Piloting a mobile suit was nothing like piloting a jet or a space shuttle. A mobile suit was a complex structure with appendages like that of a human being. Unlike a fused, single piece vessel, one had to take into account at any moment where each arm and leg were located while in battle, the stance of the suit, the distribution of weight, and how the next attack would be executed from this position.
That was why operating systems were so important. Super computers could anticipate the pilot’s moves and prepare the suit for the next assault or defensive maneuver. They could take control of thrusters, automatically lock on to intended targets, stabilize the suit in any form of terra or atmosphere, and sift through the billions of terabytes of data collected and present to the pilot those facts and pieces of information that are necessary to perform a mission.
Operating systems, or OS, were developed to make piloting easier. They were intended to optimize the piloting experience, and with these optimizations came more sophisticated suits with abilities that a single human couldn’t begin to control. The OS became an assistance tool, and then gradually over time was given a form of artificial intelligence (AI) with the simple goal was to seek victory against the target it was directed at, along with providing safety for the mobile suit and pilot.
The Mechanical Extrasensory Intelligence operating system, or M.E.I., was nothing like anything Heero had ever experienced. Unlike its predecessors, M.E.I. didn’t assist the pilot. Rather, it questioned. It doubted. When it made a suggestion, and the pilot didn’t commit to the same mission plan, it would punish. Its goals were not to seek victory and protect the pilot, rather to seek its own preprogrammed missions and keep the mobile suit from receiving damage, while training the pilot to submit to its desires.
The simulations had been enough to prove to Heero that this was going to be no cakewalk. M.E.I. was the single most frustrating thing he had ever gone up against, and he had done so for days on end. The observers who cycled through to watch his training all nodded their heads and muttered statements of approval as he fought tooth and nail against the fucking system, nearly driving himself mad with its constant disagreement with his piloting style.
He just didn’t understand it. Why would they develop an operating system that had its own goals and intentions? Why would they even bother putting a breathing, free-thinking human in a mobile suit that wouldn’t submit to the pilot’s commands? They could have easily created another mobile doll operating system with M.E.I. without wasting the resources they had on training pilots to sit within her and argue.
There had to be a reason. Heero just hadn’t had the time or energy to devote to figuring this out. The training regimen had been exhausting and he had finally found himself at his physical and mental limitations. He couldn’t sleep. He could barely eat. He found himself obsessing over the things M.E.I. had ‘corrected’ him on, wondering what the rationale behind each ‘correction’ had been. The system never told you why you needed to change your course of action; it just insisted that you did. Only his raw willpower could override the system. Whenever he did override its decision, he always seemed to find the same result. Despite his positive outcomes the M.E.I. system never recalled his previous decisions. It never took into account his past fighting history, style, or preferences. It just reset itself, and forced its odd requests upon him over and over again.
It had no frame of reference. It was single-minded and had tunnel vision. It wanted something done a certain way, with minimal damage to the suit, and it would force the pilot to do what it was programmed to. Again, why would they need a pilot?
It was as if M.E.I. was training the pilots to be just like it.
Heero had never seen any of the other potential pilots in action. He wondered if they were fighting as much as he was with the system. Maybe they had all submitted? He wondered why they would keep him in the program knowing that he was not cooperating well with their precious operating system, let alone give him a prestige mobile suit?
There was a lot about this organization he didn’t understand. He still didn’t understand the power play between Odin Lowe and Noah. The kid would show up for inspection once a day, walk through the pilot barracks and generally stomped around as if he owned the place. Heero hadn’t seen Odin since his strange request of him and Solo almost two weeks before. Was there anyone else in power, aside from Lowe and Noah? If so, what were their goals? What was all of this for?
The dull ache that had settled in his brain a few days before began to flare up. He closed his eyes and sighed, blocking out the image of the internal cockpit of the Aequitas suit. The low frequency hum of the power modules were the only sound aside from the occasional beep and turn of the Haro unit that sat neatly in its dock just to his right. It was dark. There were no monitors in this suit, something Heero had never experienced before. The control panels were all backlit in a pale, white-blue light. Holographic switches and touch monitors glowed faintly just in front of him. There were no thrust pedals, pulleys, levers or any mechanical controls at all. Duo’s words from a few days before echoed in his mind.
M.E.I. will show you what you need to see…
It was a frightening concept. How was he supposed to pilot a mobile suit efficiently with only an operating system showing him what he could and couldn’t see? He tensed and opened his eyes slowly, seeing the red glowing eyes of the infrared sensors scattered throughout the cockpit. He didn’t trust the operating system to present him with the data he would need to pass this test. He knew this wasn’t going to end well. He knew he should just submit to the operating system and do as it said, but that wasn’t what the organization wanted, was it? They seemed pleased he was fighting with the operating system. Were they expecting him to troubleshoot its decisions for them? If he submitted, would he be taken out of the program for being too weak? If that were the case, then he wouldn’t have access to Aequitas. It could jeopardize their mission and possibly set them back on their data collection.
He had to do this. For the mission, and for the safety of others he would attempt to overcome this operating system, complete his infiltration of this organization, and provide the Preventers with vital data required to prevention of this sort of technology being produced in the future.
“AE-02. Prepare for sortie.”
Heero recognize the voice of Lt. Edgar, the man who had been overseeing his training along with the other elites. The man seemed decent and knowledgeable enough.
“AE-02, standing by.” Heero said plainly, looking down at the Haro. It bobbled in its dock and turned to look up at him. “STANDING BY. STANDING BY.” It chirped loudly while swiveling 180 degrees.
Heero didn’t know what this training exercise would be. They had been towed out with the mobile suits deactivated to the meteor belt. After the airspace had been cleared they were left in random locations along the belt and told to wait. It had been an hour, and Heero was tired of waiting. He wanted to get this over with. He wanted to know how M.E.I was going to be in a real mobile suit, under real assault.
He sighed deeply, but found his flight suit constricting and the series of straps holding him to the strange seat tight and unforgiving. He felt like a prisoner, being held against his will, anticipating inevitable torture.
Edgar’s voice spoke up again from Heero’s earpiece. “M.E.I activated. Good luck, Ritter.”
“ACTIVATE. ACTIVATE!” Haro practically screamed. Heero saw the little ball’s eyes brighten. The humming of power around him grew louder and the suit jolted with energy, coming to life. He felt a throbbing sensation in his arms. His skin puckered and the hairs on his head and the back of his neck stood up. He felt as if he were being sucked back against the seat. His arms grew heavy and his feet were dragged even more firmly into their stirrups. It felt as if he were magnetized and stuck to the seat. He couldn’t move them. His eyes began to swim with spots, and then he saw his vision darken. Or was it the cockpit that had darkened? No. He couldn’t see. His heart began to race. He was growing uncharacteristically panicked. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t see the cockpit, the glowing controls, or Haro.
Just when he was convinced he had lost his vision a flash of yellow flickered across his eyes. He felt a sharp jolt of electricity surge through his body.
“M.E.I. fusion, complete. Pilot accepted. John Ritter.” The familiar flat tone of the M.E.I. said from all around him. No… it wasn’t around him. It was inside him. Heero took in a ragged breath. The yellow light in his eyes vanished, and when his vision focused he realized what he was looking at. The meteor belt. The external of his suit. He was looking out through the suit’s optical camera. He was seeing the space around him from the perspective of the suit.
It was in his head. It was seeing the world through him, with him. He tried to move his arm again. He felt his arm rise. He saw the suit’s arm rise. He reached over to touch the opposite arm. He felt the sensation of metal touching his flesh.
Never in Heero’s life had he ever thought something like this would be possible. He had seen many advances in technology in his life, but this was something he never thought he would ever see, or experience. He wondered what Dr. J would say if he knew the world would have had such a thing as this.
He had become his mobile suit.
“Attention, pilots. Please, acclimate yourself with the controls. You have sixty seconds.” Edgar’s voice echoed through Heero’s skull, agitating the current ache in his temple. Heero flinched and reflexively grabbed his head. The mobile suit responded, mimicking his intended movements.
