#however: way fewer dangling threads!

[to-the-fishies]

All our seating has been getting more and more ragged from our felonious felines, so I took a while this weekend to apply some patches to one of the chairs. Kudos to this tutorial, my brother's staple gun, a combination of needles (upholstery, smaller upholstery, leather, and straight-up), and the local creative resale shop for what I needed to give the chair a bit more longevity!

[underappreciated-bee]

Incompatible Intentions

Chapter One

A/N: This is a Sokka x female!reader and Zuko x female!reader. This is one of my first stories so please enjoy. Also, Y/N is 10 years old in this chapter, making Zuko and Azula 11 and 9 respectively. The year is 94AG.

Can be read on both A03 and Wattpad (same username)

SUMMARY:

Y/N was a young girl born in the Fire Nation: taught that it was the greatest nation in the world. She grew up with these ideologies engraved in her mind. As her father was a close trusted advisor of the Fire Lord Ozai, she would often spend time with the young crowned prince, Zuko.

After her father dares to disagree with the Fire Lord in a meeting, opposing to the invasion of the water tribes, he and his family were banished from the Fire Nation, never allowed to return again. They seek refuge in the Southern Water Tribe, however not for long, as the Fire Nation soon would raid…

WARNING: N/A if you find any please tell me

Also sorry for any spelling mistakes or typing errors. I have proofread this, but sometimes it just skips over my head. 

Status: IN PROGRESS

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Y/N- your name

Y/F/N- your father’s name

Y/L/N- your last name

If you’re on Chrome, you can use this extension to personalise your names.

WC: 1.9K

Zuko's eyes slowly began to follow the gentle movements of the young turtle duck in front of him. Its feet lightly paddled in the shallow water of the pond as it tried desperately to create enough momentum to reach its mother that sat a distance away. Zuko smiled fondly at the creature, breaking off another small piece of the bread in his hand, throwing it gracefully in the direction of its mother- enticing it. 

This had been going on for a while: Zuko feeding the turtle ducks and Y/N staring mindlessly at the cerulean sky, neither of them speaking; only sitting in comfortable silence.  

Y/N and Zuko had known each other for just under a year, first having met one another at a birthday party for Zuko's grandfather. 

Y/N's father, Admiral Y/F/N Y/L/N, helped aid the Fire Lord in his war efforts against the other nations; so for the Fire Lord's 93rd birthday, he and his family were invited by the Fire Lord himself to come to celebrate.

 That was the first time that Y/N and Zuko had met. 

Neither of them talked the entire night, only ever sharing momentary glances with the other before briskly turning away. It had been during the weeks following when they would first speak. 

Y/N's father had brought her to the palace with him, having promised that the meeting wouldn't take up much of his time and that the two of them would be able to go and eat Mochi straight after. Begrudgingly, she followed her father and waited for him in the palace garden. 

Warily, her feet dangled off of the bench you sat on- too short to reach the ground- but that was to be expected from an 8-year-old. Happily, she watched as the turtle ducks raced around the pond, your eyes tracing their movements; they seemed relaxed- content, even.

Zuko felt relaxed as he walked into the palace garden. His hand clutching the bag of seeds his mother had handed him, ready to feed the ducks that day. Smiling, he walked into the garden, eyeing his surroundings in hope that Azula wouldn't be there. 

Abruptly, his feet stopped beneath him: catching the sight of a young girl- around his age- sitting alone on the corner bench. He had no idea who she was, or even if she had been allowed in there, but that didn't stop him from approaching her. 

"Hi," Zuko first spoke up, waving his hand awkwardly in the air at the girl.

 She looked up startled, her face morphing into one of shock as she realised who had just spoken to her. Immediately, she stood up and bowed at the prince

"P-Prince Zuko," she stammered. "I am so sorry if I've disturbed you. I didn't realise you'd be here. I can go and wait for my father somewhere else." The words flowed off her tongue swiftly, her nervousness apparent.

Y/N had never seen the young Prince up close in person before. Sure, she had seen pictures of him around the Capital, and she had noticed him a couple of weeks ago at the Fire Lord's Birthday, but despite her father's position, she had hardly ever met anyone other than the Fire Lord himself.

