concern washing over her slightly as you flickered her a tired look. 

you shook your head, a small smile of gratitude melting upon your lips. “no, you guys go on ahead and have fun.”

your friends could only give you a look. they knew why you were being like this and they knew damn well it wasn’t homesickness. semi specifically threw you a look that’s meant to be teasing and oddly persuasive. “it’s been over a month, this can be a chance for you to finally meet someone new!” he exclaimed optimistically.

what was stopping you, anyway? it was clear nothing was, yet you still held yourself back. homesickness couldn’t possibly be to reason for it either. why are am i being like this?

“it’s okay, i’m with akaashi,” you decline once more, “he’ll keep me company.”

“alright then, join us once you feel like moving on.” says yuko with a hint of venom in her tone. you couldn’t blame her for saying that though as it was the harsh reality of it all.

your friends filed out the door, closing it in a thud and once again you felt alone. isolated as if you were in a void of your own silent thoughts that even the loud murmurs coming from the television wasn’t enough to drown out your shallow inhibitions. 

the night continued on like this for a few hours. eating snacks in the dark living room with the remote in your hand, flipping channels every five minutes as your running thoughts couldn’t keep your attention span still. it felt like you were missing something, a part of yourself that you couldn’t exactly pinpoint. you thought of all of the possibilities why you felt like there was a void in your heart, yet the only thing you could properly convince yourself on was that you just missed home. but was that really all that you had missed?

you thoughts are interrupted by steps approaching you. akaashi walks into the living room, flicking on the switches and causing you to grimace at the bright lights. your eyes stung slightly as they adjusted from being in the dark for too long.

“where are you going?” you ask akaashi as you noticed his dressed up attire.

“i got done with all the paperwork and emails,” he answers while he fixes the collar of his dress shirt, “i’m deciding to have some fun tonight with the rest of the group. are you still up for it? i’ll wait for you to get ready if you want.”

the thought occurred within you that you should agree. that the possibility of this unexplainable feeling of isolation you were feeling would disappear if you were to just say yes and go. but as self-destructive as you were on yourself, you continued to hold yourself back—hesitant and always second guessing your actions.

you open your mouth slightly, but you ultimately just shook your head no.

akaashi lets out a sigh. he was genuinely hoping you would come around sooner or later. granted, it had been over a month since you guys left japan and he figured you would be over everything by now, but that obviously wasn’t the case. “you might be receiving a call soon... i suggest you should answer it.”

confusion flushed over your expression, giving him a strange look. but before you could even utter a single question to him, akaashi was already up and out the door.

he left you in a wake of curiosity for the rest of the night. it was nearing one in the morning and you still hadn’t yet received a phone call. it honestly sounded incredibly ominous that you grew a tad bit nervous. there were only so many possibilities on who would call, but it would actually infuriate you if akaashi was just joking around. but then again, akaashi isn’t the type to play something childish like that unless it was kaori or semi’s idea. regardless, the thought kept you awake as you eyes practically weighed like cinder blocks at this point.

you couldn’t believe you wait for two hours for a phone call that might not even happ—it shocked you at first, the ringing of your obnoxious ring tone and the buzzing of the vibrations on the table.

furrowing your brows as you reached over, a gasp left you the moment you read the contact name. your slapped a hand over your mouth to muffle your shock. your hand shook from the growing bundle of nerves in your gut as you hesitate.

the name ‘kou’ shined brightly against your face, coaxing you to answer as if your thumb wasn’t frozen the accept button. out of all the possibilities on who would be calling you tonight, it just had to be him. it wasn’t like you opposed talking to bokuto. if anything, you had spent countless of sleepless nights wondering if you should finally answer that text of his. yet no matter how many different messages you have typed, none of them ever saw the light of day. a hurricane of stupid conversation starters and ice breakers swarmed in your head, all messy and disorganized that if you didn’t just suck it up and answered, you would’ve probably missed a chance to reconnect with him.

fuck it, you thought as you accepted the call.

