#nanisca

[diversehistorical]

Viola Davis as General Nanisca in The Woman King

[fuckyeahcostumedramas]

Viola Davis as Nanisca in The Woman King (Film, 2022).  

[scribblecake]

How I've Missed You

Warnings: NSWF, swearing.

@zeezeecave @shanas-baby @blkbinz @imjusthere2readbruv @mybonafidefeelings @xenaizogie

what even is proofreading at this point?

Pure smut. No plot. Just smut.

I have no excuse. Enjoy(?)

~***~

Rain showered down upon red dirt. Thunder rolled and crashed as cool water washed over thirsting greenery. Nanisca welcomed the calming droplets. They left chilled streaks across her heated flesh while she made her way through thick underbrush.

Hushed determination fueled rippling muscle to move silently over mossy stones, over fallen trunks, and then finally through a gurgling creek. Nanisca only stopped when she came to a small cottage covered in blooming vines. Elation tugged a smile to stoic lips and the general sauntered to its carved front door, giving it three rapid knocks.

Shuffling, then a loud bang followed by a harried “Get lost! We’re closed!” came from within.

Nanisca bit her lip to keep from chuckling. “Even for me?”

Another bang, the clinking glass bottles,  then frantic scrambling sounded from behind the door before it was hastily swung open. Peering up at her was a short, slender woman with shoulder-length braids. Bits of dried most and leaves clung to her braids. A variety of mystery concoctions smeared her clothes. Deep brown eyes peered up at Nanisca from thick lashes. Both women froze for a moment. Eyes locked and, for a moment,  it was as if the very Earth had stopped breathing…

Then there was an explosion of motion.

Lips crashed together, hands found purchase in muscled curves, bodies locked together like puzzle pieces. The two pulled apart. Breathless gasps steamed the air with a pleasant tension. Anticipation, longing, excitement. So many energies crackled like lightning in the storm between them.

Wordlessly, Nanisca was pulled inside and roughly pushed onto a plush pile of blankets. She couldn’t hold it this time. A chuckle escaped her lips at her lover’s urgency. However when rolling onto her back she was met with an unexpectedly angry glare.

“I haven’t heard a word from you in six months, you ass!”

Nanisca’s smile dropped. “I know…”

“I’ve fucking missed you!  I’ve been worried sick!” 

The general flinched at the raw pain in her lover’s voice. She hadn't meant to go so long without visiting. But battle, politics, and duty kept her away. The few times Nanisca had to herself, she had been far too exhausted and bruised to make the long trek into the jungle. Her hand reached out to pull her love down into her arms.

“Apologies my darling dove… the palace has been nothing but chaos as of late. Not to mention new trainees that demand the rest of my time, attention, and energy... but I’m here now~” As she spoke, Nanisca placed tender kisses to her love’s collar bones. An unamused hum greeted her in response.

But mere proximity to her love clouded her mind. Nanisca boldly let her strong hands grip at silken thighs. She prayed all that she couldn’t say would translate through her touch. Brown eyes gazed down at her full of warring emotions. Relief, anger, joy, and love, love, love.    

Velvety lips kissed at the corner of the warrior’s mouth. “I love you Nani, but for fucks sake!”

Nanisca chuckled lowly before fully entangling herself in her love’s warm body. 

“Oh dove. You know not of the pain I had to endure. I’ve had to go about my days aching for you, but unable to drown in you.”  Plump lips ghosted over the shell of an ear before the general nipped at its lobe. “I’d love to show you just how much I’ve missed you~”

~***~

“Mh, again~” Nanisca husked. Sweat dripped down her toned body as she panted and rested her chin on her love’s shoulder. Kisses littered every inch of skin available. A sly tongue even made an appearance. It dragged hotly over the soft expanse lain bare before it.

“A-again? Darling, I don’t think I can- mh!~ ... t-that was already m-my fourth…” 

Nanisca gave a gentle coo. Her hand came up to work tantalizing patterns on heaving and sensitive breasts. “And I can give you many more. Would you like that, dearest?”

Her lover squirmed in her lap. A lustful ‘yes’ escaped the flushed and sweaty woman. “Mmh, but a small rest first.”

Nanisca couldn’t help but smirk to herself. How lucky she was to have such a beauty desperately needy for her. Reluctant hands withdrew themselves as shuddering forms shifted to sit upright.