How did he move? He attempted to walk forward, but it didn’t do anything but tip his suit forward slightly. He was in space. He would need to activate his propulsion, but how, without anything to use as a controller?
“M.E.I., explain propulsion in fusion mode.” Heero found himself saying, hearing his voice doubled. He was hearing his internal thoughts, and hearing his physical body vocalizing as well.
“Fusion Mode. Pilot is fused with M.E.I. system. Piloting and maneuvers in fusion mode are achieved through mental processes, only.” M.E.I. stated.
“Mental processes,” Heero thought. Did he only have to think about what he wanted to do? He sighed and concentrated on a dark, gray and jagged meteor gliding past the suit. He thought about encircling it at specific speed, while pulling his right arm with his cannon up to a ninety-degree angle against himself.
And it happened, seamlessly. He tried it again. Again, the mobile suit adjusted its propulsion and thrusters to do as he commanded. He just needed to stop letting his brain think about how to move his physical body.
Thirty seconds later he had figured it out. It was as if his physical body encapsulated within the mobile suit didn’t exist. He was slowly becoming more and more accustomed to the fact that the mobile suit was now his new body. His brain was now sending its impulses straight to the suit, cutting out his human form within entirely.
“AE-02. Prepare for assault. Three mobile suits approaching 67.922 degrees, astral plane 4, weapons drawn. Destroy enemy suits.” M.E.I. supplied.
Heero readied his weapons. He was no longer himself. He was AE-02, an Aequitas mobile suit, prepared to destroy the targets. And he would. Nothing could stop him, not even M.E.I.
.
The mobile suit landed effortlessly on the landing dock, and was immediately dragged inside the hangar by large electromagnets attached to its feet. Once the pod had been pressurized the mobile suit was taken to its docking bay by two large cranes. It was locked into place. The catwalk was lowered in front of it and the external lights dimmed. Heero felt everything happening outside, but couldn’t see a thing. There were no external cameras, and with the M.E.I. system deactivated by the control tower, he could do nothing but wait until the hatch was opened manually.
His body was weak and trembling. He stared down at the control panel in front of him, and at the happily singing Haro twisting and turning on its dock, lamenting “MISSION COMPLETE. MISSION COMPLETE,” joyfully.
“Mission… complete.” Heero found moving his own mouth difficult. Blinking was exhausting, and breathing was growing more and more difficult by the minute. How weak and feeble he felt in his own flesh, as opposed to the indestructible power he had felt as a mobile suit only minutes before. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the mechanical act of breathing, feeling his heart palpating erratically at the absence of the electrical impulses the M.E.I. system had been feeding him while he had been piloting. He felt unstable and as thin as a sheet of paper. He heard the hatch open and opened his eyes the best he could – only a millimeter or so – to see Duo and Solo peering in at him. Large, reflective violet eyes were scanning him with concern. Solo’s previously cool and unattached posture was now one of stiff apprehension. He wondered with amusement if they thought they would be opening the hatch to see a corpse.
“I… was hit.” He said weakly, gesturing with a heavy tilt of his head down to his right leg. The flight suit had been singed open and a hole three-inches in diameter had been burned through it, down to his flesh that appeared reddened and was peeling. It matched where his mobile suit received damage from an unlucky shot from another Aequitas suit. He hadn’t anticipated friendly fire into the equation, but it had happened. He heard Edgar chastising the other pilot over the comm. He wondered if he would see Pilot Trexis in the barracks tonight.
“It is just as we thought, but more intricate. M.E.I. doesn’t just punish you, it makes you the suit.” He didn’t know how ridiculous the other two thought this sounded, but it was the only way he could describe what he had experienced. He coughed and lifted his arm weakly to cover his face. He wanted to laugh. He had forgotten to breathe. He took in a few deep breaths, established a steady pattern, and then said hoarsely, “It was amazing.”
And dangerous. And risky. And completely horrifying that a rogue group possessed this form of advanced technology.
Read more: http://mission001.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=9#ixzz1VISEDlbu
Showing posts with label fanfiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fanfiction. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
[Fanfiction] Takashi's First Kiss
Title: Takashi's First Kiss
Series: Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume's Book of Friends)
Characters: Natsume Takashi and Madara (Nyanko-sensei)
Rating: ?
Author: BHG
Status: Progressive, No Beta
Takashi gets his his first kiss.
"What was that you said, Natsume?" Madara purred loudly as he made himself comfortable on the young man's chest. He yawned widely in his face and the distinct foul odor of Kirin Beer drifting from his kitty mouth made Takashi cringe.
"I said get off of me! You are so heavy I can't breathe..." Takashi gasped, trying his best to shove at the round ball of cat nestled on his torso.
"But you're so warm. Stop shoving! Hey, why do you hate me so much Natsume-kun?" The cat slurred. He clawed at the boy's offending hand and dug his back claws into his shirt in attempt to anchor himself in place. Takashi cried out in pain as the sharp claws dug into his skin and immediately fell into a fit of flailing in attempt to free himself from the offending beast.
"Get off of me you fat cat!"
"I am NOT fat!"
"Nyanko-sensei, you're hurting me! Get off!"
"Oh boo hoo..." Madara taunted before leaping nimbly from the boy's chest to land on his pillow. Takashi gasped and gingerly rubbed at his chest, glaring at the Lucky Neko who now was making himself quite at home on his pillow.
"You can't sleep there," the boy protested before poking at Madara's squishy round backside hestantly. The cat narrowed his oddly shaped eyes at him and growled a low, menacing snarl.
"Look boy, if you don't accomodate me I will not hesitate to eat you. Need I remind you I can inhale the likes of you in a single bite. Why, when I was younger I could snap up a whole class of schoolboys in one chomp, so don't test my patience -hiccup- you foolish human!"
Takashi rolled his eyes. Perhaps in his larger, much scarier form Madara's threat would have been initimdating but in the balloon-shaped, super cute Lucky Neko form his promises to eat him always fell upon deaf ears. He tried to shove the cat with the flat of his hand but found he couldn't budge him and, tired, conceded defeat.
"Fine, just try to be quiet. You snore like a pig..."
"What!"
Takashi grinned and curled up on his bedmat beside his pillow. He was exhausted from helping Tanuma study for his Calculus exam and he wanted nothing more than a long, uninterrupted sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the nagging sensation of spirits lurking beyond the walls. He could hear them moaning and whispering in the darkness, but had learned over the past few months how to block out the sounds of their pleas with pleasanter thoughts.
And sleep came. Swift as a sparrow it settled over his mind, blacking out the world around him.
He was so under the influence of sleep that he hadn't heard Madara mumbling drunkly about his rudeness.
He also failed to feel a blast of wind as Madara transformed into the pretty human woman form that mirrored his granmother's youthful image.
And he didn't even realize that the form had crawled under the covers with him and snuggled against him.
The next morning Takashi woke with a start at the sensation of a breath against the back of his neck. He stifled a scream and jumped up from his bedroll to see a woman sprawled out under his covers. He rubbed his eyes for a few long moments before realizing the form was that of Madara in his human disguise.
"Nyank... um.. Madara-sama! What are you doing?!" He exclaimed while trying to steady his dizzy head. He hadn't fully woken.
The woman in his bed stirred, rolled onto her back and grinned wickedly up at the boy.
"Got your hopes up for a moment there, didn't I?" Madara taunted with a grin, licking his shapely lower lip suggestively.
"Stop it! Get out of my bed! What do you think you're doing? What if Fujiwara-san sees you?" He looked over his shoulder at his door, hoping the friendly old woman wouldn't come to check on him. She always had a way of showing up at the worst of moments.
"Eh, she won't see anything. I heard her outside in the garden."
"But..."
Before Takashi could say any more Madara's lithe femanine form had hopped up from the floor and approached him. He yelped as the woman grabbed him around his neck and purred against his cheek.
"You don't want to wish me a good morning?" Madara whispered, his/her hot breath against Takashi's flesh. The boy tried to balk away but was stopped by Madara's suprisingly stop grip.