“(y/n)!” bokuto called out to you, sending your heart running thousands of miles an hour. it had been ages since you heard your name come out of his mouth, “how’ve you been? a little birdy told me you needed a little company.”

you had to hold yourself back from smiling too much as you could already feel your cheeks ache. you wanted to scoff and perhaps groan at the sudden embarrassment of what akaashi could’ve told him. “bo—” you started, but is immediately cut off.

yet another familiar voice emitted from bokuto’s line, almost as if they were shouting, “you’re supposed to say that i’m here too, idiot!”

the volleyball player chuckles, “oh sorry, iwa-chan! here.” muffles and cups clanking against each other travel through to line to what you assume is bokuto handing his phone over to iwaizumi.

“uh... hi.” his voice sounded deeper than usual.

“hi iwa, how have you been?” you chuckle, finding his sudden shyness absolutely adorable.

“good, good. i’ve uhh... missed you.”

“i do too.”

“yeah, yeah, you miss me most though right?” bokuto’s loud voice thunders through the call.

the juxtaposition of how daftly different they were was something you could never get enough of. perhaps it was at that moment you finally understood your loneliness through their bickering. you were in fact homesick, but the home that you were thinking of wasn’t what you were missing the most. you suppose the home you missed was them. they were your home.

you let out an amused laugh, “right.”

“that’s good because iwaizumi and i should be mad at you for ghosting us for the past month, but we understand since akaashi explained to us already.”

your eyes suddenly widen into saucers, panicking what he could have possibly said. “what did he tell you?”

“everything,” bo sings.

you audibly groan in embarrassment, throwing your head back onto the couch in retaliation. you were glad they couldn’t see how flushed and red your cheeks were right now as they even extended out to the tips of your ears.

“you know it would’ve been easier to say that you love the both of us and didn’t want to choose right?” iwaizumi points out in between your panic.

“exactly!” cuts in bokuto, “besides we don’t sharing you, you know. who knew you were such a prude, (y/n).” you could practically hear the smirk in his voice as you couldn’t stop the heat from spreading any further from your face.

now you were really glad they weren’t able to see you at that moment. if they did, you would’ve died from the embarrassment then and there. “give me a break, i was too embarrassed to ask,” you mutter, fearing that they could hear how fast your heart was beating through the call.

“ask what?” iwaizumi teases, “ask if you could date the both of us?”

you were internally screaming at this point. everything that you didn’t think was going to happen, happened all within five minutes and you honestly couldn’t believe it. you were pinching yourself as if you were in a dream, yet no matter how hard you squeezed, this was actually happening. “shut up!” was all you could say.

“even if you did ask... it’s not like we could ever say no to you, (y/n).” says bokuto, his words so enticing that you weren’t sure if you’re heart can handle any more of this.

his words left you absolutely speechless. you honestly didn’t know what to say at this point.

"i’m fine with it and bokuto’s fine with it.” iwaizumi says, “it’s just a matter if you’re willing.” 

bokuto then leans forward towards his phone, “so what do you say, (y/n)?”

you swallowed the lump of nerves forming into your throat as the one question you never thought you would ever be asked was right in front of you. and yet you still hesitated despite everything that had just happened. you loved them both, so why weren’t you answering?

a few beats of silence passed before your gained the courage to push out the the very words, “... i’ll think about it.”

“boo! that’s lame!” bokuto shouts.

“i’ll give you guys an answer when i get back home.” you add, hoping to ease the disappointment they were probably feeling at that very moment.