Outside, the rhythmic driving of pouring skies added a comfortable layer of static to fill the space. Rain combined with the heat of the day resulted in steamy heat in the small cottage. Sex saturated the air with its heady scent. Wanton desire and passion ignited to near sinful levels, leaving Nanisca wanting to make a mess of her woman all over again. 

Yet she forced herself to stay still. Instead the warrior shifted to grab a jug of water that was kept to the side of the bed and passed it to her love. Sensual calm spread over the duo as they caught their breath. Though throbbing heat persisted in Nanisca’s core. It begged for attention. Demanded it.

“Dove, I’d very much like to have you again.”

The other woman paused. A sparkle that the warrior knew all too well, shimmered in her eyes. Then a hand lifted, “Come and take me then, warrior.” she breathed with a crook of her finger.

Lust coiled and Nanisca sprung to action. She surged forward, all rippling muscles and impatience. The next few hours were spent with both women completely entangled in one another. True to her word, Nanisca showered her sweet dove with release after release while basking in touch herself. 

The warrior lost herself in the pleasure those gentle hands gave her. They clawed at her back, caressed sweetly at her jaw, twisted her budding nipples and made her feel the love she craved. Her hands slid down slender legs to grab them at their ankles. Kneeling on her knees she hooked the legs up and over her shoulders.

Her love now lay half suspended with her glistening cunt presented to the ceiling. Nanisca wasted no time in burying her face in the sopping folds. Fervent sucks and an agile tongue filled the room with sinful music. Each desperate lap was harmonized with wet slurping that drove them both wild.

Eyes rolled back. Breathy moans split the air. The general let the sticky sweet nectar coat her mouth. She fully submitted to it. How she missed this taste! Nanisca let the sapid juices soak her cheeks and chin before fixing her lips around a swollen clit. Her cheeks hollowed with suction, ripping a wail from her upside down lover. The woman in question held a blissed out expression on her face. Tears dotted the corners of her doe eyes.

However, the warrior’s own need made itself known again. Aching throbs jolted her core and made it weep with arousal. A growl rumbled deep in her chest as she arched forward to lay her love on the flat of her back. An arm hooked down to lift a leg. Nanisca burned with want as she hovered her dripping center over her beloved’s.

Lower lips kissed. Heat boiled against wet heat in an explosion of pure ecstacy. Sensation jolted pleasure up the warrior’s spine. Hips canted forward as sinful groans escaped them both. Sweat dotted her brow, dripping down her abdomen while it flexed with the steady pace she set. Nanisca threw her head back at the unbridled euphoria that coursed through her body.

Breathy whines sounded from beneath her. They grew in pitch and frequency with each thrust of the general’s hips. Silken hands climbed their way up her stomach to rub electrifying circles on her swollen nipples, drawing out deep groans. 

The warrior angled herself downward, “I’ve dreamed of seeing you like this. so. many. times.” she growled while pointing each word with a thrust. “The sheer amount of times I’ve had to sit in the council with your moans echoing in my mind, it's shameful really…”

A whine warbled from her lover’s throat. The other woman could only buck her hips weakly in response. Arousal tightened in Nanisca’s core. Hips snapped forward and began to command a mind numbing pace. She angled herself so that their dripping buds rubbed against each other constantly. Her core clenched as she hurtled towards her release.

The general was vaguely aware that the bed was shaking violently. Maybe even a little too much. The headboard banged out an obscene rhythm as it hit the wall. It was oddly satisfying for Nanisca’s ego. Though smug gratification quickly morphed to panic, then all consuming cockiness. 

C R A C K !

T H U D !

C R A S H !

Gravity and momentum threw Nanisca forward and down as the bed fell down from under her knees. Legs hooked around her waist and she threw caution to the wind. Without missing a beat the thrusts continued. 

“You broke my fucking bed!~”

“Yes.”

“You shedemon! Dont fucking stop!~”

And just like that they were tumbling over the edge into oblivion. Coils of arousal snapped, unleashing torrents of boiling wetness. Cores spasmed and clenched, breath stuttered and gasped, all while loud cries split through the hazy twilight. 

Nanisca’s chest heaved. She rolled onto her back, drawing her love’s languid frame into her arms. Breathless and satisfied post sex tranquility weighed their limbs.

Rain gently tapped a soothing melody on dense undergrowth. It lulled the pair into comfortable silence as they soaked in each other’s company. After a while, Nanisca felt a shift in her arms and she met flashing eyes with her own. Lips twisted into a mischievous smirk.

“I don’t think I’ve quite gotten your point… how much did you really miss me?”