"My friends call me Zuko." he smiled softly.

"Oh. Well, uhm, Zuko- My name is Y/N," she smiled shyly at him, timidly putting her hair behind her ear. Zuko had picked up on her discomfort,  and so he started to walk towards the pond to spare her of any more of the awkward conversation. 

Carefully, he sat down under the tree in the centre of the garden and started to feed the ducks. Y/N only watched on fondly as the turtle ducks swam towards the seeds he had thrown in their direction. 

"Do you want to come and sit next to me?" Zuko asked the girl, turning around to look at her, "Promise I'm not as intimidating as I look." 

The young girl smiled timidly, she wasn't even really supposed to be in the garden, let alone be talking to a member of the Royal Family. Glancing between him and the bread in his hand, she spoke up, more confident than before, " Only if you let me feed the Turtle Ducks."

Y/N watched the sky peacefully. As time passed, she had learned to feel relaxed in Zuko'd presence; no longer was she as tense and unnerved as she once was. She looked over at him quietly, still feeding the Ducks, she thought. Her head shook slightly before finally breaking the silence.

"Are we not going to talk today?" She asked concerned. He simply shrugged, unsure of what to say. 

He seemed unusual today, not his typical self, and that to no fault of his own. Zuko now being a young 10-year-old Prince had found himself with fewer responsibilities than he'd like. Despite his countless pleas to his father to allow him to be more involved in the war effort, he would always be turned away as 'he wasn't old enough to understand'.

"Sorry I just..." he paused briefly, deciding whether or not to say something, "...I have a lot on my mind, " he admitted, giving her a distressed look.

She glanced at him, concerned,  "D'you wanna talk about it?"

Before they could discuss any further, they were unpleasantly interrupted.

"Hey Zuzu," Azula gleamed as she walked into the garden. 

Zuko sighed heavily at the sight of his sister. He had tried avoiding her the entire day in hopes she would catch interest in other things.

"Hi Azula," Y/N looked at the girl brightly, whilst Zuko only mumbled irritatedly under his breath.

 Azula sat down beside Y/N, looking at her quizically, "I didn't expect you to be here today," her tone more similar to that of a question.

"My father had a last-minute meeting he had to attend.  And since we were on our way to the market he brought me along with him." she smiled kindly at Azula. 

In the past year, Y/N  had found herself inside the Fire Nation palace more often than she'd first liked. Her father would regularly be called in to advise the Fire Lord on some new plan for invading the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes. Y/N didn't mind it though, because every time he would have to go to the palace, she'd join him.

It was somewhat of a ritual between the two. Whenever her father had been called to the palace, Y/N would happily join him. At first, she did so because she wished to see the Turtle Ducks. After a while, she realised that she liked talking to Zuko. 

Sometimes, however, Zuko wouldn't be in the garden; only his sister Azula. At first, she was a whole lot less welcoming than her brother. And even though Azula wouldn't admit it, eventually, she too began to like Y/N. She liked the fact that there was another girl, around her age, in the palace. 

It made her feel less alone. 

Azula had sat down beside Y/N and started to pluck at the grass, viciously ripping it up with her fingers before dropping it back on the ground: then repeating. 

As she continued playing with the grass, a bundle of daisies caught her eye. Azula scooted closer to them. Then she started to rip the daises out of the ground, as she had done with the grass. 

By this point, Zuko finally began to notice his surroundings and looked over at Y/N, who remained unmoving on the grass, sprawled out like a starfish. He smiled kindly at the sight before turning his attention to his sister. 

"Azula you shouldn't be doing that! Leave the flowers alone."

Zuko's sudden increase in dynamics caused Y/N to look at the two, unsure of what was going on. Her face was laced in perplexion as she tried to decipher their interaction. It was only when she noticed the daisies in Azula's hands that Y/N moved closer to her to inspect. Slowly, she picked up a daisy off of the ground, and then another, and another; joining Azula in her conquest 

Zuko gawked at them both in complete shock, unsure of how to proceed.