“that won’t be for another few months, though.” iwaizumi deadpans that you could practically see the pout on both of their faces. “but we’ll promise to wait for you, (y/n).”

and so they waited for you to come back home, but you never did. schedules misaligned even when you were finally back home in tokyo. bokuto was getting progressively more busy now that the olympics were coming up and iwaizumi was just as busy, if not busier with the amount of athletes he had to take care of. there was even a constant flying back and forth from tokyo to los angeles for the film, all of which lasted for a few weeks at a time and you swear your couldn’t catch a break.

this went on for months with the only contact between you and the boys were from texting and phone calls that ended up shorter than you anticipated. and now a year had past since you left and this very movie premiere would be the first time you have seen iwaizumi and bokuto for the first time in a year.

this was so ironic how this all played out. you haven’t even realized you already reached the end of the red carpet when an interviewer calls out your name, microphone in hand and a camera pointed directly at your face.

“ms. (y/l/n)!” the woman shouts over the ruckus of snapping photos and other interviewers asking questions to the actors behind you. “there has been rumors going around about your dating life. are you dating msby’s bokuto koutarou or their athletic trainer iwaizumi hajime, who has been getting a lot of attention from stan twitter just recently! could you share some insight on your live life as love cemetery’s creator?”

“um,” you start, not sure how to answer the question as you nervous chuckled, “that’s a secret i’m afraid i can’t tell.”

before the woman could ask you any other questions, you walked away from the carpet and rushed towards the banquet hall. thankfully, akaashi and kaori was nearby and gratefully took your place in the interview without a second thought.

you let out a relieved sigh as much of the noise from the premiere died down as the only people inside the banquet hall were movie critics, the film crew, and other celebrities who were invited. by now, no one in this room would have the audacity to ask you such a personal question which caused weights to fall off your shoulder. you honestly should be used to those types of questions right now as a webtoon author that literally writes romance, but it always catches you off guard when you least expect it. honestly, you were just glad you didn’t slip up.

as a small little reward for yourself, you grab a flute of champagne from the refreshment table, decorated all fancy that you even hesitated to mess up the display. you turn around to face the growing crowd of mingling individuals, talking and laughing amongst each other as you sipped your drink gently. but as you watch you feel a presence on either side of you, both of which sent your heart soaring and a smile to appeared on your cherry colored lips. you didn’t even have to look them up and down to see how handsome they both looked. to think they were all yours.

“so what did you tell that interviewer?” bokuto asks nonchalantly as if he could just get away from a proper greeting. you were surprised he didn’t just engulfed you into his arms then and there.

instead, you opted to play along, “about what?” you tested with a smirk.

“the question about who you’re dating,” iwaizumi adds in from your other side.

you shrug, taking a sip of your champagne, “you guys probably wouldn’t like the answer i gave her.” you could feel the brazen stares bokuto and iwaizumi were giving each other—competitive and oddly provoking.

“she probably said she was dating me,” bokuto hums in response, confidence radiating off him that it caused you to scoff.

“i doubt it,” debates iwaizumi, giving him the same energy. “she probably said she was dating me.”

“actually,” you cut in before the two could possibly start bickering with each other, “i remember specifically saying that i’d thinking about it.” 

the boys give you a look, downing their drinks as if they were like the shots they swallowed many nights ago at that bar. it was as if they were trying to win your over again like your feelings had changed since then. 

“oh yeah?” bokuto starts, inching closer towards you while iwaizumi rested his arm on the table behind you.

“so what do you think, (y/n)?” says iwaizumi.

they both towered over you, just inches away from your body, but you didn’t cower or back away. if anything there was a playful smirk inevitably resting upon your lips.

now this, was going to be fun.

fun facts! —

sugawara has five rolls of film he had to get developed once they wrapped filming in osaka, each roll is from each city they went to for filming

iwaizumi and bokuto became really close friends when y/n left for la as they bonded over getting ghosted

bc of this,, bokuto posted a pic of him and iwa on his instagram and it got lots of attention that iwa went viral on stan twitter

taglist: (closed!)