"So rude..." Madara purred before planting his newly formed human woman lips on Takashi's gaping and very shocked mouth.
The boy froze and stared in horror at the visage of his grandmother in such close proximity. Then he found his voice in that hidden space between his lungs and put forth the most disgusted and horrified scream poor Fujiwara-san out in the garden had ever heard.
"GET OFF!" Takashi wailed, shoving the woman back away from himself. He backpedaled to the wall and grasped a cabinet door, panting and staring in horror at Madara, dressed as his grandmother in the peak of her youth and beauty- and blushed furiously. "What did you do that for?"
Madara-woman smiled widely and a second later shrunk down to his Lucky Neko form. "You made me mad! I had to get you back..." his kitty voice replied, painted eyes narrowing angrily upon Takashi.
"Don't you ever do that again... it was like kissing my grandmother! Ugh..." Takashi felt like he was going to be sick and reflexively grabbed his stomach and doubled over. The action brought forth a gleeful cackle from Madara, who bounced and spun happily.
"Hahaha stupid Natsume! That will teach you the next time you want to toy with a great spirit such as I?"
Takashi stiffened and looked up at the cat with a hateful scowl. Madara paused and looked up at the boy with a face-splitting kitty grin.
And then he was promptly punted out the second story window.
"WAAAAHHHHH! NATSUUUMEEEE!"
SPLASH!
"Why, Nyanko-sama..." Fujiwara-san said kindly as she fished the cat out of the koi pond. "What a naughty cat, trying to catch our pretty little fish."
"Mee-oowwwww...." said Madara.
Series: Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume's Book of Friends)
Characters: Natsume Takashi and Madara (Nyanko-sensei)
Rating: ?
Author: BHG
Status: Progressive, No Beta
Takashi gets his his first kiss.
"What was that you said, Natsume?" Madara purred loudly as he made himself comfortable on the young man's chest. He yawned widely in his face and the distinct foul odor of Kirin Beer drifting from his kitty mouth made Takashi cringe.
"I said get off of me! You are so heavy I can't breathe..." Takashi gasped, trying his best to shove at the round ball of cat nestled on his torso.
"But you're so warm. Stop shoving! Hey, why do you hate me so much Natsume-kun?" The cat slurred. He clawed at the boy's offending hand and dug his back claws into his shirt in attempt to anchor himself in place. Takashi cried out in pain as the sharp claws dug into his skin and immediately fell into a fit of flailing in attempt to free himself from the offending beast.
"Get off of me you fat cat!"
"I am NOT fat!"
"Nyanko-sensei, you're hurting me! Get off!"
"Oh boo hoo..." Madara taunted before leaping nimbly from the boy's chest to land on his pillow. Takashi gasped and gingerly rubbed at his chest, glaring at the Lucky Neko who now was making himself quite at home on his pillow.
"You can't sleep there," the boy protested before poking at Madara's squishy round backside hestantly. The cat narrowed his oddly shaped eyes at him and growled a low, menacing snarl.
"Look boy, if you don't accomodate me I will not hesitate to eat you. Need I remind you I can inhale the likes of you in a single bite. Why, when I was younger I could snap up a whole class of schoolboys in one chomp, so don't test my patience -hiccup- you foolish human!"
Takashi rolled his eyes. Perhaps in his larger, much scarier form Madara's threat would have been initimdating but in the balloon-shaped, super cute Lucky Neko form his promises to eat him always fell upon deaf ears. He tried to shove the cat with the flat of his hand but found he couldn't budge him and, tired, conceded defeat.
"Fine, just try to be quiet. You snore like a pig..."
"What!"
Takashi grinned and curled up on his bedmat beside his pillow. He was exhausted from helping Tanuma study for his Calculus exam and he wanted nothing more than a long, uninterrupted sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the nagging sensation of spirits lurking beyond the walls. He could hear them moaning and whispering in the darkness, but had learned over the past few months how to block out the sounds of their pleas with pleasanter thoughts.
And sleep came. Swift as a sparrow it settled over his mind, blacking out the world around him.
He was so under the influence of sleep that he hadn't heard Madara mumbling drunkly about his rudeness.
He also failed to feel a blast of wind as Madara transformed into the pretty human woman form that mirrored his granmother's youthful image.
And he didn't even realize that the form had crawled under the covers with him and snuggled against him.
The next morning Takashi woke with a start at the sensation of a breath against the back of his neck. He stifled a scream and jumped up from his bedroll to see a woman sprawled out under his covers. He rubbed his eyes for a few long moments before realizing the form was that of Madara in his human disguise.
"Nyank... um.. Madara-sama! What are you doing?!" He exclaimed while trying to steady his dizzy head. He hadn't fully woken.
The woman in his bed stirred, rolled onto her back and grinned wickedly up at the boy.
"Got your hopes up for a moment there, didn't I?" Madara taunted with a grin, licking his shapely lower lip suggestively.
"Stop it! Get out of my bed! What do you think you're doing? What if Fujiwara-san sees you?" He looked over his shoulder at his door, hoping the friendly old woman wouldn't come to check on him. She always had a way of showing up at the worst of moments.
"Eh, she won't see anything. I heard her outside in the garden."
"But..."
Before Takashi could say any more Madara's lithe femanine form had hopped up from the floor and approached him. He yelped as the woman grabbed him around his neck and purred against his cheek.
"You don't want to wish me a good morning?" Madara whispered, his/her hot breath against Takashi's flesh. The boy tried to balk away but was stopped by Madara's suprisingly stop grip.
"So rude..." Madara purred before planting his newly formed human woman lips on Takashi's gaping and very shocked mouth.
The boy froze and stared in horror at the visage of his grandmother in such close proximity. Then he found his voice in that hidden space between his lungs and put forth the most disgusted and horrified scream poor Fujiwara-san out in the garden had ever heard.
"GET OFF!" Takashi wailed, shoving the woman back away from himself. He backpedaled to the wall and grasped a cabinet door, panting and staring in horror at Madara, dressed as his grandmother in the peak of her youth and beauty- and blushed furiously. "What did you do that for?"
Madara-woman smiled widely and a second later shrunk down to his Lucky Neko form. "You made me mad! I had to get you back..." his kitty voice replied, painted eyes narrowing angrily upon Takashi.
"Don't you ever do that again... it was like kissing my grandmother! Ugh..." Takashi felt like he was going to be sick and reflexively grabbed his stomach and doubled over. The action brought forth a gleeful cackle from Madara, who bounced and spun happily.
"Hahaha stupid Natsume! That will teach you the next time you want to toy with a great spirit such as I?"
Takashi stiffened and looked up at the cat with a hateful scowl. Madara paused and looked up at the boy with a face-splitting kitty grin.
And then he was promptly punted out the second story window.
"WAAAAHHHHH! NATSUUUMEEEE!"
SPLASH!
"Why, Nyanko-sama..." Fujiwara-san said kindly as she fished the cat out of the koi pond. "What a naughty cat, trying to catch our pretty little fish."
"Mee-oowwwww...." said Madara.
Friday, April 22, 2011
[Prompt] For Visual Trigger, LJ- "How To Wash a Jungle Man"
Originally Posted September 2008
Trigger # 10 : How to Wash a Jungle Man
Title: How to Wash a Jungle Man
Author: Black-Haired Girl
Fandom: Tarzan? I suppose...
Warnings: This is pretty retarded.
Word Count: 529
Summary: Does "Bathtub" translate into Gorilla?
How to Wash a Jungle Man
Jane slipped through the narrow doorway into the spacious bathroom and pointed down at the blue-painted bathtub.
“Bathtub…” She said quietly to the jungle man who hesitantly poked his head through the doorway. She watched as he sniffed the air and shifted his weight from one foot to the next, apparently displeased with the cold tile against his calloused, bare feet.
“Ba-“ He began before raising both eyebrows high on his forehead, obviously confused by the strange new word. She smiled kindly and pointed down at the tub again.
“Bathtub.” She repeated patiently. He listened intently as she spoke the word before once again trying to speak it with an unaccustomed tongue.
