Igraine Member
- Last Seen: 9 yrs ago
- Old Guild Username: Igraine
- Joined: 11 yrs ago
- Posts: 1282 (0.32 / day)
- VMs: 0
-
Username history
- Igraine 11 yrs ago
Status
User has no status, yet
Bio
User has no bio, yet
Most Recent Posts
Hello there *waves* I wasn't entirely sure you were still wanting to play after the 2 week hiatus, but now I know, so I'll have something up tomorrow-ish or so, moving things along. Tonight I just need to finish some studying, and all will be well
You know Mokley, it's just the weirdest thing. The last two times I have deliberately chosen to play a male character (and that isn't necessarily often, though I do enjoy playing both sexes), we have wound up with RPs that were very male heavy on the PC side at the least. I have no idea why things wind up this way, but... 
There it is?
Sorry Lil... >.> *grins*
There it is? Sorry Lil... >.> *grins*
Oh yes, it is a total bummer but of course Heroes has it right - better to be a little disappointed now, than heavily invested and crushed, angry and/or totally frustrated later on. Still, I'll be about if this ever gets off the ground again and most interested of course
Wonderful post Heroes, and yes Dot, the ball is most certainly in your court now! (Oh, and yes, the PM in your box as well! ) And see Dot? Neither Gavin nor Abby would ever see Park just shove off - particularly not when he's so darned useful! *grins*
) And see Dot? Neither Gavin nor Abby would ever see Park just shove off - particularly not when he's so darned useful! *grins*Ironic drunkenness - how did it work out for you Melonhead, when you woke up this morning to see/edit what you wrote?
Good to see Chiudka as well Mokley - thank heaven for that blessed notion of common sense and practicality to the ladies of Adishi!
Good to see Chiudka as well Mokley - thank heaven for that blessed notion of common sense and practicality to the ladies of Adishi!
"Of course it is."
Galina had not missed even one of Souma's warning glances, telling her without a word to stay still, to stay calm, to do nothing rash or foolish. He need not have worried on her account though. The lightness she found in their sport, the joy in those few precious moments of playful banter, faded from her flawless ivory face as if it had never been.
No, Souma need not have worried. Galina never moved. Not when Ai's face contorted with rage at the sight of her. Not when she pulled her blade, or when Souma launched his distraction, or even when she reluctantly sheathed that blade once more in the sleeve of her kimono. She did not so much as flinch when Souma spoke around the reason she hunted the Americans with him; or as Ai deliberately sat beside Souma, all her unspoken accusations and a world of mistrust resting in that frown.
Even if Ai had managed to unsheathe that blade and rush her, Galina would not have raised a single hand to stop the woman from doing her very worst. Her own vast deception had earned Ai the right to do as she would, though Galina was certainly grateful to Souma for his unorthodox intervention. Galina bowed her head respectfully to Ai though she neither expected nor sought any form of recognition or politesse in return.
One hand alone betrayed her true emotion under the withering gaze of Takahiro Ai, her fingers gently brushing the skin of the ear Souma had only just touched, as if to tuck a piece of her dark hair before forcing her hand back to her lap. "Your brother could not have found me in western Russia, nor managed to book my passage aboard the Empress of Japan if it were otherwise - as, no doubt, he has told you by now."
Galina considered - for a single moment - veering from the truth, softening the hard reality of what she had done while a guest of the Japanese nobility, and then of the Takahiro clan. Almost as quickly, she dismissed the thought. Ai was no fool, nor was she a child who needed to be spoon fed milk-sopped foods lest she choke. "I also confessed to your brother, the day he first returned, that I purposefully used my 'actual name' in your family home. I was confident at the time he told no one who I was, how we had met, or what had happened aboard the Empress."
"Do not misunderstand me though. There was a woman once, a certain Baronessa Galina Vasilyevna Demidova. Unfortunately she is quite dead, shot in the chest during a pirate attack on a Pacific voyage near Manilla." For a single moment, Galina fought to keep her fingers in her lap, to keep from reaching upward to touch the scarred flesh above her breast, still an angry, deep reddish pink and quite painful - though not nearly so as its larger twin on her back, ripped between her shoulder blades.
"She struggled valiantly to recover, and yet eventually succumbed to her wounds some painful weeks later. She was survived only by her brother Yury, a man whose own family has, of late, been beset by a string of great and horrible tragedies."
Galina's eyes fell away, her expression thoughtful, troubled and so genuinely sad, before she spoke once more. "There was also a woman nicknamed 'Shizuka,' who is also likely dead. She was a happy woman though, truly contented, and she learned to love those her opened their doors to her."
She fell silent, half-fearing the eruption of Ai's wrath - or even Souma's - for the truth in her words, presumptuous and overreaching as they very likely were.
"That, of course, may be a tale for another day."
Galina had not missed even one of Souma's warning glances, telling her without a word to stay still, to stay calm, to do nothing rash or foolish. He need not have worried on her account though. The lightness she found in their sport, the joy in those few precious moments of playful banter, faded from her flawless ivory face as if it had never been.