@moonlightaangel @elianetsantana @k4tiepie @memorableminds @wheeshllumi @suhkusa @kitsunetea @airybby @noeminemi @truly-a-snitch @keichan @cosmicmermaid25 @bap-kingdom @saturnfarie @kwdflash @ennos-baby @dinablossom @chrisrue15 @seikamuzu @nestlevanilla @chasekudo @yammmers @pixcldust @iwaizluv @h0ngh0ngh0ng @emogrils @tiredandkindaoverworked @tsumue @underratedmage @bokutosuwus @kellesvt @unstableye @oh-tapeworm @scrappyfka @alittlebitofrain @mxngy @tpwkatsumu @atsumuwoah @macchiatoast @dicerawr @kageyamasbabygorl @some-random-stranger-007 @vhskenma @wntrmn @little-plants @stargirlara @kissungjae @je11yfishwriter @sbaepsae @apollochjld

[weirdestbooks]

A Civil Disagreement Chapter 4

Kansas Bleeds

DC's POV

May 20, 1856

Kansas Territory was causing us a world of trouble. Fighting had broken out two years ago when we allowed popular sovereignty, letting the people of Kansas and Nebraska Territory to vote on whether or not they wanted to have slavery in their lands.

Unfortunately this has let to many people from Missouri, and Missouri himself to go to Kansas in a attempt to sway the vote towards slavery. Border ruffians, they were called. Of course, the Free-Staters weren't any better, and had also gone to Kansas to sway the vote in their favor.

Which has led us to being here. Stuck in Congress, arguing endlessly. Like normal. Father was supposed to be here, but he was off handling other business. He had traveled to California and was spending a week there with her, before he left to go visit Hawaii. After the visit he would come back sometime in June.

Until he came back, I was stuck with the wonderful job of dealing with Congress's arguments.

Being a capital was so much fun.

Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts had given a speech, addressing the issue of whether or not Kansas should be admitted to the Union as a free state or a slave state.

It was a very long speech, although what speech in this Senate wasn't?

Senator Sumner had blamed Senator Stephan Douglas of Illinois and Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina for what he called "the crimes against Kansas."

And he was not holding back in his dislike for them either.

"Noise-some, squat and nameless animal...not a proper model for an American Senator" was how he described Senator Douglas. It was very shocking, the insults, though I'm sure if Father was here he would have found it amusing. Although what he called Senator Douglas was not nearly as shocking or insulting as what he said about Senator Butler.

He said that Senator Butler had taken "a mistress...who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted with the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight—I mean, the harlot, Slavery."

Fiery words indeed.

"You are lucky Senator Butler was not here for your speech, Senator." I said, approaching Senator Sumner, who was attaching his postal frank to what I assumed were copies of his speech.

"Hello Washington. I figured you would have probably come to talk to me about my language." He said, "But I do not regret it. I said what needed to be said."

"Sometimes I feel like the mother of certain congressmen here, having to discipline you for the way you behave. Senator, I know you are passionate and you have your beliefs, but with the situation in Kansas...do you really think angering more people will help the situation?" I asked him.

"People are already angry, Washington." Senator Sumner began, as I noticed Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina entered the chamber, holding a cane in his hand, and making his way towards us. Perhaps he wanted to speak with me. I turned back to Senator Sumner as he continued speaking.

"How angrier could they possibly get?" He said, right as Representative Brooks reached us. I opened my mouth to respond, but right as I did, Representative Brooks raised his cane, the metal top gleaming in the light, and brought it down on Senator Sumner's head.

I stood there, horrified as Representative Brooks struck Senator Sumner again and again, too shocked to move, to do anything. This had never happened in Congress before!

Senator Sumner attempted to get up, and did so, lurching around the room, bleeding profusely from his head and Representative Brooks continued to strike.

After a period of time that felt like forever, the caning stopped.

"Good day, District of Columbia." Representative Brooks said as he turned to leave, no one, not even me, was making any moves to stop him. I could see some senators grabbing Senator Sumner and carrying him out of the chamber, probably to get him to a doctor.

