ascendant

i am so much more than royal snatch your chain and mace your eyes if it feels good, tastes good, it must be mine heroes always get remembered but you know legends never die

beautifly: beautifly's favorite food is the sweet pollen of flowers. if you want to see this pokémon, just leave a potted flower by an open window. beautifly is sure to come looking for pollen.  it has an aggressive nature. it stabs prey with its long, narrow mouth to drain the prey's fluids. 

tsareena: a kick from the hardened tips of this pokémon's legs leaves a wound in the opponent's body and soul that will never heal. its long, striking legs aren't just for show but to be used to kick with skill. in victory, it shows off by kicking the defeated, laughing boisterously.

volcarona: this pokémon emerges from a cocoon formed of raging flames. ancient murals depict volcarona as a deity of fire.  a sea of fire engulfs the surroundings of their battles, since they use their six wings to scatter their ember scales.

medicham:   it is said that through meditation, medicham heightens energy inside its body and sharpens its sixth sense. this pokémon hides its presence by merging itself with fields and mountains.  it elegantly avoids attacks with dance-like steps, then launches a devastating blow in the same motion.

ampharos: ampharos gives off so much light that it can be seen even from space. people in the old days used the light of this pokémon to send signals back and forth with others far away.  massive amounts of energy intensely stimulated ampharos's cells, apparently awakening its long-sleeping dragon's blood. 

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“you can say that again,” kieran huffed, and pushed his hair out of his eyes. she was right; the locals in norbury were either too comfortable for their own good or afraid that they visiting. he listened intently with his gaze trained on her, and what ingrid revealed caused his eyes to widen slightly. he couldn’t help but picture it in his mind, and queasiness settled in his stomach. his expression hardened and his mouth twitched before he spoke. “what? a mutilated bird?” in disbelief, he shook his head. he always knew bug’s mom was bound to anger some people, but he never expected such a vile retaliation. “if they had the guts to send something like that, they must be pretty confident. and being angry and confident never mesh well together.”

restlessly, he looked ahead at the construction site. ingrid was smart to come here ― there had to be some kind of clue hidden. “there’s too many scenarios to try and break it down. what if someone your mom worked with is against this project? what if norbury’s town hall only gave her the rights because they needed money, despite the consequences? the possibilities are endless. ”

at the mention of vic from the grocery store, kieran’s shoulders tensed. he hadn’t told ingrid about what he saw, but he couldn’t hide it anymore, not when that journalist knew about it. “right, that guy. he wasn’t talking nonsense, he actually knew something that i haven’t told anyone about. it freaked me out, so yeah, something is off,” he paused, and avoided her eyes. he didn’t want to see her reaction. “i saw some sort of vision when we were driving into town. there was a lot of blood and metal, and it didn’t make any sense. so i ignored it. but then vic brought it up, and started going on about how it’s not safe here. so i guess it meant something.”

♣

her head high, she kept walking as she updated kieran on her suspicions. "it’s a clear warning for my mother, but i still reached out to a friend whose specialty is folklore last night. i doubt it’s connected to anything occult related, but we can’t take anything for granted in this town especially after what happened at the grocery store,” ingrid disclosed. while with anyone else, she wouldn’t have a problem speaking her mind. nobody quite reassured her like kieran, who actually listened and could read between the lines. even if the construction project was connected, she still wanted to avoid having to involve her mother. undoubtedly, her mother would know how to turn the situation into a cash grab.

“you’re right, those scenarios are all likely,” she agreed. “tomorrow, i’ll see if i can get her business contacts in town. her password isn’t hard to crack.” fearing what would happen the deeper she fell into her mother’s business, she walked a delicate line. “they’re still leveling the land. do you want to check the woods?” as she learned over the years, nothing could be left to assumptions.

“blood and metal? like a car accident?” ingrid asked, crossing her arms. “we need to talk to this vic guy then,” she decided. before, they could had called his vision a nightmare, but that wouldn’t explain vic’s knowledge of the vision. or even kieran was a seer? demon? “like how did he know you were the one who had vision? do you think he had a vision about you?” she pondered. even of all the possible theories, vic being tied to whatever was going on with kieran made the most sense. “there has to be a logical reason behind him and that vision you saw. maybe the vision was just something that could happen and not what will happen? are you okay?”

