Having grown up with five brothers, being the only girl in her family, Spirit was no stranger to ridicule - giving, or receiving. She knew how to dish out a good insult or criticism just as well as she knew how to take one - which was, very well. It was a policy of hers to do her best not to take offense to things, and if she did happen to take offense, not to show it. She also happened to be very good at manipulating how others saw her, so it was a policy that she was good at maintaining.
Jojo's eyes went sort of wide when he saw the sheer amount of food present at the table, and she tried to swallow the wave of shame that threatened to overcome her. He wasn't underfed. None of the kids were underfed. She worked her rear off to make sure of that... But, they didn't necessarily get feasts as big as this was. Spirit herself wasn't sure she had seen this much food in one place since she was a teenager. Her mouth salivated in anticipation, and she felt, for a moment, like a child again as she filled her (and Jojo's) plate as much as she dared without seeming greedy.
Her eye flicked over to Jemma when she was addressed, having been too overcome by her own hunger to really pay much attention to the conversation she was having with Cyber. She swallowed her bite of chicken before responding to the small talk.
"I was born and raised in Iceland. Most people there don't follow the surname being based off of one's father anymore, but my parents were traditio-" she cut off abruptly after hearing Jackson's question.
A split second later, Jemma shouted, and Cyber jerked a tad beside her. At the sudden shouting, Spirit flinched, her eye widening a little in fear before she regained control of herself. The shouting had honestly disturbed her more than the question itself - she had been one-eyed for ten years. Lots of people had the indecency to ask.
She swallowed hard, feeling her appetite abate just a little. Cy's hand covered hers, and she glanced at it briefly, kind of enjoying the support, before returning her gaze to Jackson. Better to face the uncomfortable question than to surrender control to the situation.
"I lost it," she told him truthfully. "In a war. There was an explosion, and... Fragments kind of went everywhere," she offered a small - albeit fake, though it was hard to tell because of how good she was at it - smile.
Britters
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Posted: 7/6/2019 at 2:26 PM
Post #522
To say that Cyber was upset would have been a gross understatement. She felt furious with her cousin, Jackson. She knew he had never been the brightest or the most tactful of people, it was just who he was, but this was not like his usual small antics. Not that he really had any idea just how bad what he'd asked was. He was the baby in his family, and he had grown up with few boundaries. That didn't change the way she felt about what he'd asked about Spirit's eye.
To his credit, after all the commotion had died down, and after Spirit gave him an answer, Jackson did mumble a sheepish 'Sorry...'
"You'd sure betta be sorry, ya oaf," Cyber snapped at him, her green eyes still glaring daggers, though she refrained from saying anything more, and instead turned her attention to Spirit, "Sorry 'bout that..." Her voice was soft and tender, and she gave her friend's hand a little squeeze before taking her hand away.
"Yes, Elsa," Aunt Jemma stated apologetically after giving her son a stern, silencing look, "I apologize for Jackson's behavior...so I believe you were about to tell us about your parents. I must say Iceland sure is far away from New York. What brought you to the States?" It was true Aunt Jemma fashion, somehow managing to ask multiple questions without seeming to in order to get the most information out of someone.
At least Cyber felt content that the conversation was benign enough to not cause any real issues, though she wasn't sure just how happy Spirit was talking about her family. The blonde woman, despite Jackson's insensitive question, seemed to be holding up much better than she had been at first, which was a huge relief. She wondered for a moment about why it meant so much to her that Spirit liked her family, but it was obvious, of course. Her little crush was not so little anymore, and in spite of the fact that she was convinced nothing would ever come of it anyway, she still felt like she wanted...or even needed the other woman to like her family.
The night was still young...anything could happen...and that was what Cyber was afraid of...
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Posted: 7/6/2019 at 8:32 PM
Post #523
When Jemma turned the conversation onto her family, Spirit felt her heart begin to beat a little bit faster. It wasn't that she disliked her family... Well. For the most part. But, seeing this, seeing what Cyber had grown up with, this family where everyone loved each other in spite of their faults, where there could be spats, but they would always recover from it, they would always continue to love each other because that's simply what family does and you can't change who you're related to...
That, and that alone, made her feel nothing but shame for her own family's state. How could she explain the situations that had caused the split of them all without incurring a pathetic sense of pity? How could she possibly explain why she had isolated herself from her brothers, over and over, all in different ways and for different reasons? How could she admit to Cyber's family that which she hadn't ever really been able to admit to herself?
She looked towards Cy as she apologized in such a sweet, tender tone. Lowering her head a little, and her voice, Spirit gently tried to soothe her, while being unwilling to accept any sort of apology. "Never apologize for family," she murmured, and then offered her a small smile and turned her hand upwards to meet her friend's, grasping it before it went away.