"Look Zuko, it's okay," Y/N smiled, lifting a beautifully crafted daisy chain. "We can make friendship bracelets out of them." She smiled kindly at Zuko, who had a shocked look on his face. He glanced at his sister, seeking comfort in the fact she looked just as baffled as him.

"A what?" Azula spoke up. 

"A friendship bracelet" Y/N repeated. "It's self-explanatory really. It's a bracelet that friends wear to symbolise their friendship." As she began to dig her nails in the stem of a daisy, to thread the next one through, " and we can make them out of daisies." 

From that day on, it became almost like a tradition for the three to sit down together in the garden, creating daisy chains in honour of their friendship. Because despite how long it'd been since they'd seen one another, or even if Zuko and Azula weren't on speaking terms. It would be something they all enjoyed doing, together. 

 A couple of weeks had passed since that day when Y/N walked into the palace with the brightest smile on her face. In her hands, two perfectly packaged presents. She bid farewell to her father before giddily running off into the garden to meet with her friends.  

Azula, sat on the bench, was reading a book and Zuko sat underneath the tree, as he watched the Turtle Ducks paddle in the water. Y/N skipped into the garden, standing in the middle of the room, the cleared her throat. 

Both the siblings looked up at their friend and quickly ran up to her, forgetting what they were doing.

 "Y/N!" they both exclaimed in unison, rushing to be the first to embrace her. After the three of them had hugged and the excitement had died down, Y/N looked at the two, "I got you both something."

The two siblings remained confused as they began to wonder what could their friend have possibly gotten them.

Y/N brought out two presents from behind her back, giving them to the two. They both looked at Y/N, then at each other, unsure of what to expect from the girl.

As the two opened their gifts, Y/N spoke, "I wanted to get the two of you something for being my best friends. So I decided to make it meaningful."

 Azula was the first to open her gift, seeing a red string bracelet with a silver small sun charm on it. She looked down in the box, in awe of the jewellery. 

"I decided that the best thing to get you would be the most important part of a daisies life cycle, " Y/N said as she showed the two a bracelet similar to theirs on her hand. 

Unlike Azula who had a sun charm and Zuko who wore a water droplet:  Y/N had a daisy. Showing them her charm she began to explain her gifts. 

"I have a daisy. Azula is my sun," she said nodding to her friend

"And Zuko is my water." 

The two children looked at the girl in front of them, both grinning from ear to ear. They placed the red string on their wrist and looked back up to their friend.

" I wanted you to have these so that you would be reminded of our friendship. That no matter where we go and no matter how far apart we are. You will always be my best friends." 

No matter what.

[groundbreaking-science]

1: A Brief History of Ki

“‘Work well, study well, play well, eat well, and sleep well.’ My first master taught me that and that’s the best advice I can give!” – my father, Son Goku.

This first chapter is dedicated to Dad, who mastered everything in this book… but wouldn’t have understood a word.

Ki may be an unfamiliar concept, but you do know it. If I venture to speak to most about ki-blasts or auras or flying, the best I can hope for is a polite smile. After all, it’s common knowledge that superpowers can’t be real. But if I ask you how a room drops when that person storms in, or of the cosy feeling when lounging in silence with friends, of the spark of a partner’s touch, or about the deep, yawning connection to the wider world we feel in moments of sheer awe… you know ki already. And ki most definitely knows you.

I wouldn’t wish to give the impression ki is responsible for the entirety of those sensations. Chemicals in the brain like dopamine and oxytocin play a large part in governing how we feel and act. But there’s that last element - how our emotions can become physical and arrest us completely at times - that can never quite be explained away as the sum of brain cells firing. The wonder of life itself can be broken down to the cellular level without losing any majesty (to me at any rate), however I can tell you from experience building these components back up again to model an entire person is somewhat more challenging. The task is made a fraction simpler when ki is taken into account. Ki is the thread that weaves us together, taking us from a collection of cells to one being. And beyond the self, it is ki that draws us together as people.   

You are most likely not consciously aware of your ki-sense, but the ability to detect its presence within and around you already exists and can be brought to the forefront. This sense can be turned into a literal power, from having a mere sensitivity to ki to gaining conscious control quickly. How quickly that is, is up to you. 