No, Souma need not have worried. Galina never moved. Not when Ai's face contorted with rage at the sight of her. Not when she pulled her blade, or when Souma launched his distraction, or even when she reluctantly sheathed that blade once more in the sleeve of her kimono. She did not so much as flinch when Souma spoke around the reason she hunted the Americans with him; or as Ai deliberately sat beside Souma, all her unspoken accusations and a world of mistrust resting in that frown.
Even if Ai had managed to unsheathe that blade and rush her, Galina would not have raised a single hand to stop the woman from doing her very worst. Her own vast deception had earned Ai the right to do as she would, though Galina was certainly grateful to Souma for his unorthodox intervention. Galina bowed her head respectfully to Ai though she neither expected nor sought any form of recognition or politesse in return.
One hand alone betrayed her true emotion under the withering gaze of Takahiro Ai, her fingers gently brushing the skin of the ear Souma had only just touched, as if to tuck a piece of her dark hair before forcing her hand back to her lap. "Your brother could not have found me in western Russia, nor managed to book my passage aboard the Empress of Japan if it were otherwise - as, no doubt, he has told you by now."
Galina considered - for a single moment - veering from the truth, softening the hard reality of what she had done while a guest of the Japanese nobility, and then of the Takahiro clan. Almost as quickly, she dismissed the thought. Ai was no fool, nor was she a child who needed to be spoon fed milk-sopped foods lest she choke. "I also confessed to your brother, the day he first returned, that I purposefully used my 'actual name' in your family home. I was confident at the time he told no one who I was, how we had met, or what had happened aboard the Empress."
"Do not misunderstand me though. There was a woman once, a certain Baronessa Galina Vasilyevna Demidova. Unfortunately she is quite dead, shot in the chest during a pirate attack on a Pacific voyage near Manilla." For a single moment, Galina fought to keep her fingers in her lap, to keep from reaching upward to touch the scarred flesh above her breast, still an angry, deep reddish pink and quite painful - though not nearly so as its larger twin on her back, ripped between her shoulder blades.
"She struggled valiantly to recover, and yet eventually succumbed to her wounds some painful weeks later. She was survived only by her brother Yury, a man whose own family has, of late, been beset by a string of great and horrible tragedies."
Galina's eyes fell away, her expression thoughtful, troubled and so genuinely sad, before she spoke once more. "There was also a woman nicknamed 'Shizuka,' who is also likely dead. She was a happy woman though, truly contented, and she learned to love those her opened their doors to her."
She fell silent, half-fearing the eruption of Ai's wrath - or even Souma's - for the truth in her words, presumptuous and overreaching as they very likely were.
"That, of course, may be a tale for another day."
Oh now Lil, poor Oksana just needs a really big hug - though I think I remember some permutation or other of this conversation not too long ago
And you know Kraft, I just finished reading "Sharpe's Rifles" (an all day reading jag where absolutely nothing else got done), so at the moment? Being English doesn't seem to be tear-worthy to me. Granted, there was a great deal more rum than tea involved in this story, so perhaps this might make be all the difference? *hands a handkerchief* Buck up Kraft, we'll gladly wait a day for you.
And you know Kraft, I just finished reading "Sharpe's Rifles" (an all day reading jag where absolutely nothing else got done), so at the moment? Being English doesn't seem to be tear-worthy to me. Granted, there was a great deal more rum than tea involved in this story, so perhaps this might make be all the difference? *hands a handkerchief* Buck up Kraft, we'll gladly wait a day for you.
Oh that's all right Heroes, thank you for letting me know! I imagine actually being able to drive your truck to your job would be a very good thing - you know, showing up for work and getting paid being considered a nice bonus and all!
Besides, isn't that always just the way of the world, with some ladies being eternally more high maintenance than others? *grins*
Besides, isn't that always just the way of the world, with some ladies being eternally more high maintenance than others? *grins*
Pauline listened intently to all Antoine said, and noted a great deal more that he did not. Her head tilted just so where she knelt, all the proper Catholic school propriety telling her to continue to keep her own eyes on Antoine's - but honestly, she doubted even the sainted Sister Mary-Agnes would have been able to stop herself from following those curious, ever-tapping fingers. So this... This was not a "tell" then, so much as a... A nervous habit? Not of course that Pauline had ever, in all her life, made anyone the least nervous - well, not that she knew at least. No, this was more than that. This rhythmic tapping, it seemed more... More a tic perhaps? A repetitive movement that seemed to soothe him - rather like, say, the way some people counted sidewalk cracks or fence posts as they walked, or check a door was locked behind them three times, no more and no more less.
She had a hope though, that Antoine would not be offended by her all-too-obvious curious scrutiny - well, if that wide, unfeigned grin and the child-like delight with which he described his spectacular linguistic skill were anything to judge by? The breakneck clip with which he spoke left Pauline both stunned and amused - but as her brain caught up and processed all he actually revealed, she found the scales tipped far more toward stunned.
"Oh, I... Well yes you're right, I still could, couldn't I?" Pauline laughed, and then shook her head swiftly, letting loose of the long, slow breath in her lungs she'd held all this time in unconscious sympathy with this singular young man's breakneck pace.