YALE’S SEXY SIX x GREEK MYTHOLOGY [6/6]

YALE’S SEXY SIX x GREEK MYTHOLOGY [5/6]

YALE’S SEXY SIX x GREEK MYTHOLOGY [4/6]

YALE’S SEXY SIX x GREEK MYTHOLOGY [3/6]

YALE’S SEXY SIX x GREEK MYTHOLOGY [2/6]

For so long, they have called it glory when girl is abandoned. When girl is capsized in her own sorrow. But in another myth, Ariadne keeps the yarn.

YALE’S SEXY SIX x GREEK MYTHOLOGY [1/6]

oh, and if the Gods could see you now so high above their mount, they thought immortality was theirs but the marble crumbles while you are a galaxy that can not die.

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“was he? i couldn’t tell since he kept looking at you through the rearview mirror,” he scoffed, trailing behind her and ducking underneath the caution tape. this was one of the rare times kieran could see what bug’s mom was doing before the finish line, and it looked sad. he stared at the big letters protesting sandy cove, and he couldn’t help but think of everyone who was about to lose their homes. “as normal as it can be. i mean, we are staying in the well-off part of town that looks picture-perfect,” frowning at the vulgar graffiti, he looked away from the bulletin board and walked past it. “here is just… normal but untrustworthy, you know? i feel like someone’s going to pop out and jump us. well, jump you first and then me by association.”

“unlikely it’s a sleeping demon, but maybe a human? i don’t know who’s on your mother’s list of enemies, if she even keeps track, but could it possible that there’s somebody who lives here and has a personal grudge against her?” kieran hesitantly stepped closer towards the wooded area, peering past the construction equipment. “if you’re up for it, we can go closer and see if we find anything.”

♣

"please, he offered you water and asked if the music was to your liking,” she rolled her eyes. the incident reminded her of the game they used to play when they were kids dragged on trips by their parents. “it feels real,” she concluded, wanting nothing more to stop the sandy cove project and to force her mother into an early retirement. “unlike the rest of the town, people aren’t going to hold back here. maybe, we’ll finally get answers about what’s going on. everyone i met so far is either too cheery or look like they’re ready to run far away from me,” she explained.

“yeah, i want to assume the sandy cove project is tied to what’s going on,” she started before pausing. deep down, ingrid knew she could always count on kieran. whatever idea she had, she knew he would help her. that was how she ended up with badly bleached hair in seventh grade after all. however, the package she received was a threat. an omen of something dangerous going on. a risk she wasn’t ready to include kieran in on, but tonight was just another tally mark for her. kieran was a given in her life - a constant - and that wasn’t going to change this summer. like always, her gratitude was  unspoken and expressed in the exchange of a secret. “let’s get closer, but i need to tell you something first. before we came to norbury, my mother received a package. hate mail isn’t uncommon for her, but this was a mutilated bird, kieran. who does that?” the words spilled out of her, like a river freed.

“she doesn’t know about it yet because i threw it away and wanted to investigate norbury first. but then we met that guy at the store and he basically confirmed something is off about this place. what she’s doing isn’t right, but whoever sent that package wasn’t just angry. ” 

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lips curling at the reference to “we” - when nine times out of ten, it was her or kieran who bit the bullet and shopped for the whole group - george folded her lips into a tense smile, hoping ingrid was blind to the tension that ran underneath them. unlikely. whatever feelings there were between them, it was mutual.

tapping the counter, george bobbed her head, nodding. “noted. i’ll get on that.” with that strain of conversation exhausted, she glanced at the counter, frowning at the maps and photographs sprawled out. “well that can’t possibly be homework.” 

♣

although ingrid hadn’t made her research project a secret from everyone, she hadn’t been open with her whereabouts the past few days either. the longer they stayed in norbury, the deeper she found herself falling into the mystery. whether there was one or if it was in her head was still to be determined. “i was curious about the development site my mom has been working on,” she answered, deciding a half-truth was than easier than lying to the blonde. if zee trusted her, then ingrid could too right? or at least that was how things should had worked out, but trust and respect were intertwined in ingrid’s book. “the library was helpful in loaning me the topographic maps.”

narrator note:

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he never went out of his way to bring it up, the way charlotte was probably one of his least favorite people on earth, but kieran had the displeasure of seeing her a handful of times every year since his childhood. the only silver lining was of course, bug. he understood why she wanted him to go with her, and there wasn’t much else to say about it. that’s simply the way it was.

nodding, kieran gestured towards the vast area ahead of them. “okay, let’s do it. maybe we can walk towards the north end and see if we find anything along the way?” he shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans and stared down at the pavement, a mere attempt to avoid her gaze while she spoke. “a lot of people live here, it’s only natural to feel that way,” he spoke cautiously, like he was afraid to say the wrong thing about norbury. which was silly, because it’s ingrid and he could tell her anything. most of the time ― kieran struggled opening up to her in the past about how he felt about her, and everything was fine now. but this time… this time, he knew exactly what she meant. “you’re not overthinking at all. this place is creepy. not just this part of town, i mean in general, as a whole. it feels like we’re in a parallel world or something.”

kieran shook his head, releasing a small sigh. his thoughts on this small town wasn’t important, he was here to find answers with ingrid and that’s what mattered today. “we are missing something. come on, let’s go find out what it is.”