“Bath… tub.” He murmured curiously. Jane smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes-yes. Bathtub. You wash here. Wash. Your body?” Her words fell upon deaf ears. She had been working with Tarzan for a little more than a month and though he knew the basics he still didn’t seem to have the grasp of the English language that she had hoped for.
He stared at her for a long moment before nodding his head vigorously. “Bathtub. Bath… tub. Wash.”
“Precisely!” Jane exclaimed, very pleased that he had absorbed at least a few of her words. Now she had to test whether the concept had translated. She was not sure if the jungle man had a gorilla word equivalent for bathing. Did gorillas even bathe? Perhaps not.
“Tarzan… you wash here.” She said slowly, pointing into the tub. “Wash…” She lifted her hands to her torso and began rubbing across her chest, trying to illustrate the act of scrubbing to him. He watched her do this. A smile crossed his rugged, yet surprisingly handsome features.
“Wash…” he grumbled. Then, to Jane’s surprise, he approached her and began rubbing his hands across her chest in large, clumsy circular motions. The sudden groping caused her to squeal in surprise. Frantically she began to bat his hands away, a bright red blush creeping across her cheeks.
“No-no-nonono!” She wailed as she fended off the offending hands. “Oh dear, this isn’t working…” With a dismayed sigh she slumped to a sit on the edge of the bathtub. “There has to be some other way to get you clean…”
Tarzan frowned and stood beside her awkwardly, staring at the top of her head, waiting for further instruction.
“Ah ha! I have an idea!” Jane suddenly exclaimed as she leapt to a stand beside the grungy jungle man. “Come, follow me!”
<3 ~~~~~~~~~
“Tarzan no like!” Tarzan yelled in horror as a cold spray of water pelted the back of his matted hair. Jane laughed heartily as she watched the loincloth-clad man crouch low to the ground in attempt to get away.
“Now hold still, you ninny, it will be over in a few minutes!” Jane yelled with a large grin as she pointed the hose at Tarzan’s exposed back. The jungle man howled in protest as he was hosed off. A few neighborhood children had gathered along the white picket fence that surrounded Jane’s father’s yard to watch.
“Now, that is how you wash a jungle man!” Jane exclaimed triumphantly.
Trigger # 10 : How to Wash a Jungle Man
Title: How to Wash a Jungle Man
Author: Black-Haired Girl
Fandom: Tarzan? I suppose...
Warnings: This is pretty retarded.
Word Count: 529
Summary: Does "Bathtub" translate into Gorilla?
How to Wash a Jungle Man
Jane slipped through the narrow doorway into the spacious bathroom and pointed down at the blue-painted bathtub.
“Bathtub…” She said quietly to the jungle man who hesitantly poked his head through the doorway. She watched as he sniffed the air and shifted his weight from one foot to the next, apparently displeased with the cold tile against his calloused, bare feet.
“Ba-“ He began before raising both eyebrows high on his forehead, obviously confused by the strange new word. She smiled kindly and pointed down at the tub again.
“Bathtub.” She repeated patiently. He listened intently as she spoke the word before once again trying to speak it with an unaccustomed tongue.
“Bath… tub.” He murmured curiously. Jane smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes-yes. Bathtub. You wash here. Wash. Your body?” Her words fell upon deaf ears. She had been working with Tarzan for a little more than a month and though he knew the basics he still didn’t seem to have the grasp of the English language that she had hoped for.
He stared at her for a long moment before nodding his head vigorously. “Bathtub. Bath… tub. Wash.”
“Precisely!” Jane exclaimed, very pleased that he had absorbed at least a few of her words. Now she had to test whether the concept had translated. She was not sure if the jungle man had a gorilla word equivalent for bathing. Did gorillas even bathe? Perhaps not.
“Tarzan… you wash here.” She said slowly, pointing into the tub. “Wash…” She lifted her hands to her torso and began rubbing across her chest, trying to illustrate the act of scrubbing to him. He watched her do this. A smile crossed his rugged, yet surprisingly handsome features.
“Wash…” he grumbled. Then, to Jane’s surprise, he approached her and began rubbing his hands across her chest in large, clumsy circular motions. The sudden groping caused her to squeal in surprise. Frantically she began to bat his hands away, a bright red blush creeping across her cheeks.
“No-no-nonono!” She wailed as she fended off the offending hands. “Oh dear, this isn’t working…” With a dismayed sigh she slumped to a sit on the edge of the bathtub. “There has to be some other way to get you clean…”
Tarzan frowned and stood beside her awkwardly, staring at the top of her head, waiting for further instruction.
“Ah ha! I have an idea!” Jane suddenly exclaimed as she leapt to a stand beside the grungy jungle man. “Come, follow me!”
<3 ~~~~~~~~~
“Tarzan no like!” Tarzan yelled in horror as a cold spray of water pelted the back of his matted hair. Jane laughed heartily as she watched the loincloth-clad man crouch low to the ground in attempt to get away.
“Now hold still, you ninny, it will be over in a few minutes!” Jane yelled with a large grin as she pointed the hose at Tarzan’s exposed back. The jungle man howled in protest as he was hosed off. A few neighborhood children had gathered along the white picket fence that surrounded Jane’s father’s yard to watch.
“Now, that is how you wash a jungle man!” Jane exclaimed triumphantly.
[Fanfiction] The Big Drop: Gundam Wing
Originally Published: September 2008
Chapter One: The Big Drop
Gundam Wing
Fluff, Pointlessness
By, Black-Haired Girl
Heero’s First Roller Coaster Experience
Heero shifted nervously from one foot to another. He tapped his finger impatiently on the guardrail that snaked in haphazard twists and turns in the small building where they waited in line. Kids were cheering with excitement behind him and the loud roar of the roller coater rushing overhead as it passed seemed to cause quite a sensation with the young people who waited anxiously for their turn.
“Oh man, this is going to be great!” Duo exclaimed, patting Heero’s shoulder excitedly. “This thing has a 300 foot 90 degree drop! Over 10 consecutive loops, and breaks the Neck Breaker’s record of 80 mph by reaching 85 mph!” The braided boy hopped up and down in glee as he spouted off the ride’s frightening facts.
Heero felt his stomach churn. It could have been that horrid amusement park food he had just eaten… or maybe it was the thought of plummeting to the earth at a 90 degree angle going 85 mph. Perhaps it was a combination of both.
“What’s wrong with you?” Duo chirped, grinning at the Japanese boy. “Ya look tense!” The braided pilot slipped behind Heero, grabbed his shoulders, and then began kneading them clumsily. “Not nervous, are you?”
Heero shrugged Duo away and gave a mute shake of his head. Duo wasn’t convinced.
“The great Heero Yuy, solider of soldiers, superb pilot and assassin, scared of a little ‘ol roller coaster?” The American pilot found great humor in this. He laughed loudly, causing a few teenagers in front of them to turn and watch them. Heero scowled and shot an icy glare at his companion.
“That this is anything but little…” Heero growled. The roller coaster’s car rumbled across the track that flanked the roof of the waiting area, causing the walls to quiver and shake. The sound of a woman screaming bloody murder could be heard amongst the metallic grinding and clanging of the ride.
“Aw come on.” Duo said, his voice attempting to be soothing. “It isn’t that bad. You’ll probably like it. I can’t believe you have never been on a roller coaster before…” The American boy hopped up to sit on one of the guardrails. He pushed his sunglasses up his nose and grinned happily at the Japanese pilot.
Heero’s frown deepened as they neared the loading platform for the roller coaster.
He was practically scowling with contempt when they seated him in the center of the very front row.
He wanted to kill Duo when they began ascending the first huge drop.
“Woo hoo! YEAH! C’mon, Baby!” Duo screamed at the top of his lungs. He was accompanied by a chorus of excited school-aged children who screamed at the top of their lungs in anticipation.
The Japanese boy watched as the world slowly crept behind him and the sky descended upon them closer and closer.