~***~

[melaninpov]

The Agojie | Dahomey Amazons

in The Woman King

[blackinperiodfilms]

The Woman King Official U.S. Poster

The story is inspired by true events as it "follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

In theaters Sept. 16.

[rollingapex]

Viola Davis tweeted of The Woman King "this is my magnum opus." It's a boast from an artist who already has a storied career plus a heap of awards, and the movie lives up to it. 

The Woman King is a historical action-drama set in 1823 and follows the Agojie, the real-life elite woman warriors who fought for the kingdom of Dahomey. As an action packed period drama it hits the kind of high notes of Braveheart or Gladiator. In fact director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, The Old Guard) said in a Hollywood Reporter interview that those movies were what she was aiming for. 

There is a cliché that I'm too basic not to use which is "the budget is all onscreen," but it's all our there for your eyes and ears to feast on. I can't recall sitting down in a theater and seeing a 19th century African kingdom and having it be presented like, this was a real, complex society but also, he's a little movie magic. We see it all the time in American or European set period-dramas. So a shot we've seen before of warriors returning to the heart of the kingdom after battle takes on a different significance when you think, I've never quite seen this before yet it is familiar.

It shouldn't feel revolutionary to see so many women as department heads when the credits roll, but when you see that cinematographer, the VFX supervisor, editor, production designer, costume designer, all great and all women; you realize it shouldn't be rare but it is. 

When Viola Davis talks about how proud she is of this, you have to see it to get what she means. The acting challenges here are intimidating. There's the technical aspect of period drama, accent, language, and singing; the athleticism of action and dance; the emotional challenge of what these women go through. It's a treat to see, and it's so much more than just exploiting their suffering for some melodrama.

I could go on and on about this cast because they have the kind of chemistry you get when you take the time to train together for filming. Sheila Atim was such a pleasant surprise in Bruised and she does a great job here. Thuso Mbedu is a triumph. Lashana Lynch as Izogie, she just shines. John Boyega plays it up as King Ghezo reckoning with the reality of enriching his people via the slave trade.

The reality of the Atlantic slave trade was that kings enriched themselves by selling people. Racists would excuse all of their hate with the fact that slavery was not solely a white, European enterprise. King Ghezo is shown as sympathetic to shifting Dahomey's economy away from the slave trade, although in reality it continued. But The Woman King knows slavery is wrong, its characters state that death is better, and the titular character spells out for the sovereign that what we're all doing is immoral and we should stop. Part of what makes this movie feel so necessary is our moment in time: yes, we need a newly released PG-13 movie that could be shown in history class pointing out that "slavery is bad." It's also the only movie I can recall that points out how anyone who wants to be rich, who gives into greed and covets gold, can be tempted into exploiting their fellow human beings for profit. 

Let's talk PG-13 for a sec. There are hard hits in this movie where you know, if it were rated R, flesh, blood, and bone would fly. For me, they found away to make Daniel Hernandez's stunt choreo shine while strategically hemming in the gore. You see longer takes, dynamic movement and novel presentations of weapons, I don't recall any slow motion with the action (slow mo has come to be a peeve of mine), it's fast and delightful and shows off the power of the Agojie. But why PG-13 over R, I couldn't find an answer. I know it was a long journey from script to screen and to get the $50 million budget, but I don't know that the PG-13 rating was a studio edict. While neither the director or producers talked explicitly about the educational aspect of the film, it's hard tor me as a moviegoer not to think that wasn't part of their vision. The Woman King is set to make itself required viewing and seems to be crafted with a sense of purpose. 

[wabama]

Hair and makeup testing for the Woman King.

— from lashanalynchfandom on TikTok.

[blacksapphhicmaddonna]

half truths pt. 1

Izogie x Nanisca 

Izogie didn’t die before the end battle - at least not all the way. She has come back home to the palace, but Nanisca knows she isn’t all there. Nanisca knows everything - almost. There’s a lot of things both of them haven’t admitted, but one seems to be taking a step towards vulnerability while one seems to be fighting some internal conflicts. Izogie is still a badass, though. 

Mother/Daughter vibes underneath Commander/Lieutenant pairing. There’s a lot of respect, but there’s also a lot of love.

content warnings: mentions of wounds/scars, enslavement/enslavers, war/battle, weapons, body parts/physical training. (no fluff or smut stuff yet but it’s only part one lmaooo).

