whg tag list: @concealeddarkness13 @pen-of-roses @ratracechronicler @childrenoflight-darkness-nothing @knmartinshouldbewriting
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The escort pushed him out of the train an into the custody of the styling team. They tugged him along and sat him down into a tall chair surrounded by mirrors and lights. Moraine swallowed, shying away from all the noise and commotion as the team discussed and debated about what they wanted to do with him as if he wasn’t there listening to every word that they said.
“We have to change the plan.”
“Aw why, it took ages for us to come up with the concepts and plans and clothes…”
“Yeah but look at him,” The speaker, probably the head stylist by the way she seemed to talk down to the others in her team, gestured to him with a look of near disgust. “He’s way too skinny. Who would look at him and think he could pass for a lumberjack?”
The others grumbled but didn’t argue. Moraine looked up from the ground to watch the head stylist. She didn’t react, as if him watching her was nothing. Like he was nothing more sentient than a dog. He should have expected as much but it still hurt, just a little bit.
She gave her orders and the team dissolved into their own tasks. Finally the head stylist turned to him. “Alright what do we have to work with here…” She took his chin and tilted his head up, turning him left and right to inspect his face in different lighting. Pausing, she tapped a scar along his cheek. “What’s this from?”
“A saw blade snapped.” Moraine didn’t look her in the eye as he spoke. She didn’t seem the type who would take kindly to it.
“And you didn’t think to do anything to try and reduce the scarring?” She huffed, all but rolling her eyes as she dropped his face. “You’re not giving me much to work with here kid. For your sake I hope you clean up better once we get you a proper haircut.”
He nodded. What else was he supposed to do? So he sat still and let them cut his hair shorter than it had been in years. It fell to the floor in dark locks only to be swept away and out of sight. He couldn’t help but peek though, at all the tools they used. Back home they’d all take turns trimming each other’s hair with a pair of scissors. Whatever these were called, some of them anyway, were wired and plugged into electrical sockets. Was this how everyone here got their hair cut? With scissors and buzzing tools and then yet another that blew warm air to dry it all off? He closed his eyes. Admittedly, it felt kind of nice.
In the end the hairdresser left some length, the ends falling just at the nape of his neck. He’d thinned it out, and styled it, and put something in it that made it softer than Moraine had thought hair was supposed to feel.
“Stop touching it!” The head stylist batted his hand away from his hair for the third time. “You’re going to mess it up like that.”
“Sorry.” He quickly folded his hands back in his lap.
She pulled up a stool and sat in front of him with a notepad. “So, now comes the hard part…” She trailed off, looking him over. What she saw in him, Moraine almost didn’t want to know. “Because of you we’ve had to change the whole theme of the district you know. We were going to go with woodworkers, tough and glistening and hot but now… So now we’re going with woodland creatures instead. Your district mates are going as a wolf and a bear but you didn’t seem like you’d live up to the predator look.”
Moraine looked up. “What about a deer?” It would be too convenient. Maybe it was meant to play out that way. Maybe it was more than luck.
“A deer?” She frowned. “Why on earth would you want that? It’s just a prey animal, something to hunt for sport.”
“I like them.” And it would be perfect, though she wouldn’t realize for a long time yet. “And you said I wasn’t predatory.”
She sighed. “That I did…” She glanced down at her notes. “Fine. I don’t have time for this anyway.”
Without another word of discussion she got to work giving orders to her team and coordinating his costume. They played around with clothes and accessories, finally deciding on a creamy brown suit jacket adorned with the kind of shimmering glitter that seemed to find its way onto everything around here, a white shirt, pants, and shoes with just enough platform to make him look taller.
“If they see you’re short everyone’s going to think you’re weak.” She’d said as she laced up the boots. “So I’m doing you a favour.”
As a final touch, she arranged two antlers crafted from golden wire with wisps of green gems dangling from the points into his hair like a crown.