And I just stood there, shocked at what had occurred.

My God.

What was I going to tell Father?

Missouri's POV

May 21, 1856

Lawrence, Kansas Territory. The center of anti-slavery action in Kansas Territory. It was import that me and other proslavery forces suppress the action taken by anti-slavery here. Especially after we worked so hard to get Kansas a pro slavery government back in March. Kansas had to be pro slavery at all cost, for the good of the Union!

Especially due to the violence that had happened there.

After Sheriff Samual J Jones was shot in this town trying to arrest some Free-Staters, neutralizing the threat this town possessed became even more important.

We had taken the first steps when Federal Marshall I. B. Donaldson issued a proclamation asking for the citizens of Kansas Territory to help him arrest members of extra legal Free-State legislators. With the help of about six proslavery militias, the arrests happened peacefully.

Unfortunately that was having violent consequences. The anti-slavery people of Lawrence were now arming themselves.

Which is where I come in.

Sheriff Jones had assembled a force of 750 men, including me to help disarm the citizens of Lawrence and their anti-slavery institutions. That way we could prevent them from committing acts of violence against the proslavery individuals of Kansas Territory.

With that plan in mind, we had sealed off all exits to the town, and placed a cannon on a nearby mountain. Then we had proceeded to march onto the town of Lawrence so we could place all of the anti-slavery leaders under arrest.

As we marched into Lawrence, there was no resistance to us, much to my surprise. The citizens just let it happen.

"Guess not everyone here is anti-slavery." I muttered under my breath. Not that I was going to complain about that. That was an advantage for us. And it proved that this territory should become a slave state. Even the abolitionist town wouldn't fight back against us.

But we still had to take care of our two main targets, the anti slavery newspapers. I was in charge of taking care of the newspaper called the Herald of Freedom. It was easy enough to take over the office of the newspaper.

"Take the printing press and throw it into the river!" I ordered my men, "Make sure the printing press for the Kansas Free State is destroyed. The rest of you, help the others destroy the Free-State Hotel, the military hotel."

I then began helping my men carry the printing press towards the river.

"Are you sure this is necessary, Missouri?"

"Yes. It will ensure that this town isn't allowed to spit out more propaganda that will destroy the credibility of the noble institution of slavery." I said, grunting slightly as we approached the river bed, the printing press getting heavy.

"On three we throw it in." I said. "One, two, three."

The printing press hit the river with a splash, and we sighed.

"Well that was a success. Should we meet up with the others at the Free-State Hotel?" Someone asked, stretching out their arms.

"No, we don't want to all crowd there. We should rob the homes of the abolitionists, and convince them to leave. They aren't welcome in this pro slavery territory!" I said, bringing on cheers from my men. I smiled.

This was a great success so far. This territory would definitely become pro slavery. We have destroyed the stronghold, and now they have nowhere left to go.

I wonder if Kansas would be proud of me for helping them. I couldn't wait to meet them, another slave state to help even the balance.

————June 2, 1856————

Of course when I thought everything was going to go up, it had to go down. Poor Kansas.

Back in May, a murderous abolitionist named John Brown, joined by others had murdered five proslavery men in what was now called the Pottawatomie Massacre. It was an awful tragedy, and John Brown needed to be taken into custody at all cost. And I had to be there to help the proslavery men, no matter what Kentucky said.

Marshall Pate had put together a group of fifty men, including myself, to help take down the abolitionist fugitives. We had been ransacking abolitionist homes to make sure none of them were in league with the fugitives as we tracked them down. The lack of cooperation from these men gave the fugitive Brown enough time to raise a force of his own.

A battle between us was certain, and was most likely going to happen today, as we were currently under attack by Brown.

It was a wonderful way to wake up. I yawned as I looked around for the fugitives.

"They are using the Santa Fe trail as a refugee!" One of our men called.

"And so can we!" I said, ducking for cover as gunfire increased upon the sight of me.