Fon to English Translations (these may not be perfect, if anybody has any feedback pls lmk!!!): 

Dŏwe - Lieutenant

Vǐ ce - My Child

Word Count: 1,935

I love Nanisca, she’s never in any fics so I wanted to start out with her and her relationship to Izogie being developed. There’s more to come with her and Amenza, and Nawi as well.

______________________________________________________________

Her eyes were dead set on the pair of strong legs in front of her as she pulled herself up off the ground, again and again - a look of total focus for something far beyond what was before her. Her hands made room for themselves in the hot, burnt orange soil. Her toes bent in, somehow equally as strong as the rest of her body, hinging with her every push.

The sun was just starting to go down, everyone else had finished training that day but the warrior and Nanisca had made a deal to do some extra work to get her back where she was before her injuries. She was lieutenant after all, and despite what happened - she was Agojie. They both were, and neither knew when something else might happen or when new trainees would come. She needed to be ready, they both agreed - despite Nanisca’s slight apprehension. 

“170…30 more.” Nanisca said, rolling the point of a dulled dagger on her finger tip, balancing the blade’s end between her other pointer. She knew it was practically nothing for the warrior to complete reps like this, she knew of the long nights and early mornings she spent training in what she thought was secret. Nanisca believed herself to know everything that went on in the palace and within the Agojie. But especially of what her successor was up too. She once did, maybe. But now, she wasn’t so sure. She only wish she knew more of what went on in the woman’s mind, the place where no one else could see. After so much turmoil, Nanisca felt the need to be more sure now than ever of what was taking place in her orbit.

“10 more. Alternate them.” Nanisca coached as she walked behind the woman to check her form from the back, noticing small cuts on her ankles and up her calves. She made note of this, filing it away with the rest of the knowledge she held about what was always going on around her, even if not in front of her. She looked at the woman’s arms and shoulders. Her form was perfect, as always. 

As the warrior swiftly - precisely - switched arms each rep, it was as if she was holding her breathe. Her core was tight and engaged, her legs never shook like any of the trainees and even some of the other Agojie (to which they tried to hide.). She was always precise, always on time, and always solid.

“You may stop now.” Nanisca said, bringing her mind back to focus. 

The warrior brought her knees forward and sat down, arms stretching behind her. She caught her breath, in quiet but big gulps.

“Tell me, Izogie, what have you been doing while I am not watching?”

The warrior hiccuped and choked on the air she was attempting to restore rhythm to for a split second, recovering quickly.

She didn’t answer, silence sat between them aside from the sounds of Izogie’s breath returning to center.

“You have nothing to say, Dŏwe?” Nanisca paused, waiting to see if the warrior would respond. She wanted the truth, as she had always gotten from Izogie without question. She felt a familiar pang of frustration quickly dispel into consideration and concern as she looked at the warriors hand shake as she tried to hide it behind her thigh. She had never seen her shake before. 

“Vǐ ce?” She asked again, softer. She had always felt softened about Izogie but Nanisca had buried her softness a long time ago. Until now. Until Nawi. She internally cursed herself for missing so much that she could’ve had. So much with Izogie, so much with the other Agojie, so much with Amenza - her truest friend, her truest something in so much nothingness she had endured. She often spent time yearning for who she once was, knowing she would have to grieve a girl that never got to exist. She didn’t want that for anybody else, Agojie or not. Responsibility or not. 

Izogie’s eyes traced her arms and the scars that lay on them as she looked for the words to say, the worry of her secret trainings being known to the Miganon sitting in the forefront of her mind. Something else, sitting behind it. She eased a bit as Nanisca called her that word - child. She had not been a child in so long. 

“I… I have been doing some extra trainings, alone. I apologize for keeping it a secret, Miganon. I have felt like I need to improve since the last battle with the Oyo and the slavers. I almost didn’t make it out. I was shot.. twice. And thought dead until Amenza… well you know. What’s worse is I nearly gave up before that.. I nearly let someone else decide my fate. If not for Nawi then…”

Her brow furrowed as she mindlessly brought her palm to one of her newer scars. If you can even call it a scar - it had not yet healed fully. A sometimes dull, sometimes sharp pain sat within the woman’s core and chest, every day.

In the absence of a response from Nanisca, Izogie continued, trying to pull herself together. She cannot slip, not here, not now.

“Then I would be dead. Or worse.”

“I do not want to fail Dahomey ever again. I do not want to fail you, ever again…” She said, meaning it wholly. “An- Anyway, I apologize Miganon. I accept any puni-”.