This chapter will outline the traditional understanding of ki and where that needs to be updated, the different components of ki and its natural use in the world. The next chapter will move towards developing your own abilities. 

1.1 The Traditional View 

Ki, in a word, is energy. In three, it is the energy of life. Ki is not an energy like electricity or heat. The most familiar analogy would be light as it has particles and a field, but even that model falls apart quickly and… I’m getting ahead of myself. Let us ease in with a traditional, serviceable understanding, gently reframe parts of the explanation, then build up. 

The sensing and control of ki does not require the user to be proficient in the martial arts. However, the majority of ki-users on Earth gained their experience through this route and it is the most natural way to pick up the prerequisites. Masters of old would typically introduce ki early as a concept to a student; only after years of intense physical and meditative training to hone the body and mind would the student then start to practice ki-control. Students may then dedicate their lives to perfecting a few techniques in safe sparring environments, until they themselves could lead others in the same training. Very rarely would there be a true conflict in which to test these techniques. 

Studying ki was not always an enlightened pursuit. Contrary to what was often taught as a form of self-flattery, one does not have to be a good person to use ki - life would be a lot easier for our planet if that were the case! A few students did not take the lessons on responsibility to heart and would leave schools for a life of crime using their new abilities. The more unscrupulous masters dangled the chance of preferential ki-training in front of their richest students to fund their schools, increasing the power of the richest families. Knowledge of ki then became a two-tier system and it is unsurprising that in days gone by the use of ki was feared or derided. As ki-training was dropped from schools, fewer students learnt to pass on the knowledge. Nowadays ki as an idea has fallen from wider public consciousness completely. 

Each of these schools had their own physical and ki-based techniques that were closely-guarded secrets. A school without a unique style or technique was not an attractive school to attend; why learn there when you could learn all that and more in the next district over? Espionage was rife to ruin the competition and some of the largest schools were the most underhanded. Even now, with only two schools teaching ki-control and both masters good friends, some techniques remain off-limits as a tacit agreement to preserve a sense of identity. The same mostly friendly rivalry exists between ki-using families.

November 798 at Capsule Corporation, between myself (then 41), my younger brother Son Goten (31) and his close friend Trunks (32) of Capsule Corporation fame. All three of us are experienced martial artists and ki users.

Gohan: Have you ever taught each other your fathers’ signature techniques?  Goten: Well that’s a silly question - Trunks: Not formally. The Kamehameha was forbidden at home. So, naturally... Gohan: Aah, so you do know it? Trunks: I picked it up even before Gotenks* was around. If Dad asks I have never, ever done it. And neither has Bra.** [laughs] Goten: Your Dad must know the move by now. Trunks: Of course! But he’d never admit it. Goten: The Kamehameha’s a little like his Galick-Ho, by the way. Which I’ve also never, ever done.

(*Gotenks (31), a member of both families who will be discussed in later chapters; **Bra (18), Trunks’ younger sister.)

Naturally then, very little by way of older documentation exists for me to draw a general, traditional explanation from. Fortunately I happened to have had a variety of teachers over the years - both formal and informal - and I contacted as many as possible to get their ki introductions. The distilled version is this: 

Ki is the energy of life, a type of fire created in the body. Life surrounds us and therefore so does ki. It is carried in the breath, generated in the internal furnace known as our centre when we inhale, and our exhalation encourages the flow of ki through our bodies where it can be used. Whilst humans have the special capacity to manipulate ki, animals also have breath and so have ki themselves. Plants may not have lungs but they do breathe; a plant starved of any air will wither and die, its ki dying with it. The planet itself breathes, with air in the soil and bubbles in streams, and the centre of the planet itself is a great furnace of fire generating ki. 

Like the breath, ki is owned by a life but is not restricted to the body. It extends beyond the self as an aura, with the energy itself waiting for a command on which to act. Beyond the fraction that is needed for the body to function, ki can be withdrawn back to the body to amplify actions, effectively increasing physical strength. The practised student will be able to detect changes in ki aura intensity and flow in the people around them, identifying illness or shifts in concentration. Feeling ki and talking to your own is a difficult skill to develop. However, with quiet contemplation and training in the breath one can draw ki from their centre and direct it outwards, concentrating it in the hands to the point of true visibility, then unleashing literally explosive effects on the world around them. Mastery of ki then imparts a need for responsible behaviour on the student, and the most potent abilities must only be used in defence. 