This isn’t fun… what is wrong with these children? He thought angrily to himself, squeezing the handlebars on the large, plastic chest restraint. This is made of steel, not Gundanium. It could collapse at any moment…He pondered the different ways the ride could malfunction, of course not trusting the engineers and mechanics that maintained it.
He didn’t do roller coasters because he liked to be in control.
And somehow Duo had managed to talk him into this situation and there was no going back now. They were nearing the top of their drop. Heero felt like he could practically touch the clouds. A small flock of birds floated past them.
“Here we go!!!” Duo yelled, kicking his feet excitedly. “This is so sweet! Are ya ready Heero!?” The American pilot peered around his own chest restraint to look at Heero, whose blue eyes had tripled in size. Duo gave a reassuring smile and reached a hand over and let it brush against Heero’s white-knuckled grip on the handlebar.
“Wanna hold my hand?” Duo asked, grinning. Heero shot him a bruising glare and began focusing on his breathing.
Slow… deep breaths… Slow, deep breaths… Heero chanted in his head. The car began to creep towards the edge of the drop, the track vanishing beneath them as bent sharply at a 90 degree angle.
It paused and dangled them for a moment, hanging face-down towards the ground below. Then abruptly the car’s brakes released and it began to rush forward. Heero’s hair stood on end and all of his muscles clenched. He grabbed Duo’s hand and held it tightly.
“Waaaahhhoooooooooooo!” Duo screamed from beside him. Heero’s hand gripped Duo’s tightly as they fell, rushing straight down. Right before what felt like a collision with the ground the car snapped upwards again. It bounded over a few humps before darting to the right and spinning through a 20 loop corkscrew.
Heero began to relax. The sensation of spinning and rushing forward at such speeds felt like being in an open mobile suit. A small smile began to transform his face. He loosened his grip on Duo’s hand, but didn’t let go.
“Yeeeaaaahhhhhhhh!” Duo wailed. The kids in the row behind them wailed in unison as they flipped, turned sharply, and spun down the track. The final drop approached. The car slowed and with a clink of chains it began to drag up the final hill.
Breathless, Duo looked over his chest restraint to see if Heero was alive, and was thrilled to see a rare, content smile on the Japanese pilot’s face.
“Having fun?” Duo asked, gently squeezing Heero’s hand. Heero grinned and stared straight ahead. Duo got the hint.
The final drop came and went. Heero enjoyed it much more than the first drop. The car careened up to the loading platform and snapped to a sudden stop. The passengers all departed, laughing and talking excitedly amongst themselves. Heero released Duo’s hand and got up slowly to walk to the exit. Duo skipped along behind him.
“Well? What did you think?” Duo asked. The wind had loosed his braid a little, his hair sticking up in all directions. Heero turned and looked at Duo with a serious expression.
“Again.” Heero said flatly. He grabbed the American boy’s hand and began dragging him towards where the line began. Duo smiled in satisfaction and let the other boy lead.
“Great! I knew you’d like it!” Duo said happily as they took their place in line. He leaned into Heero a little and rested an arm around the Japanese boy’s waist. “But this time try not strangling the life out of my hand, ok?”
Heero gave Duo a glare, which broke into a soft, sincere smile. “Roger that.”
Chapter One: The Big Drop
Gundam Wing
Fluff, Pointlessness
By, Black-Haired Girl
Heero’s First Roller Coaster Experience
Heero shifted nervously from one foot to another. He tapped his finger impatiently on the guardrail that snaked in haphazard twists and turns in the small building where they waited in line. Kids were cheering with excitement behind him and the loud roar of the roller coater rushing overhead as it passed seemed to cause quite a sensation with the young people who waited anxiously for their turn.
“Oh man, this is going to be great!” Duo exclaimed, patting Heero’s shoulder excitedly. “This thing has a 300 foot 90 degree drop! Over 10 consecutive loops, and breaks the Neck Breaker’s record of 80 mph by reaching 85 mph!” The braided boy hopped up and down in glee as he spouted off the ride’s frightening facts.
Heero felt his stomach churn. It could have been that horrid amusement park food he had just eaten… or maybe it was the thought of plummeting to the earth at a 90 degree angle going 85 mph. Perhaps it was a combination of both.
“What’s wrong with you?” Duo chirped, grinning at the Japanese boy. “Ya look tense!” The braided pilot slipped behind Heero, grabbed his shoulders, and then began kneading them clumsily. “Not nervous, are you?”
Heero shrugged Duo away and gave a mute shake of his head. Duo wasn’t convinced.
“The great Heero Yuy, solider of soldiers, superb pilot and assassin, scared of a little ‘ol roller coaster?” The American pilot found great humor in this. He laughed loudly, causing a few teenagers in front of them to turn and watch them. Heero scowled and shot an icy glare at his companion.
“That this is anything but little…” Heero growled. The roller coaster’s car rumbled across the track that flanked the roof of the waiting area, causing the walls to quiver and shake. The sound of a woman screaming bloody murder could be heard amongst the metallic grinding and clanging of the ride.
“Aw come on.” Duo said, his voice attempting to be soothing. “It isn’t that bad. You’ll probably like it. I can’t believe you have never been on a roller coaster before…” The American boy hopped up to sit on one of the guardrails. He pushed his sunglasses up his nose and grinned happily at the Japanese pilot.
Heero’s frown deepened as they neared the loading platform for the roller coaster.
He was practically scowling with contempt when they seated him in the center of the very front row.
He wanted to kill Duo when they began ascending the first huge drop.
“Woo hoo! YEAH! C’mon, Baby!” Duo screamed at the top of his lungs. He was accompanied by a chorus of excited school-aged children who screamed at the top of their lungs in anticipation.
The Japanese boy watched as the world slowly crept behind him and the sky descended upon them closer and closer.
This isn’t fun… what is wrong with these children? He thought angrily to himself, squeezing the handlebars on the large, plastic chest restraint. This is made of steel, not Gundanium. It could collapse at any moment…He pondered the different ways the ride could malfunction, of course not trusting the engineers and mechanics that maintained it.
He didn’t do roller coasters because he liked to be in control.
And somehow Duo had managed to talk him into this situation and there was no going back now. They were nearing the top of their drop. Heero felt like he could practically touch the clouds. A small flock of birds floated past them.
“Here we go!!!” Duo yelled, kicking his feet excitedly. “This is so sweet! Are ya ready Heero!?” The American pilot peered around his own chest restraint to look at Heero, whose blue eyes had tripled in size. Duo gave a reassuring smile and reached a hand over and let it brush against Heero’s white-knuckled grip on the handlebar.
“Wanna hold my hand?” Duo asked, grinning. Heero shot him a bruising glare and began focusing on his breathing.
Slow… deep breaths… Slow, deep breaths… Heero chanted in his head. The car began to creep towards the edge of the drop, the track vanishing beneath them as bent sharply at a 90 degree angle.
It paused and dangled them for a moment, hanging face-down towards the ground below. Then abruptly the car’s brakes released and it began to rush forward. Heero’s hair stood on end and all of his muscles clenched. He grabbed Duo’s hand and held it tightly.
“Waaaahhhoooooooooooo!” Duo screamed from beside him. Heero’s hand gripped Duo’s tightly as they fell, rushing straight down. Right before what felt like a collision with the ground the car snapped upwards again. It bounded over a few humps before darting to the right and spinning through a 20 loop corkscrew.
Heero began to relax. The sensation of spinning and rushing forward at such speeds felt like being in an open mobile suit. A small smile began to transform his face. He loosened his grip on Duo’s hand, but didn’t let go.
“Yeeeaaaahhhhhhhh!” Duo wailed. The kids in the row behind them wailed in unison as they flipped, turned sharply, and spun down the track. The final drop approached. The car slowed and with a clink of chains it began to drag up the final hill.
Breathless, Duo looked over his chest restraint to see if Heero was alive, and was thrilled to see a rare, content smile on the Japanese pilot’s face.
“Having fun?” Duo asked, gently squeezing Heero’s hand. Heero grinned and stared straight ahead. Duo got the hint.