Returning her gaze to Jemma, Spirit swallowed hard, trying to build up the courage to speak of her family while also trying to find what to say that wouldn't alienate her.
"Well, I actually live in Maine," she started off with. "I came to the States when my brother and his wife were killed in an accident. I took in their three children," she explained, avoiding the topic of her parents. Upon mentioning her niece and nephews, she instinctively reached a hand out and stroked the back of Jojo's head. "It didn't seem fair, I suppose, to have them - at ages one, five, and ten - to have to learn Icelandic. It is a somewhat difficult language to learn."
Britters
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Posted: 7/8/2019 at 1:58 PM
Post #524
Never apologize for family...
The words echoed in Cyber's ears as she turned her attention down to her plate, her brow furrowed behind her thick-rimmed glasses. It wasn't that she didn't understand Spirit's choice of words, or what she meant by them, but her experience with family hadn't been all happiness and laughter. In the beginning it had been mostly anger and confusion, when she had just been living with her mother and her grandparents on that side. She'd felt lost, like a puzzle piece that didn't fit anywhere.
After finding her father's side of the family, after being welcomed so openly, Cyber had always harbored a resentment towards her other grandparents. She felt that they had cheated her out of so many years she could have spent happily feeling like she belonged somewhere. She wasn't sure she could ever forgive them...but Spirit's words made her wonder. Did not apologizing for family also mean that this grudge she'd been holding was just as wrong? Maybe, but this probably wasn't the time for thinking about this stuff.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your brother and his wife, darlin'," Jemma said, her voice sad and sincere, "We know about loss in this family, too. Don't we, Sym?" The look she gave her niece was distant and misty.
Upon hearing her aunt say her name, Cyber looked up and returned the sad look. She had never known her father, or her cousin who had also been killed that night, because she'd been just a baby. Her mother had never even told her stories about him, too scared of what her parents would do if they found out. It was only after she found this other half of her family that she had learned anything about her father.
"Yes, ma'am," she said to Jemma, nodding solemnly, "We sure do..." She hastily reached up and wiped at her eyes, where tears had been threatening to fall.
It was hard to imagine missing a person she'd hardly known, but thanks to the people sitting at this table Cyber felt now like she did know her father. She missed him so much.
"I think it's very good of you to have taken in your brother's children," Aunt Jemma said, looking back at Spirit, "Family is very important." Sitting there, surrounded by her own loved ones, you could tell just how true that statement was in this house. "Now, I think its time we all focus on eating. Rules of the house, go dessert until everybody finishes dinner." She let her eyes travel around the table, lingering a moment longer on her son, Jackson, who had a habit of not following said rule.
Creativity
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Posted: 7/8/2019 at 9:47 PM
Post #525
It certainly wasn't easy to talk about Hilmar and Jennifer's deaths. Spirit had always kind of tried to isolate herself by neglecting names. Using their titles was easier. Somehow, 'my brother and his wife' was easier to say than 'Hilmar and Jennifer'. Using their names was... more intimate. It hurt more. The way she'd associate the names with the people she knew...
Their deaths had come out of nowhere, really. When it had happened, three years ago, she had isolated herself from her family. She was spending every other night in an alleyway or in the bed of another married man, constantly intoxicated, just trying to forget the pain of Runar, the guilt she felt for his death, for not stopping him, the shame she felt for her own disability that she didn't want to face, the judgmental criticism of her mother and her remaining family, and everything in between that hurt far too much, everything that would crumple her and break her so that she struggled just to keep herself breathing.
She had gotten so lost in her own thoughts and memories - awful memories - that she was only brought back to the present when Aunt Jemma started making another sort of announcement. Spirit felt her ears grow hot in embarrassment as she realized how completely out of it she was.
The rule that Aunt Jemma gave about dessert piqued her interest just about as much as it seemed to peek Jojo's. He gasped, his hands covering his mouth, and grinned up at her in excitement. "Dessert?" he squeaked happily.
Again, a wave of shame washed over her, but Spirit merely smiled down at him and rubbed his shoulders. "Yeah, bud. But only once everyone is done," she reiterated Jemma's rule. Then, as he shoveled the rest of his potatoes into his small mouth, she turned back to Cyber and finally let the childish part of her show a small, excited grin. "I don't think I've had dessert in ten years," she revealed quietly with a touch of joy.
Britters
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Posted: 7/9/2019 at 2:55 PM
Post #526
After spending so much time at the Resistance headquarters with Spirit, Cyber knew bits and pieces of her past. Most of what she'd learned simply had to do with the deaths of two of Spirit's brothers, one of them being her twin, Runar. She honestly knew more about Hilmar, since he was the kids' father. It made her feel strange about her own sense of loss, considering she'd been too young to remember her father and cousin when they died. For Spirit the pain was made all the more intense by the memories she had.