There are alternate but equal explanations of ki as a type of wood instead of fire. In systems with five elements (metal, water, wood, fire and earth) these elements create and disrupt each other. Masters noted that wood is nourished by water, creates fire through burning, and metal in the form of axes can break wood. Likewise, water creates life and therefore ki, and metal can destroy it (not necessarily through axes, the ingestion of heavy metals can cause a gruesome death). In particular they observed that breathing on a near-extinguished fire can bring it back to life, much like adding wood. They argued then that fire came from ki and so ki must be aligned to wood, rather than ki being fire itself.  

This kind of explanation is not limited to Earth. The Namekians, a peaceful race of aliens I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and learning much from, emphasise the connectedness of their ki to the world around them. They impress upon their children stewardship responsibilities and fighting to preserve all forms of life. In contrast the Saiyan warrior race focussed on the differences between their stronger ki and animals’, instead taking the view their relative superior strength was a gift to utilise. I use the past tense here for good reason, but more on that tangent later. Earth-based teachings of ki exist somewhere between these two extremes. The common threads - the importance of breath, projecting inner strength outwards, and all life having ki - are consistent throughout the Universe.  

From experience I can tell you there are a number of misconceptions in the above explanations. My teachers were aware of them themselves, but found small untruths were easier to teach on the first pass. Neither the traditional elements nor the planet generate or destroy ki, it is life itself “creating” it within the body’s centre. The breath doesn’t carry ki, although breath and ki-control are closely linked. However, people and animals do have unique auras and sensing their turbulence is a useful skill, and ki can both greatly augment physical strength and be projected outwards. 

How these misconceptions arose before modern science is easily understood when experiencing the world through ki, as we shall see next. 

previous next

[snugglebuck]

Moroz

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 1767

Warnings: Mentions of torture, abuse, Hydra type stuff.

Notes: New series with this idea I’ve had for a while. Angsty Frozen lol. No but seriously I’m always cold so it’d be my superpower. ;) They’ll be more Bucky in the next part I just had to set some stuff up... Also the Russian is all from google translate so.... That’s that. It’s probably wrong? I don’t know. P.S. If you guys want to be tagged let me know? I see that’s a thing on tumblr now.. gotta get with the times. 

It whistled. The wind. It felt like it was all around you, all encompassing. Gently caressing, fluttering the soft tendrils of your hair that laid against you skin, your bruised, blood stained skin. You had lost all feeling in your arms and legs, entirely numb due to dangling from the thick iron chains that hung from a rotting wooden beam. The only light was that which slipped through wooden cracks when the moon was not covered by dark cloud.

You were alone. Very alone. Your thoughts your only real company, which were misery at best. What you had been through, what they had done to you had warped your mind so much there was no going back. Pure darkness, insanity, an all-consuming vacuum was all you felt now. Not even felt, that word is too strong. Existed. The part of you left merely existed, nothing more.

You weren't sure how long you had been here like this, the fresh wind of the north brushing through you, past your bones. You had guessed at least three weeks, but the fog that consumed your mind now made it feel like months, even years at some moments.

They'd come by every couple days to check up on you, make sure you were still barely alive so they could continue with their torture. Some days, they'd release you from your chains and beat you. No sounds, no reason, just bruises. You'd pass out from the pain, malnutrition, blood loss. Then they'd pump you with enough drugs to keep you alive for another week and your mind spinning. You never saw their faces, they were covered by faceless black clothes. It made it feel more dreamlike.

Winter came, snow ice and all, and still you hung. Blood dropped from the grooves in your wrists from the chains, and as it would roll down your limbs it would eventually freeze there, painting a beautifully intricate design. Well below freezing, you were there, like a body in a freezer waiting to be buried.

One day they did that too.

You dropped, the chains fell, both collapsed on the frozen ground. They dragged you away from the wooden beams which had become your home, through piles of disturbed snow, what was left of wet blood leaving a telling trail.