The final drop came and went. Heero enjoyed it much more than the first drop. The car careened up to the loading platform and snapped to a sudden stop. The passengers all departed, laughing and talking excitedly amongst themselves. Heero released Duo’s hand and got up slowly to walk to the exit. Duo skipped along behind him.
“Well? What did you think?” Duo asked. The wind had loosed his braid a little, his hair sticking up in all directions. Heero turned and looked at Duo with a serious expression.
“Again.” Heero said flatly. He grabbed the American boy’s hand and began dragging him towards where the line began. Duo smiled in satisfaction and let the other boy lead.
“Great! I knew you’d like it!” Duo said happily as they took their place in line. He leaned into Heero a little and rested an arm around the Japanese boy’s waist. “But this time try not strangling the life out of my hand, ok?”
Heero gave Duo a glare, which broke into a soft, sincere smile. “Roger that.”
[Fanfiction] For Fei- Gundam Wing Fanfiction
Title: For Fei
Gundam Wing
General, Romance, YAOI
Part One:
It was difficult enough for Shi-Ran to have made this decision in private, but to announce it to the whole village was a tremendous feat. He watched the faces of the villagers as they shifted from disbelief and shock to horror and anger.
“But surely we have another commodity that we can use to pay the emperor?” One of the elders of the village spoke up from the crowd. His idea was lamented and repeated throughout the throng as others joining up in agreement with his idea. Shi-Ran shook his head and looked up at the sky that had been gradually gathering clouds as the minutes wore on.
“I am afraid there is no other choice. We have no crops due to the raids. The emperor has bestowed upon us a great gift this year. He fed us in our time of need and provided new tools and seeds for this Summer’s harvest. We must repay him. At the time of the agreement he did not outline terms for payment, but it is only honorable to pay him in the new season. If we do not we risk a poor harvest. Our debt must be paid,” he turned his eyes down to meet the disapproving faces that surrounding him. At the back of the crowd he found the most disapproving one of all, his daughter Mei-Ran.
“It pains me more than any of you can imagine. For me it is an ultimate sacrifice, and it is mine alone to make. I am the leader of this village and the debt to the emperor is mine. Mei-Ran will go to the Capital. My daughter will be payment for the kindness our emperor has shown us. The decision is final. She will leave tomorrow morning.”
He watched as Mei-Ran’s face glowed with resentment. She then turned and rushed away from the crowd, vanishing between two mud and straw houses, into the falling dusk.
Chapter One:
“How could he do this to me? No, not just me, to us! We are betrothed, or doesn’t he remember? He can’t give me away. I am spoken for. Why me? I am not even pretty. I have hands rough from work and my face is manlier than yours! Why, there are many pretty girls in the village who would die for the chance to enter the emperor’s court. Why me? Just because I am his daughter?” Mei-Ran paced heatedly across the room, flailing her arms in her frustration. “Why must we pay him anything? It is his duty to take care of us. We provide grain to the palace, so why must we make such a sacrifice? If he had let us starve where would his precious noodles come from? No, I don’t think this is fair. It just isn’t fair!”
Mei-Ran grabbed her cup of tea from the squat little table in the center of the room where her betrothed sat on a cushion, cradling his own cup in silence. She took a long swig, twitched in annoyance and slammed the drab earthenware cup down against the table.
“Well don’t just sit there! Say something! Can’t you ask my father to change his mind? Tell him it would be dishonorable to give away another man’s wife. Tell him you love me and your heart would wither without me here. Fight for me, Wufei! Do something! What say you?”
Chang Wufei was at a loss for words. He looked up at the woman he was soon to marry and sighed. If this turn of events had happened he would be married to her in less than a month at the Spring Festival. It was the moment he had been waiting for all his life. He had been promised to her at birth, and here now with the moment so close unfortunate events were going to tear them apart.
He knew that this fate was worse than death for Mei-Ran. She was a free spirit, wild and outspoken. She wouldn’t stand a chance in the courts of the Emperor. Couldn’t her father see that? Mei-Ran wasn’t suited for being garbed in finery and paraded about. She didn’t know how to cook, or speak in polite dialect, or sew properly. She was crass and loud and messy. She never kept her opinions to herself. She always spoke over him and bossed him around. She would wither away in the confines of such a place. Her spirit would break and she would be nothing but a shell of her former self.
He didn’t want her to go. She and her father were the only family he had for the past seven years. After his parents died her father took him in and they had been together ever since. He loved her. She was all he had and now she was going to be given away to another man.
He couldn’t let this happen. Part of him wanted to grab his sword and confront the village and demand that they take into consideration his feelings and her wants and needs. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that this was unfair and protest loudly to the Ancestors that things would change. He had the strength to make it change, but he knew it wasn’t right. He knew it was only honorable to go through with her father’s request. The man had provided for him so long he couldn’t go against him, despite what he wanted or what he thought was fair. And as for the emperor, he had given the entire village a second chance at life. When it seemed as if there was no hope he had sent provisions and servants to help the sick and weak. He had fought off the famine and disease that had strangled their village. He deserved repayment for his kindness.
And if this was what Shi-Ran thought was right he could do nothing but comply and support the village Elder’s wishes.
He stared up at Mei-Ran who was glaring down at him with dark eyes, waiting for an answer.
“I…” Wufei paused. He was never much good at words, let alone words against this woman. She was quick witted and harsh, and he knew that what he was about to say would crush her and make her angry. “Your father’s decision is a wise one. It would be dishonorable to go against him. You are the daughter of our leader. Your mother was a noble, and therefore as much as you don’t think yourself worthy you must go as an offering to the emperor. You are the only one worthy to go. I would he honored to have the woman I love serve our Divine Ruler.” He lied.
Mei-Ran’s face turned as red as a pomegranate. Wufei thought she would have cried at his words, but her unrestrained anger overrode any such outburst.
“How could you?” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice becoming so shrill it seemed to rip through her throat. “How could you say such a thing? Don’t you love me? How can you think that? Are you as dense and stupid as that to follow something so blatantly wrong so blindly? You are pathetic. You are weak and pathetic. How can I love someone so pathetic as you? You sicken me. You don’t deserve me then if that is how you feel. I will leave tomorrow. I know I can’t stop that but I will leave hating you. At least then I will be satisfied to get away from this place.”
She stormed out of the room, nearly ripping the thin paper of the door as she did. Wufei felt his fingers tremble around the warm teacup in his hands. He was expecting her to react that way but it didn’t make her words any less harsh.
He felt helpless. There was nothing he could do in this situation. To go against Shi-Ran would be dishonorable. He had thought of running away from this place with her. They could escape to the north where the emperor’s hands hardly reached. They could make a life there. He would work fields or do hard labor, anything to make it work. They could marry in the springtime as they had planned for so many years. He could make a family there. He could do it anywhere, and Mei-Ran certainly could handle a hard life. Her life up until now had hardly been easy.
But he couldn’t. He had always lived his life honorably and justly. He knew it was wrong, and that this was what was necessary for the good of the village. He didn’t want to make this sacrifice but he knew it was the right thing to do. He just wished it could have been easier for Mei-Ran. He would do anything to give her a second life, and to free her from the duty she was now required to take.
He looked down into the teacup, catching his own reflection in the dark green tinted water. A small tea leaf floated carelessly against the surface, obscuring one of his eyes in his reflection.
As he stared at the fine lines of his face, the almond shapes of his eyes widened. A peculiar notion began to drift into his mind, parting the chaos he felt to bring him a small beam of hope.
But no, the idea was insane. He couldn’t pull it off. There was no way he could get away with such a ruse. Or could he…?
He would do anything for Mei-Ran. He would do anything to free her from this burden and set her free. He knew that their future and husband and wife was over, there could be no way they could be together. He could accept that, but this idea… it showed promise. The emperor required payment. Shi-Ran wanted to offer a woman of noble blood as payment for the emperor’s kindness.
Perhaps he could make both of these things a reality?