“I do not train sorry women. I do not welcome home failures.” Nanisca started. Izogie’s eyes darted to the other woman’s eyes, taken aback by the returning sternness, and shock at what she was hearing. 

“You did not die. And when you were taken, you still sought to follow my orders to slit your throat, even in the midst of your own life hanging in the balance. Yes?” She nodded at the warrior, asking more than telling. 

“You fought until the very end, and even further. You would have died anything but a failure. But…I am glad you did not slit your throat. I am glad you are home, here with us. With me…” Nanisca looked deep into her eyes, in a way only a mother could - even if she didn’t know she was a mother, really. Then she looked away.

“But I am not glad that since you have returned, you have not been the honest woman I know you to be. You think I do not know what happens in this palace? That I do not know you are more tired in the mornings than normal? That I do not see the repairs made to the training equipment, or see the blood left behind in the bath? I hear your pain at night when you do actually try to sleep, and I know you do not frequent the healers the way you should be. I hear you telling half truths, Izogie.” Nanisca set her dagger down and walked over to face the warrior fully. 

“I am asking about the cuts on your legs, the scent on your clothes when you greet me. The look in your eyes during the day. It is not just grief that you feel. Am I wrong?”

The warrior was speechless, a new feeling for her. Her head dropped low, examining the soil with her eyes as they welled with hot tears. One fell to the ground between her legs, making the orange soil turn muddy. She fought them with everything she had in her, which didn’t feel like much anymore.

Nanisca knelt next to her, grabbing her face with her fingers softly wiping away a tear or two, and lifting her chin. 

She was softer than Izogie remembered her being. She knew she had Nawi to thank, although she probably wouldn’t.

“Do not bow your head to me like I am nothing more than a commander. In battle, you would hand me the same sword that would keep you alive in less than a thought. You think I would not offer you even my ear?” She seared into Izogie’s eyes with a passion she had not felt with anyone but Nawi. She felt like she was looking at her child, as much as she was looking at her sister and her comrade. 

The warrior sat, silenced by her own mind. She knew what the Miganon was talking about. Her time spent outside the palace lately. Izogie has always been one to do her own thing, but she had never been out so frequently. She had never been secretive with Nanisca, even as a trainee. She always told the truth, loudly and openly for all to see and hear. She had always kept her sworn loyalty, without question and without force. Izogie loved being Agojie, and she respected all the rules that came along with being in the palace. She respected Nanisca, and she loved her. Quietly, underneath her reverence for the Woman King. But this was something she knew even the Miganon could not advocate for, or maybe even understand. She knew it had to be a secret.

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth trying to say something. Anything. But the sharpness had returned and she groaned instead.

Nanisca let her face go and squeezed her shoulders tightly as she stood. 

“I will not ask again today. I trust in you the way I trust in myself. I know my own mind so I know yours, too. Do you trust me, Izogie?”

The warrior stood, arm bent over her core.

“I do, Miganon. Without question.”

Nanisca nodded slowly, knowing the warrior meant what she said but also knowing that she was going to keep whatever was going on from her for now. She knew the woman well, and well enough to recognize the look in her eye was as genuine as it was privately holding a secret. She wiped her hands on her tunic to rid of the dust from the ground and prepared to leave, sheathing her dagger. She could forgive one secret, for now, off the respect that this woman died for her daughter and fought to defend for her own life many times before. 

“I do not approve of your trainings.” She said in a voice that suggested she was back to business.

“But I will never take your body from you the way the slavers tried to, the way the Oyo did to me. You will figure it out. I give you two orders, lieutenant. Let yourself heal.”

Izogie nodded her head as she stood at attention. 

“I will be listening when you are ready to tell me the truth.”

She turned to walk away as Izogie stood there, in pain and drained from her training and the workings of her own mind.

“Miganon!” She called after the woman.

“What is the second order?” She asked, eager to please her commander again, not knowing she never stopped.

The Miganon turned only her head for a moment, before turning it back forward as she continued to walk.

“Never bow your head again, not in this palace and not anywhere else.”

Izogie stood there, holding her breath again as Nanisca entered back into the palace walls and about the rest of her business. Once she was out of sight, she sighed deeply and relaxed her arms and shoulders. She wasn’t sure what to make of what just happened but she felt comforted and at the same time, all the more conflicted than before. 

She grabbed her weapons and headed to her chambers to change.

______________________________________________________________

hey y'all, this is my first fic in a long time. its gonna be a short series, so pls lmk what you’re thinking and any feedback you have! (literally I am begging pls) thank you so much for reading 🥹