Someone brought you to a hole, pitch black that had been dug deep into the cascading snow banks that night. Again, chains were wrapped around your wrists and feet. A gag threaded through your mouth and tied behind your thinning hair. You could see nothing, nor could you focus. You were so far gone at this point it didn't even matter. They had broken you a long time ago. Nothingness.

Solid ice tickled your dead translucent skin as they placed your body inside. Then a block of ice covered over the top, sealing you in. Silence. Finally at peace, the floor of ice cooling your skin, you drifted off into slumber, hopefully, to never wake up to this life again.

A large crack resounded throughout the small ice box. Your eyes flew open in shock. You glanced around, still feeling nothing, but as you looked at your skin all the bruises, cuts, and wounds were gone. You weren’t sure how long you had been on the ice or why you were there. Light from a flashlight flooded the crowded space, and you squinted your eyes, frightened, reaching out to knock the flashlight from the holders hand and grasped onto his wrist in the process. He screamed in agony, then silence. His body falling to the ground. Solid ice. Frozen solid. You felt no remorse, though, you still felt nothing. Maybe death was something that didn’t register with you anymore. Maybe you had come and gone, all that was left now was a ghost with ice running through their veins.

Glancing up you could hear voices coming from the dark.

“Da. Khorosho. Ona gotova.” Yes. Good. She’s ready.

“Soldat. Pora.” Soldier. It’s time.

A metal hand clasped around your arm and pulled you from your cave. You followed easily, void of your own thoughts at this point. Once you were outside of the ice, you glanced around at the dimly lit area. Flat plains of snow for miles. You must have been in a northern ocean somewhere that had completely frozen over.

The soldier jerked you to pay attention, still with a terrifying grip on your arm.

“Sedativnyy yeye.” Sedate her.

“Vyydi.” Move out.

Everything went dark again.

“Moroz, idi.” Frost, go.

You never thought anymore, didn’t know why either, just did things. It was like you were void, like a robot, just following actions based on commands. Feelings still were out the window too. All you could feel was that you existed, you were existing, nothing else. Every time they wiped your memory, this lack of feeling was even more evident, but they didn’t have to do it as much anymore. It was as if your brain had picked up muscle memory, and seemed to wipe out your actions once your mission was completed, and then you went back in your containment cell. Hydra was ecstatic when they realised they could use fewer resources.

Your hand took hold of the alley door handle, and you held it until it froze. Taking a knife from your belt, you held the blade as you smashed the now ice door handle with the knife handle. Depositing the blade back onto your belt, you pushed the now unlocked door open and stepped inside, looking around the screen lit room.

You were in some sort of laboratory, bottles of chemicals all over the walls, in cabinets, in freezers. You walked towards the freezers, knowing what you were looking for was inside as you had been briefed on your targets whereabouts. There were warnings all over the door stating that a medical suit was needed to enter because of the deathly cold temperatures. Whatever you were here for was important, and you’d know it when you see it.

You opened the door, leaving it open, so the cold started to seep out into the rest of the room. You still felt cold, generally were always cold, but you enjoyed it. Your most peaceful memory was being in the ice box, frozen, asleep, dead; however you want to put it. You couldn’t remember anything before that now.

You made your way to the very back of the freezer and opened up a keypad. Typing in the code, the door slide open, and inside was the bottle you were looking for. You picked it up, placing it in the special bag they had given you, and deposited the items in your backpack, exiting the freezer.

As you were about to leave the laboratory, a man in a lab coat crawled out from under a desk. Shivering, early symptoms of hypothermia present. He pointed a gun at you with his shaking hands.

Then he shot you, the bullet piercing the skin of your thigh. You dropped to the ground, thick blood started to seep from the wound, and you seethed until you placed your hand over the wound, freezing it over and letting the rest of your cells take over.

Your stare turned to the man as you rose to your feet again, almost walking normally and the wound disappearing before the man's eyes.

“Impossible.” The man stuttered as you walked toward him, taking the gun out of his hand and tossing it on one of the lab tables. You preferred giving slow deaths.