Looking over at her friend, Cyber wished she could reach out and put her arms around her. In fact, the desire was so strong that her chest ached with the knowledge that she couldn't do so. It wasn't just because they were surrounded by her family, but also because she didn't trust herself. The feelings that she was developing for Spirit were becoming more pronounced by the day, and seeing her here, in this house, dining with the family, was making it worse. Sooner or later she was going to have to do something about this...
But not tonight...tonight Cyber would just enjoy it while she could.
"Really?" she said to Spirit, unable to keep all of the surprise out of her voice, smiling wide at the giddy looks on her friend's face as well as Jojo's, "Well, then ya in for a treat. Aunt J's peach cobblah is practically famous, an' she usually makes two big 'ol trays of it, so we can take some back for Teddy and Pat." She couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she glanced over at little Jojo and winked at him as he continued shoveling food into his birthday an astounding rate.
Even if she was aware of Spirit's feelings of shame that had persisted all night, which she wasn't, Cyber probably wouldn't have understood anyway. She would have felt awful if she'd known, but this way she could feel a deep sense of joy and gratefulness that she was able to give this experience to both Spirit and Jojo. She knew this night had not gone the way they had planned, and much of it had been uncomfortable for her friend, but the smile and expression on the blonde woman's face was enough to make it all worth it.
The rest of the meal passed with scattered small talk amongst the family, but mostly just the quiet sounds of eating. Once all plates had been declared cleared, Aunt Jemma rose from her seat and walked into the kitchen with Yvonne while Ayisha and Melody cleared the dinner dishes and Jackson gave each person a clean ate for dessert, the whole thing like a well rehearsed dance. In just a few minutes, the first two women returned carrying two massive trays of cobbler and the serving process started in the same way that dinner had as helpings were passed around the table.
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Posted: 7/10/2019 at 7:16 PM
Post #527
Growing up, it was true that Spirit didn't always really get along with her mother. She would be the first one to admit that there were still issues between the two of them. Her mother, today, had this ridiculous idea to get her to move back to Iceland with the kids. Spirit didn't give the idea much merit. She loved the Resistance and the people there, and she loved helping those people who didn't deserve to be tortured and confined and incapacitated as Mantis kept them.
However, she did have some good memories with her mother. Now and again, her mother would braid her hair, and it always felt so good. She had never actually learned how to braid, but she loved it when her mother would do it to her own hair. And... And her mother always made the best hjonabandsaela... Her mouth watered in thought of the blueberry paste, and that little hint of nutmeg that her mother would always sprinkle into it. She had tried to recreate it in years past, but... It was never quite the same as how her mother would make it.
She offered a bigger smile to Cyber at the description of the peach cobbler. She hadn't ever had cobbler before, in truth - her mother liked to make the traditional Icelandic desserts rather than the "rancid influences of Europe", as the Icelandic roughly translated to. It kind of lost something in translation, though...
In spite of never trying cobbler, Spirit did know what it was, having been in America for three years. Her first bite was, in a word, heavenly, and she could tell how much Jojo loved it, too. He hummed happily as he dug into the food with his fingers. "Jojo!" Spirit hissed at him in embarrassment, but he just beamed up at her in joy, and she couldn't help but laugh his toddler indecency off. No one around the table really seemed to mind, anyway.
"I like your family," she murmured to Cyber with a grin. "Remind me to one day show you some of the dishes I grew up on. Fair warning, though - there's quite a lot of fish and lamb involved."
Britters
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Posted: 7/15/2019 at 1:49 PM
Post #528
One of the things that Cyber had had to get used to after coming to live with her father's family, was just how involved everyone was with things around the house. Despite growing up privileged, in a house where most things were done for her, she was not against getting her hands dirty. It had been an adjustment, though. She was always happy to learn and help out, especially in the kitchen. She had absolutely zero culinary skill herself, but she had always loved watching the food be prepared.
Also, it didn't hurt that Cyber quite often was able to sample whatever was being prepared at the time. Dessert had always been her favorite dishes to test, and she was quite familiar with Aunt Jemma's peach cobbler. Her mouth was practically watering as everyone was served. Her first bite of her own cobbler was absolutely sublime. It was still nicely warmed and the filling was thick and sweet. The peaches were juicy and soft, and the crumbly topping melted in her mouth. It was deliciously perfect.
When Spirit spoke up, Cyber's focus on her dessert shifted as she felt a sensation of elation over what her friend had said.