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the development site is a huge, empty, recently bulldozed area, with bulldozers and other equipment parked at the tree-lined edges. it is surrounded by a wooded area, roped off by caution tape to indicate that it is still in the process of being bulldozed. signs close to the road give warnings such as “construction site” and “trespassers will be prosecuted,” in addition to a large bulletin stating the project.

the bulletin features the headline “future site of sandy cove condominiums,” and the following description: “luxury vacation rentals and year-round leases without the beachfront price.” it then provides the information of the real estate development company, including a phone number to call for inquiries.

a few of the signs have been defaced, including the main bulletin, on which someone has spray-painted a penis over the company’s logo. on several others are stickers saying “stop sandy cove” in big block letters, matching the lawn signs of several houses in the near vicinity.   

♣

“yeah, it’s a nice night to walk. plus, i don’t want to risk getting that uber driver again. i think he was flirting with you,” she agreed before they started to search the development site ignoring the trespasser sign at the front. her mother always did want her to get more involved with the family business. even as a child, ingrid never liked visiting the development sites her mother created. they always felt like traps, ready to push her into a life of corporate meeting rooms. “is it weird this is the most normal spot in this entire town?” she asked, reading the signs in hope of finding the contact information of the people leading the movement against her mother. she was in support of their cause, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility of the development site being tied to the weirdness they experienced. “which itself is suspicious right? everywhere else in norbury is off in some way, and then this place is seemingly normal.” 

“do you think my mother unearthed a sleeping demon like in the movies?” she asked, not seeing anything that stood out before her. “the letters she received about sandy cove went  deeper than the usual mail she gets.” maybe she needed to research the symbolism of crows the next time she visited the library with zee. something didn’t feel right about the crow she found and she regretted not taking a picture of the package before she disposed of it before her mother could discover it.

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After learning the news of what happened to her birth parents, Zaina was determined to look for more information on how she ended up in the spot she was. There was still so much missing, and it helped Ingrid had a new project to set her energy onto that lined up with what she needed as well. 

“Could be helpful to find an obituary or something?” She shrugs, walking in step with her. She scrunched her nose up, smiling both with pride and like she had gotten caught. “Alright, fine. I won a championship or two. I like words.” She shrugged, another thing Yale had liked about her, beyond her tragic life story of course. “But we might find some articles about what happened. Can’t hurt to look.”

“Really?” She raises an eyebrow, not yet realizing why exactly. She’s sure she’ll learn soon enough. “You think he might know something?”

.

jai emerged out of an office door which a plaque labeled “head librarian,” whistling cheerfully to himself as he took a keyring from his pocket and locked the door shut. Once he was finished, he looked up and gave a bit of a start at the sight of Ingrid and Zaina, reaching back toward his office doorknob before changing course and approaching them, looking very much like someone caught in an interaction he didn’t want.

“cold brew with blueberry syrup,” he greeted ingrid with a smile, before turning toward zaina. “and you must be one of the friends she’s traveling with. i’m jai,” he reached out to shake zaina’s hand. “can i help you ladies find anything today?”

ZAINA has now reached LEVEL 1 with JAI VIRANI. she can request jai for future in-person threads.

♣

"We should at least be able to find their full names today,” Ingrid pointed out, partially surprised by the difficulties she had finding a digital trail for Zee’s parents. People didn’t disappear off the planet without leaving a trace. Though she wondered if this meant Norbury hadn’t digitized its archives yet. “Fingers crossed,” she assured her friend, always better at solving problems than providing comfort. “I mean he works here. He has to be able to help find the records right?” Ingrid explained before they entered the building.

“Middlemarch,” she greeted him with a half-smile, her eyes distant as she studied the sight in front of her. The same hesitation as she witnessed at the coffeehouse the other day. "This is my friend, Zaina. We’re hoping to see the archives today. Could you show us the way?”