Your hand covered the man's mouth, ice filling his breath as you froze the air in his body, suffocating him by ice. You let his body drop to the ground, and now ringing alarms were going off. You had taken too long. Hydra would punish you for it.

“Poyekhali. Ty opozdal.” Let’s go. You’re late. The Winter Soldier spoke through his mask. He was your handler, one of the only ones who could touch you without freezing to death. You followed him out of the compound to his motorbike. He slides on, and you slide on behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist as he started up the bike and you sped off to the checkpoint to hand off your mission.

They were furious that someone had seen you. You were supposed to be a secret, not something Hydra had to worry about covering up. The ice was supposed to all be a mystery. Since the alarms had been activated, the follow up team couldn’t go in to clean up, wipe the cameras, and clear everything out. Not to mention the frozen solid scientist you had left on the floor.

You were now back in your cell after having received a few beatings. They didn’t really bother you though. They wouldn’t feed you for you mistake, which you understood, but your longing body did not. And when your body was hungry and wanting something, you got colder, and so did your surroundings. You couldn’t control it at those points. Ice was everywhere, plastered along the walls and across the door. Even your body was covered in a faint covering of frost, tingeing you on blue. You sat there, though, not caring. You didn’t know anything different.

The door jerked open, inside walked the Winter Soldier. He didn’t often visit unless it was for a mission. He too was covered in marks due to your failure to leave no traces.

“Vy dolzhny ostanovit'sya. Vy okhlazhdeniya bazu.” You must stop. You’re cooling the base.

You glanced at the soldier numbly, shrugging. You couldn’t control the frost when it got like this. It had a mind of its own.

“YA ne mogu.” I can’t. You replied.

“Zachem?” Why? He looked at you, moving closer.

“YA slishkom kholodno.” I’m too cold.

The soldier glanced towards the door, poking his head out to mumble in Russian something along the lines of ‘I’ll take care of it’ and closed the door, closing you both off from the rest of the base.

You expected him to beat you, sedate you, or somehow get you to pass out so you wouldn’t be thinking about your body temperature anymore. He surprised you when he sat down beside you and pulled your body towards him, his heat radiating into you like a bonfire. You didn’t know how to act, but the muscle memory from a past life had taken over as you snuggled into his grasp.

“Spat’.” Sleep.

You drifted off to that peaceful ice box once more, this time no longer cold, not knowing the next time you woke everything would be quite different again.

Tagging: @38leticia @elaacreditava @softwhispers @wildchild2707 @princeendymion @blueeyedboobear

[footyplusau]

Eagles bounce back to leave Swans winless

WEST Coast has overcome a five-day break and held off a never-say-die Sydney to clinch an important 26-point home win on Thursday night, leaving the winless Swans’ finals hopes dangling by a thread after four rounds.

In a contest played with a finals-like ferocity around the ball, West Coast had to dig deep before finally outlasting the Swans in a low-scoring arm-wrestle reminiscent of the great battles between the arch-rivals from the mid-2000s.

Full match details and stats

Despite repeatedly threatening to break away from a youthful Sydney outfit, the tiring Eagles never had the game in their keeping until deep into the last term, as they finally broke away to secure a 13.13 (91) to 10.5 (65) victory.

Adam Simpson’s men opened up a four-goal lead during the third quarter and – despite their short turnaround – appeared to have enough breathing space after taking an 18-point break into the final change.

But with their season seemingly on the line, the Swans threw everything at West Coast in the last stanza, with goals to Will Hayward and Jake Lloyd closing the gap to one-straight kick as anxiety swept through Domain Stadium.

Sydney’s worst start in over 20 years

However, a cool set shot from Luke Shuey (30 disposals) and curling, bouncing snap by Jeremy McGovern (two goals) gave West Coast just enough breathing space to secure a third win for the season, before Jamie Cripps (two) iced the cake.

“They came all night, didn’t they? It was an interesting game with us with the effort – it was a good four-quarter effort,” Simpson said post-match.

“Sydney wouldn’t go away, as we expected. You’ve got to admire what they do, they play such a tough, hard brand regardless of who’s playing.

“To show that resilience in that last quarter was really good for us off a five-day break.”