“Now don’t fuck around with that, okay?” She stepped back and admired her work, adjusting his coat when she noticed it crooked. “Good enough. We’re short on time anyway.”
She waved him off and Moraine made his way toward the chariots. Slowly. He stumbled a little on the shoes with soles way too big and heavy, earning him a sharp yell of be careful! From his stylist as she packed her things. At least he would just have to stand on the chariots. If he had to walk all that way he might not have been able to stay right way up the whole time.
Most of the other tributes looked like they had been ready for a while, some standing alone and others already starting to try out alliances with each other. One stood with her hair dripping wet with makeup running all the way down her face next to one of the horse troughs with an oddly triumphant look on her face as she spoke. Strange. Another tribute stood near her, cane in hand. They seemed to be on friendly terms with each other, from the same district if he remembered correctly. If they were friendly with their district mates, perhaps those two would be friendly towards him too. If they were friendly towards him, then perhaps he could save more than the one life he’d spared at the reaping.
Could he save all of them? Moraine swallowed, eyeing the rest of the tributes. Apparently there were some who trained all their lives for the chance to fight to the death. Was there any hope for them? Maybe he should focus on those who could be trusted not to take out the others behind his back…
His shoulders fell and he sighed. Harmony would know better. If only she were here. Maybe he had made a mistake. Had he bitten off more than he could handle on his own?
No. He forced a breath and shook himself off. Gently when he remembered his stylist’s warning about not fucking around with his outfit. He could handle it. Probably. Hopefully.
Once the most popular football player in his raw high school, White Knight Chariot was just looking for a life of lounging on the beach and flirting with hot babes when he moved away from his conservative family to the sunny shores of Starfruit Island. Expecting to spend his days partying and drinking in an endless frat party, the reality of bachelor life turns out to be far more difficult and lonely than he ever imagined, especially when he can only manage to nab a job waiting tables at a touristy tiki restaurant, and can’t seem to make any friends among the locals.
Then one day, drinking away his troubles on the beach, Knight meets a mysterious violet woman. Immediately enamored with her, Knight spends an evening of passion with her before she drags him into the water and nearly drowns him. He is only saved when a local lifeguard, Orchid Bloom Anthurium, spots his unconscious body bobbing in the waves and saves him.
Weeks after the incident, Knight can’t get the image of that violet woman out of his mind. He can remember her eyes turning black, her teeth sharpening into fangs... and a mermaid tail? But try as he might he can’t get the local authorities to believe his story. The only one to believe him is Orchid, who swears she saw something swimming away from him at incredible speed the night she saved him. The two team up to try and solve the mystery.
Knight turns to art to try and spread the word about the mysterious woman, and paints endless pictures of what he saw that night. Orchid befriends the local authorities and discovers a string of apparently accidental drownings of young men, most blamed on alcohol or carelessness. Then, one rainy night, a small infant girl shows up at Knight’s door with a note - it’s from the mysterious woman, who informs Knight that the child is the result of their evening of passion. She urges Knight and Orchid to stop poking their noses where they don’t belong.
Unused to fatherhood, Knight does his best to raise his new daughter, Aetna Pearl. Now quite close to Orchid, he enlists her help, and the new responsibilities cause the two to fall in love. Soon, Orchid is pregnant with Knight’s first child, and the two have a shotgun wedding on the beach, unaware that a pair of eyes are watching from below the nearby waves...
Years pass and Orchid and Knight have four children, the bookish Angel Wing, the independent Chrysanthemum, and twins: the loner Page Ivory and punk-rock Squire Colt. Aetna has also grown, and she and Angel are very close. Yet, one stormy evening, Aetna disappears.
Orchid, a new police detective, throws herself into searching for their missing daughter, but Knight can’t help but feel he knows where she is. He enlists the help of a local boater and sets sail to find his missing daughter. Sure enough, before long, the mysterious violet woman appears. She introduces herself as Ianeira, and she and Knight call a truce to talk.