“What if I go in her stead?” Wufei murmured down at his reflection in the cup. As he voiced the idea it sounded even more crazy, but the more his desperate mind thought on it the more powerful the idea sounded. Mei-Ran was right; Wufei had a fair looking face. In the past, with his hair loosely done he had been mistaken for a woman. He had full lips and fine, glossy hair. With a shaking hand he reached back and tugged free the tie that held his hair so tightly back. As he did a cascade of shoulder-length fine, straight black hair fell to either side of his face, framing his high cheekbones and smooth forehead.
The face that stared back at him now was beautiful and alluring, despite the shock and anxiety that glistened blatantly in his eyes.
For a moment hope began to spring to life in his chest. He could pull this off. The idea bounced around in his brain before chanting loudly in his ears.
I can pull this off… she doesn’t have to leave.
The plan began to construct itself in his mind and the more he thought on it the more right it sounded. If he went in Mei-Ran’s place she could stay here and never suffocate in the confines of the palace. Her father’s debt would be repaid.
There were risks to be sure. If Wufei were to be discovered the emperor could punish Shi-Ran for sending a man instead of a woman. But Wufei was confident nobody would find out. He knew a lot about the royal court, though he had never been there. One of his favorite things to do was to read scrolls of personal accounts about life in the palace. The odds of being found out were few. The emperor, if he was anything like his father, could have up to 300 to 3,000 concubines. The odds of Wufei even seeing the emperor for the rest of his life in the palace were slim.
He nodded at his reflection resolutely. This could work. He could go. He would be less of a burden on Shi-Ran. Mei-Ran could certainly marry someone else in time for the Spring Festival, and the debt would be repaid.
It was the only way.
Gundam Wing
General, Romance, YAOI
Part One:
It was difficult enough for Shi-Ran to have made this decision in private, but to announce it to the whole village was a tremendous feat. He watched the faces of the villagers as they shifted from disbelief and shock to horror and anger.
“But surely we have another commodity that we can use to pay the emperor?” One of the elders of the village spoke up from the crowd. His idea was lamented and repeated throughout the throng as others joining up in agreement with his idea. Shi-Ran shook his head and looked up at the sky that had been gradually gathering clouds as the minutes wore on.
“I am afraid there is no other choice. We have no crops due to the raids. The emperor has bestowed upon us a great gift this year. He fed us in our time of need and provided new tools and seeds for this Summer’s harvest. We must repay him. At the time of the agreement he did not outline terms for payment, but it is only honorable to pay him in the new season. If we do not we risk a poor harvest. Our debt must be paid,” he turned his eyes down to meet the disapproving faces that surrounding him. At the back of the crowd he found the most disapproving one of all, his daughter Mei-Ran.
“It pains me more than any of you can imagine. For me it is an ultimate sacrifice, and it is mine alone to make. I am the leader of this village and the debt to the emperor is mine. Mei-Ran will go to the Capital. My daughter will be payment for the kindness our emperor has shown us. The decision is final. She will leave tomorrow morning.”
He watched as Mei-Ran’s face glowed with resentment. She then turned and rushed away from the crowd, vanishing between two mud and straw houses, into the falling dusk.
Chapter One:
“How could he do this to me? No, not just me, to us! We are betrothed, or doesn’t he remember? He can’t give me away. I am spoken for. Why me? I am not even pretty. I have hands rough from work and my face is manlier than yours! Why, there are many pretty girls in the village who would die for the chance to enter the emperor’s court. Why me? Just because I am his daughter?” Mei-Ran paced heatedly across the room, flailing her arms in her frustration. “Why must we pay him anything? It is his duty to take care of us. We provide grain to the palace, so why must we make such a sacrifice? If he had let us starve where would his precious noodles come from? No, I don’t think this is fair. It just isn’t fair!”
Mei-Ran grabbed her cup of tea from the squat little table in the center of the room where her betrothed sat on a cushion, cradling his own cup in silence. She took a long swig, twitched in annoyance and slammed the drab earthenware cup down against the table.
“Well don’t just sit there! Say something! Can’t you ask my father to change his mind? Tell him it would be dishonorable to give away another man’s wife. Tell him you love me and your heart would wither without me here. Fight for me, Wufei! Do something! What say you?”
Chang Wufei was at a loss for words. He looked up at the woman he was soon to marry and sighed. If this turn of events had happened he would be married to her in less than a month at the Spring Festival. It was the moment he had been waiting for all his life. He had been promised to her at birth, and here now with the moment so close unfortunate events were going to tear them apart.
He knew that this fate was worse than death for Mei-Ran. She was a free spirit, wild and outspoken. She wouldn’t stand a chance in the courts of the Emperor. Couldn’t her father see that? Mei-Ran wasn’t suited for being garbed in finery and paraded about. She didn’t know how to cook, or speak in polite dialect, or sew properly. She was crass and loud and messy. She never kept her opinions to herself. She always spoke over him and bossed him around. She would wither away in the confines of such a place. Her spirit would break and she would be nothing but a shell of her former self.
He didn’t want her to go. She and her father were the only family he had for the past seven years. After his parents died her father took him in and they had been together ever since. He loved her. She was all he had and now she was going to be given away to another man.
He couldn’t let this happen. Part of him wanted to grab his sword and confront the village and demand that they take into consideration his feelings and her wants and needs. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that this was unfair and protest loudly to the Ancestors that things would change. He had the strength to make it change, but he knew it wasn’t right. He knew it was only honorable to go through with her father’s request. The man had provided for him so long he couldn’t go against him, despite what he wanted or what he thought was fair. And as for the emperor, he had given the entire village a second chance at life. When it seemed as if there was no hope he had sent provisions and servants to help the sick and weak. He had fought off the famine and disease that had strangled their village. He deserved repayment for his kindness.
And if this was what Shi-Ran thought was right he could do nothing but comply and support the village Elder’s wishes.
He stared up at Mei-Ran who was glaring down at him with dark eyes, waiting for an answer.
“I…” Wufei paused. He was never much good at words, let alone words against this woman. She was quick witted and harsh, and he knew that what he was about to say would crush her and make her angry. “Your father’s decision is a wise one. It would be dishonorable to go against him. You are the daughter of our leader. Your mother was a noble, and therefore as much as you don’t think yourself worthy you must go as an offering to the emperor. You are the only one worthy to go. I would he honored to have the woman I love serve our Divine Ruler.” He lied.
Mei-Ran’s face turned as red as a pomegranate. Wufei thought she would have cried at his words, but her unrestrained anger overrode any such outburst.
“How could you?” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice becoming so shrill it seemed to rip through her throat. “How could you say such a thing? Don’t you love me? How can you think that? Are you as dense and stupid as that to follow something so blatantly wrong so blindly? You are pathetic. You are weak and pathetic. How can I love someone so pathetic as you? You sicken me. You don’t deserve me then if that is how you feel. I will leave tomorrow. I know I can’t stop that but I will leave hating you. At least then I will be satisfied to get away from this place.”
She stormed out of the room, nearly ripping the thin paper of the door as she did. Wufei felt his fingers tremble around the warm teacup in his hands. He was expecting her to react that way but it didn’t make her words any less harsh.
He felt helpless. There was nothing he could do in this situation. To go against Shi-Ran would be dishonorable. He had thought of running away from this place with her. They could escape to the north where the emperor’s hands hardly reached. They could make a life there. He would work fields or do hard labor, anything to make it work. They could marry in the springtime as they had planned for so many years. He could make a family there. He could do it anywhere, and Mei-Ran certainly could handle a hard life. Her life up until now had hardly been easy.
But he couldn’t. He had always lived his life honorably and justly. He knew it was wrong, and that this was what was necessary for the good of the village. He didn’t want to make this sacrifice but he knew it was the right thing to do. He just wished it could have been easier for Mei-Ran. He would do anything to give her a second life, and to free her from the duty she was now required to take.
He looked down into the teacup, catching his own reflection in the dark green tinted water. A small tea leaf floated carelessly against the surface, obscuring one of his eyes in his reflection.
As he stared at the fine lines of his face, the almond shapes of his eyes widened. A peculiar notion began to drift into his mind, parting the chaos he felt to bring him a small beam of hope.