It was a strong response from Simpson’s charges after they were questioned for going missing when the heat was at its fiercest against Richmond at the MCG last Saturday.

But the injury-hit Swans – last year’s losing Grand Finalists – are now remarkably left with a mountain to climb just to feature in September.

Since the introduction of the top eight in 1994, no club has reached finals after starting the season 0-4.

Not since 2009 have the powerhouse Swans missed out on post-season action and John Longmire is facing his greatest challenge after losing four-straight games in a season for the first time in his tenure.

To their credit, the Swans – who had 12 players with fewer than 50 games’ experience – refused to give in all night on hostile territory and with Lance Franklin hobbled for most of the match.

Franklin ran into a brick wall named Shannon Hurn during the opening quarter, with the superstar forward immediately hunching to the ground clutching his ribs.

He struggled to get into a gallop after quarter-time in a major blow to the Swans’ hopes of an upset, but still booted two majors to close to within three of the 800-goal milestone.

Another ex-Hawthorn champion, Sam Mitchell, luckily escaped serious damage after friendly fire from West Coast teammate Jack Redden in the second stanza.

The 34-year-old midfielder crumpled to the ground in agony after Redden’s swinging leg collected him just above the ankle. He was helped from the ground and went to the rooms from treatment.

Mitchell recovered to play out the second half and looks like he will be available to play against his former side at the MCG next week.

The Eagles took a 39-27 lead into the long break, but inaccuracy in front of goal – they booted 5.9 to 4.3 – again haunted Adam Simpson’s side.

Sydney dominated the opening exchanges and scores were level 14-all at quarter-time, but with Franklin battling the Swans struggled to find avenues to goal.

“We thought we started with real intensity,” John Longmire said.

“Our execution let us down at different times.

“We struggled to sustain it (intensity) for the entire game and suffered some bad goals against from turnovers.”

West Coast’s defence has been under the microscope, but led by a superb Elliot Yeo (29 disposals) and skipper Hurn (19), the Eagles stood strong to concede their lowest score for the season.

Midfielders Shuey, Andrew Gaff (28) and Jack Redden (20) helped set the tone with their physicality, while the Eagles’ forwards shared the goals around.

Josh Kennedy (two goals) worked his way into the game, while Mark LeCras’ two majors doubled his career tally against the Swans and McGovern offered an aerial presence with Jack Darling (ankle) a late withdrawal.

Swans’ skipper Josh Kennedy (33 touches) was outstanding all night, with strong support from Jake Lloyd (29) and Luke Parker (27), while Sam Reid tried hard to step up with Franklin struggling and Heath Grundy was a rock down back.

But the Eagles’ weight of experience eventually told at home, as they notched just their second win from 11 games against their old foes.

MEDICAL ROOM West Coast: Mitchell is West Coast’s main concern but with a 10-day break before facing his old club Hawthorn. The Eagles are confident the 34-year-old will be okay. Sharrod Wellingham copped a corked leg early in the contest but will also be fine. Jack Darling was a late withdrawal with an ankle injury but the Eagles expect him to be right for the game against Hawthorn.

Sydney: Franklin is expected to pull up from a corked hip and thigh for the must-win Sydney derby against the Giants next Saturday.

NEXT UP Both sides face huge games for entirely different reasons. The Eagles travel back to Melbourne to face nemesis Hawthorn at the MCG in a huge test of their credentials, while the Swans are facing a do-or-die Sydney derby with their season in grave danger.

WEST COAST            2.2       5.9       9.10    13.13 (91) SYDNEY          2.2       4.3       7.4       10.5 (65)

GOALS West Coast: Cripps 3, LeCras 2, Kennedy 2, Gaff 2, McGovern 2, Hill, Shuey Sydney: Franklin 2, Hayward 2, Cunningham, Foote, Papley, Florent, Lloyd, Reid

BEST West Coast: Shuey, Yeo, Gaff, Hurn, Priddis, Kennedy Sydney: Kennedy, Lloyd, Parker, Grundy, marsh, Hannebery 

INJURIES  West Coast: Mitchell (leg) Sydney: Franklin (thigh)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Foot, Dalgleish, Jeffery

Official crowd: 38,065

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