"But... Antoine, I mean, if this is simply not my business do say so, but... What 'service' were you in? What did you do, where knowing four languages would not be enough? Four languages? Honestly that is such an amazing accomplishment all on its own!"
"Please, please don't get me wrong - your ability is simply... Well it's matchless, isn't it? Although... Beltran, you said? Diego Beltran?" Pauline's brow furrowed in concentration, knowing full well the name was familiar to her somehow, in full or part she simply could not recall. It was frustrating for a moment, that little whisper of a whisper that said she really should know this name, somehow, but simply could not place it...
No matter, she would remember eventually - most likely of course when Antoine was nowhere near, or when she was in the middle of something that had exactly not a single pertinent thing to do with this conversation. Wasn't that always the way things worked?
That name though, was hardly the first order of wonder that left Pauline reeling. She could only pray that she reined in the too-curious gaze toward the visible curves of his skull, to see if she might catch a scar of the like somewhere in his hairline. "No, I never met Diego Beltran, but did he have the same surgery you did? That same brain surgery you volunteered for, Antoine? Brain surgery!? All to 'perfect' your already brilliant knack? Why? Why would you ever volunteer for something like that?"
Pauline pulled herself up swiftly though, realizing far too late that her tongue had likely carried her much too far, well past "curious," straight into "intrusive" and, in all likelihood, kicked in the door on "insulting."
"I... Oh.. Oh no, I am so sorry Antoine, that was just... Yeah, that was so rude of me." Her pale blue eyes fell to the floor, to her feet, to Mowzer as she took a deep breath. It was her turn now, to color with embarrassment for blurting out such rank idiocy. She had no defense for what she said beyond genuine concern, a true and anxious fear for the well-being of someone she was genuinely learning to like, even in these precious few minutes. Even his odd little "quirks" were endearing, coming as they did alongside a man who seemed not to have the least notion of artifice.
"But weren't you afraid?" she asked finally, her voice barely rising above a tentative whisper as she dared to glance back up into Antoine's face, "Even a little? To let anyone experiment on your brain like that?"
She had a hope though, that Antoine would not be offended by her all-too-obvious curious scrutiny - well, if that wide, unfeigned grin and the child-like delight with which he described his spectacular linguistic skill were anything to judge by? The breakneck clip with which he spoke left Pauline both stunned and amused - but as her brain caught up and processed all he actually revealed, she found the scales tipped far more toward stunned.
"Oh, I... Well yes you're right, I still could, couldn't I?" Pauline laughed, and then shook her head swiftly, letting loose of the long, slow breath in her lungs she'd held all this time in unconscious sympathy with this singular young man's breakneck pace.
"But... Antoine, I mean, if this is simply not my business do say so, but... What 'service' were you in? What did you do, where knowing four languages would not be enough? Four languages? Honestly that is such an amazing accomplishment all on its own!"
"Please, please don't get me wrong - your ability is simply... Well it's matchless, isn't it? Although... Beltran, you said? Diego Beltran?" Pauline's brow furrowed in concentration, knowing full well the name was familiar to her somehow, in full or part she simply could not recall. It was frustrating for a moment, that little whisper of a whisper that said she really should know this name, somehow, but simply could not place it...
No matter, she would remember eventually - most likely of course when Antoine was nowhere near, or when she was in the middle of something that had exactly not a single pertinent thing to do with this conversation. Wasn't that always the way things worked?
That name though, was hardly the first order of wonder that left Pauline reeling. She could only pray that she reined in the too-curious gaze toward the visible curves of his skull, to see if she might catch a scar of the like somewhere in his hairline. "No, I never met Diego Beltran, but did he have the same surgery you did? That same brain surgery you volunteered for, Antoine? Brain surgery!? All to 'perfect' your already brilliant knack? Why? Why would you ever volunteer for something like that?"
Pauline pulled herself up swiftly though, realizing far too late that her tongue had likely carried her much too far, well past "curious," straight into "intrusive" and, in all likelihood, kicked in the door on "insulting."
"I... Oh.. Oh no, I am so sorry Antoine, that was just... Yeah, that was so rude of me." Her pale blue eyes fell to the floor, to her feet, to Mowzer as she took a deep breath. It was her turn now, to color with embarrassment for blurting out such rank idiocy. She had no defense for what she said beyond genuine concern, a true and anxious fear for the well-being of someone she was genuinely learning to like, even in these precious few minutes. Even his odd little "quirks" were endearing, coming as they did alongside a man who seemed not to have the least notion of artifice.
"But weren't you afraid?" she asked finally, her voice barely rising above a tentative whisper as she dared to glance back up into Antoine's face, "Even a little? To let anyone experiment on your brain like that?"
THERE we go, finally - so sorry it was an all day process, but simultaneously writing homework assignments due tonight by midnight, and writing this too in spurts! Yes, yes I know *excuses excuses excuses* But anyway, there's that post-y thing *grins*
But anyway, there's that post-y thing *grins*
© 2007-2024