"See they like you as a target." My friend said. I laughed.

"They don't think I belong here Johnny. But even if I don't, neither do they. A bunch of murderous hypocrites who can't accept that this territory is going to be a slave state." I said.

"Think Kansas will appreciate what we've done once she's born?"

"Oh I'm certain of it." I said before returning fire. The pattern continues. Me and Johnny joked around as we continued to exchange gunfire.

But we were still getting nowhere. We had hit a stalemate.

"I'm going to negotiate with him." Marshall Pate eventually told me as he made his way over crafting up a white flag.

"We can't negotiate with fugitives!" Johnny said. I sighed.

"Marshall Pate has a point though. We are getting nowhere. This might be the best solution we are going to get." I said. Marshall Pate nodded.

"We can see if we can get his surrender to help lessen casualties. We seem to outnumber them, so we have an advantage there. Missouri, will you accompany me?" Marshall Pate asked. I nodded, and he smiled, before lifting his arm and raising the flag.

"We wish to negotiate with John Brown!" He yelled. The gunfire ceased as some of the anti slavery men appeared.

"We'll take your leader and the state to Mr. Brown. The rest of you behave. One of the men said before leading us to Brown.

"What do you want Border Ruffians?" He asked.

"We wish to negotiate for your unconditional surrender." Marshall Pate said, causing John Brown to laugh.

"I will not be surrendering today. When this battle ends you will be the ones surrendering. Now take them away. I don't want to talk to you Border Ruffians until you are ready to surrender, hear me?" He demanded. I rolled my eyes.

"We won't surrender. You will surrender to us when this battle is over." I said. John Brown smiled.

"We'll see about that slave state." He said, before his men took us back to our side of the battlefield.

"Well that was a failure." I commented.

"It was worth a shot. Now we need to figure out how to break the stalemate so we can force them to surrender." Marshall Pate said. I nodded, and grabbed my weapon from Johnny as the battle resumed.

Everything seemed to be heading to it continuing how it was for god knows how long, until a cry came that chilled me to the core.

"We have the Border Ruffians surrounded!" One of Brown's men called from behind us. Johnny and I exchanged horrified looks.

"Reinforcements from Lawrence?" Johnny questioned.

"Must be." I said, turning to Marshal Pate.

"What do we do?" I asked. Marshal Pate sighed.

"Surrender." He said, as he lifted up the white flag. Once again, Marshal Pate and I were taken to John Brown.

"Hello again Border Ruffians. Now, I want unconditional surrender from your group. No terms." Brown said. I scowled.

"And if we don't?" I asked. Brown pulled out his gun and pointed it at Marshal Pate.

"Then I blow out both of your brains." He said. I froze, my pride breaking and my anger growing.

"Fine. We will agree to unconditional surrender." Marshal Pate said. I clenched my fists.

I hated this. I failed to bring the fugitive to justice.

Kansas will hate me for this.

United POV

August 30, 1856

"United States! There's been another conflict in Kansas!" A messenger said as he ran up to me. I groaned. Not another one. Hopefully Missouri wasn't caught up in this one. Kentucky still had yet to convince Missouri to come home and stop causing trouble.

"What happened now?" I asked, as the messages stopped.

"Another battle. At Osawatomie. The Missourians attacked the town. The Free Staters tried to hold them off, but they were too outnumbered. Osawatomie was burned." He said.

"Not another one..." I mumbled, being reminded of the Sack of Lawrence from May. I really hoped Kentucky dragged Missouri home soon. That boy was in big trouble.

"I'm going to go talk to Congress about this. All of these conflicts need to end soon. I know people disagree, but killing each other isn't a good solution. We can settle things peacefully." I said, dismissing the messenger.

'Are you sure?'

I was sure of the fact that everything would calm down eventually. Violence was not going to be the answer to this. We had compromised before, we can make compromises again.

I hope I can get my kids to see that.