"I'm very glad you like them," she replied, smiling at Spirit and hoping the warm feeling in her face was just a result of the cobbler, "I know they're a smidge over da top, but tha's just cuz they care so much." She looked around the table at her assembled family members, her grass green eyes going a little misty as she watched them having their various conversations, the low buzz of their voices so familiar and comforting.
When she and Spirit had first pulled up to the house tonight, Cyber had been so fearful about the other woman meeting her family. Now she was just grateful to have had the opportunity to introduce them. Spirit and Jojo appeared to be enjoying themselves (Jojo certainly approved of the cobbler), and it made her feel so warm and happy inside. This was her new life atvthebsife Resistance being able to mix with her old life,and it gave her such hope for the future. She took another bite of cobbler and then looked back at Spirit.
"That sounds delish," she said to her friend, her voice muffled slightly as she forgot about her mouthful of food, hurrying to swallow she added, "I mean, I'd love ta try some'a your food. I ain't very picky." She grinned, winked, and then looked around at everyone started to stand up as dessert was finished, leaning back over to Spirit and lowering her voice.
"We should be able ta go an' see Nana after ev'ryone head to da livin' room."
Creativity
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Posted: 7/19/2019 at 9:04 PM
Post #529
(Timeskip?)
When he first regained his consciousness, Ryder was fairly certain he was dead. He hadn't bothered to open his eyes yet, but no light was trying to penetrate them through his eyelids, so if he was alive, he was definitely in a dark place. He was able to distinguish a light humming, and the fact that he was bouncing a little, and... Yup. He was definitely alive.
His light green eyes slowly emerged from behind their curtains, and he glanced around exhaustedly at the rest of the cargo hold he was being kept in. There were eleven other people in there with him, and only dim light through cracks in the walls let enough light in for him to see them. To his right, he noticed, slumped against the same wall as him, was Paisley, still unconscious.
Groaning as he struggled to sit up, Ryder immediately turned his attention to Paisley. She didn't look like she was in a truly awful state, though she was definitely not in the height of her health. He tried to assess the situation, gauging the states of others. Some were a little beat up, like they had taken a bit to go down, like he had, but others looked completely unharmed, as if they were merely pricked by something and then fallen completely unconscious.
Giving his dully aching head a small shake, he gently shook Paisley by her shoulders. "Paisley. Aw, c'mon Paisley, ya gotta wake up, ya hear?" he whispered to her, knowing her well enough to feel confident that she would much rather be awake to fight than to stay knocked out. She was far too vulnerable that way.
A slit in the wall next to him caught his eye, and Ryder pressed his face against it to look through as best he could. He could see... A shoulder. A windshield. And then a path ahead, surrounded by woods.
His heart beat with adrenaline, and he turned back to Paisley again. "Paisley," he repeated, shaking her carefully again. "Pai, ya gotta wake up. I got an idea. I ain't gonna haul your butt outta here, though. I need ya to wake up."
Britters
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Posted: 7/21/2019 at 7:14 PM
Post #530
Pain...there was so much pain. Every inch of Paisley's body ached horribly, from the tips of her dyed blonde hair to the tops of her electric blue painted toenails. Her thoughts swam inside of a head that felt like someone was drilling hundreds of holes into. She began to move around in an almost subconscious way as she moaned. It truly felt as though her entire body was one large bruise.
All that Paisley really wanted to do was drift back into full unconsciousness, to drift back into that sea of black nothing where she couldn't feel the pain, but something kept trying to wake her up. Her mind was so befuddled that she couldn't make out anything more than distant mumbling, which meant that it was a someone pestering her and not a thing. It was the obvious urgency in the voice, despite the fact that she still couldn't comprehend words, that made her continue to drag herself back to reality.
The perfect moment of clarity finally came when Paisley was able to identify the voice, but it was not the words which got her attention the most...it was the accent.
"Officer Curtis," she murmured softly, her voice broken up by a large groan as she very carefully opened her multi-colored eyes, "I'd like press charges against-Argh!" She tried leaning forward but was met by a sharp wave of pain in the area of ribs. Probably just bruised, but it sure smarted.
Now, there was no doubt in anyone's mind who actually knew her about whether or not Paisley was weakling. She looked like a typically meek, dumb blonde girl, but she was anything but that. Appearances aside, she had a grit that came into play during her many protests and rallies, and while she didn't consider herself to be a violent person, she could and would defend herself if necessary. While details of the assault which had landed her and Ryder in this predicament were fuzzy, the situation was quite clear.
"We were captured," she said aloud, putting a hand to her head with another moan, "Whats the plan, bumpkin?" It felt good, calling Ryder by some derogatory nickname, helped things feel normal, even though she knew that things were anything but normal right now.
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