But no, the idea was insane. He couldn’t pull it off. There was no way he could get away with such a ruse. Or could he…?
He would do anything for Mei-Ran. He would do anything to free her from this burden and set her free. He knew that their future and husband and wife was over, there could be no way they could be together. He could accept that, but this idea… it showed promise. The emperor required payment. Shi-Ran wanted to offer a woman of noble blood as payment for the emperor’s kindness.
Perhaps he could make both of these things a reality?
“What if I go in her stead?” Wufei murmured down at his reflection in the cup. As he voiced the idea it sounded even more crazy, but the more his desperate mind thought on it the more powerful the idea sounded. Mei-Ran was right; Wufei had a fair looking face. In the past, with his hair loosely done he had been mistaken for a woman. He had full lips and fine, glossy hair. With a shaking hand he reached back and tugged free the tie that held his hair so tightly back. As he did a cascade of shoulder-length fine, straight black hair fell to either side of his face, framing his high cheekbones and smooth forehead.
The face that stared back at him now was beautiful and alluring, despite the shock and anxiety that glistened blatantly in his eyes.
For a moment hope began to spring to life in his chest. He could pull this off. The idea bounced around in his brain before chanting loudly in his ears.
I can pull this off… she doesn’t have to leave.
The plan began to construct itself in his mind and the more he thought on it the more right it sounded. If he went in Mei-Ran’s place she could stay here and never suffocate in the confines of the palace. Her father’s debt would be repaid.
There were risks to be sure. If Wufei were to be discovered the emperor could punish Shi-Ran for sending a man instead of a woman. But Wufei was confident nobody would find out. He knew a lot about the royal court, though he had never been there. One of his favorite things to do was to read scrolls of personal accounts about life in the palace. The odds of being found out were few. The emperor, if he was anything like his father, could have up to 300 to 3,000 concubines. The odds of Wufei even seeing the emperor for the rest of his life in the palace were slim.
He nodded at his reflection resolutely. This could work. He could go. He would be less of a burden on Shi-Ran. Mei-Ran could certainly marry someone else in time for the Spring Festival, and the debt would be repaid.
It was the only way.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
[Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction] Girl Trouble, Drabble
Kingdom Hearts Drabble
Girl Trouble
by, Black-Haired Girl
“She likes you, Sora. She really does.”
Sora frowned and crossed his arms over his chest in a nervous gesture. He didn’t know what to say. When Riku said he had news for him he was hoping it would be something good, like that he finished the roof of their clubhouse or that he was coming over to his house for dinner, or that they got an A on their science project. The last thing he wanted to hear was that some girl had her heart set on him.
“I don’t know. I just don’t like her like that…” Sora managed to utter, his eyes downcast at his oversized shoes. “We’re just friends.”
“Do you want me to tell her for you?” Riku offered, placing a friendly hand on his best friend’s shoulder. Sora shook his head and shrugged the offending hand off with irritation.
“Of course not, that would be crummy of me. She deserves more respect than that. No woman should hear news like that from someone else; at least that is what my mom says. Don’t worry, Riku. I’ll take care of it.”
Sora looked up just in time to see Riku’s approving smile.
“Okay, then. Ready for Blitzball practice?”
“Heck yes, I’m gonna whip you this time!”
“Bring it on, pal!”
Two days later…
Sora barely saw it coming. He had stopped at his locker to switch out his textbooks when a hand came in firm contact with the back of his head.
“Ow! What was that for…” he mumbled, turning around to come nose-to-nose with his friend Kairi.
“Oh, hey…”
“I can’t believe you!”
“What… ?”
Kairi huffed loudly, hugged her pink planner firmly againster her chest and glared angrily at Sora.
“Don’t play stupid, you know what!” She practically shrieked, causing a few passing classmates to mingle nearby and eavesdrop.
“I don’t know what, Kairi!” Sora protested, only to receive a kick in the shin. “Owwww! Stop with the violence!”
“You deserve it, you big jerk! How could you do such a thing! She is all broken up over this, you totally messed up!”
“… what’s going on here?”
Sora thanked his lucky stars at the sound of Riku’s voice from behind his locker door. The taller boy peered around it at the two of them, his light blue eyes locking on to Kairi accusingly.
“Don’t look at me like that! Why don’t you ask SORA what he did…” and with that the young girl stuck out her tongue and stomped off to her next class.
“What is she talking about, Sora?” Riku asked, quirking an eyebrow at his friend. Sora rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head and shrugged.
“I guess she means Selphie.”
“Didn’t you tell her you weren’t into her?”
“Yeah, I sent her a message on Facebook two days ago..”
“… what?”
“Yeah. I wrote it all nice. ‘Dear Selphie, I am not so into you, hope we can still be friends…’ and so forth.” Sora scooped up his books for his next class and sighed. “I guess Selphie is really upset.”
“You… said you would do it properly, Sora. Don’t you think a message on Facebook is a little cold?”
“Um… no.”
“Would you break up with me on Facebook?”
“Well… I don’t know. You’re different…”
“Right.” Riku glanced at Sora coldly and began to walk away. Sora frowned and shrugged.
It was the twentieth century after all.
Girl Trouble
by, Black-Haired Girl
“She likes you, Sora. She really does.”
Sora frowned and crossed his arms over his chest in a nervous gesture. He didn’t know what to say. When Riku said he had news for him he was hoping it would be something good, like that he finished the roof of their clubhouse or that he was coming over to his house for dinner, or that they got an A on their science project. The last thing he wanted to hear was that some girl had her heart set on him.
“I don’t know. I just don’t like her like that…” Sora managed to utter, his eyes downcast at his oversized shoes. “We’re just friends.”
“Do you want me to tell her for you?” Riku offered, placing a friendly hand on his best friend’s shoulder. Sora shook his head and shrugged the offending hand off with irritation.
“Of course not, that would be crummy of me. She deserves more respect than that. No woman should hear news like that from someone else; at least that is what my mom says. Don’t worry, Riku. I’ll take care of it.”
Sora looked up just in time to see Riku’s approving smile.
“Okay, then. Ready for Blitzball practice?”
“Heck yes, I’m gonna whip you this time!”
“Bring it on, pal!”
Two days later…
Sora barely saw it coming. He had stopped at his locker to switch out his textbooks when a hand came in firm contact with the back of his head.
“Ow! What was that for…” he mumbled, turning around to come nose-to-nose with his friend Kairi.
“Oh, hey…”
“I can’t believe you!”
“What… ?”
Kairi huffed loudly, hugged her pink planner firmly againster her chest and glared angrily at Sora.
“Don’t play stupid, you know what!” She practically shrieked, causing a few passing classmates to mingle nearby and eavesdrop.
“I don’t know what, Kairi!” Sora protested, only to receive a kick in the shin. “Owwww! Stop with the violence!”
“You deserve it, you big jerk! How could you do such a thing! She is all broken up over this, you totally messed up!”
“… what’s going on here?”
Sora thanked his lucky stars at the sound of Riku’s voice from behind his locker door. The taller boy peered around it at the two of them, his light blue eyes locking on to Kairi accusingly.
“Don’t look at me like that! Why don’t you ask SORA what he did…” and with that the young girl stuck out her tongue and stomped off to her next class.
“What is she talking about, Sora?” Riku asked, quirking an eyebrow at his friend. Sora rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head and shrugged.
“I guess she means Selphie.”
“Didn’t you tell her you weren’t into her?”
“Yeah, I sent her a message on Facebook two days ago..”
“… what?”
“Yeah. I wrote it all nice. ‘Dear Selphie, I am not so into you, hope we can still be friends…’ and so forth.” Sora scooped up his books for his next class and sighed. “I guess Selphie is really upset.”
“You… said you would do it properly, Sora. Don’t you think a message on Facebook is a little cold?”
“Um… no.”
“Would you break up with me on Facebook?”
“Well… I don’t know. You’re different…”
“Right.” Riku glanced at Sora coldly and began to walk away. Sora frowned and shrugged.
It was the twentieth century after all.
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