Ianeira explains that she is a siren, a species of oceanic creatures that masquerade as human women in order to draw their prey, young men, in. Ianeira admits, however, that she had intended to eat him that night, but instead had fallen for him, which explained her inability to finish him off. Previously, no union between humans and sirens had been known to exist, so when Aetna was born, the kingdom of sirens was thrown into chaos. Ianeira had to leave Aetna with Knight in order to protect her. Now, however, Ianeira has ambitions to use her daughter to encourage sirens to coexist peacefully with the humans, and perhaps work on hunting small prey, like fish, instead.
Knight asks her why she would do this, and Ianeira explains that their reliance on remaining close to the humans has put many sirens in danger - tangled in fishing nets, poisoned by pollution, or struck by boats. Ianeira believes they must change their relationship to the humans if they are to survive, to advocate for their ocean homes in a public way. Knight understands, but tells her he wants to be able to see his daughter. So, Ianeira and Knight agree that Aetna must be allowed to split her time between her parents.
Aetna returns with Knight to her worried family, and she and Knight swears them to secrecy on the sirens until they can begin the gradual process of integrating humans and sirens together in harmony. Angel is particularly moved by her sister’s story, and begins to write books and blog posts in support of cleaning up oceans, and surprisingly realistic “fiction” novels about a kingdom of aquatic women attempting to redefine their relationship to the humans they once called prey...
All Mai Tai Chariot wants to do is join the swim team with her older brother Rum Punch. After spending so much of her childhood diving through the waves with Rum and her best friend Gin, Mai wants nothing more than to apply her talents for swimming on the school team.
However, for some reason, after a family trip to the beach reveals that Mai had inherited her mother Sandy’s siren gene, her dreams of joining the swim team are dashed. After all, Mai’s moms simply won’t allow her to get in the water when doing so will reveal their closely-kept family secret.
Mai is frustrated and dejected, but things get even worse when Gin begins to drift away from her. He claims it’s because he feels like she’s keeping secrets from him, which may be true, but Mai can also tell that Gin’s popular new friends are drawing him away.
So, Mai enters her freshman year of high school lonely. What’s worse, she learns that Gin is planning on joining the swim team too, adding insult to injury. Angry with her parents for restricting what she sees as her one opportunity to make friends and fit in, she sneaks into the swim team’s tryouts. In a practice race, she beats the snot out of all of her opponents - thanks to her siren tail.
And with that, Mai’s secret is out to the school. Now, not only is she barred from the swim team by her parents, the school has gotten in on it too. Plus, it’s not long before her identity as a siren gets out, and suddenly local and national news are interviewing her, people on the internet are harassing her and calling her a liar, and now even the friendly blue of the ocean waves don’t seem so kind anymore...
As Mai’s moms scramble to manage their teenage daughter revealing the existence of sirens to the world, Mai begins to receive threatening emails from a mysterious source, who knows far more about Mai and her family than is comfortable. Scared and lonelier than ever, Mai goes to the one person she can think of who isn’t connected to everything that has happened - Gin.
Remembering the friendship they once had, Gin agrees to help figure out the identity of the mysterious emailer, but asks Mai to keep their activities together a secret from the school, hoping to hold onto his popularity.
At the same time, Sandy is in the siren kingdom, planning their next move. Sandy and Aetna decide that the best bet is to use Angel’s knowledge and respect in the human world as an author to help bridge the gap. So, Angel begins to arrange speaking engagements for Aetna and other important siren figures with human news stations, hoping to educate the human world about the siren one
Meanwhile, Gin and Mai have found no leads on their mysterious emailer, but have grown far closer. Gin reveals that the reason he drifted away from Mai was because he had been bullied by the popular kids for so long that when they started to accept him, he couldn’t help but take the opportunity, even if it meant he had to leave his best friend behind. Mai asks if they could ever go back to the simple days when all they needed was to be happy together. Gin says he hopes they can.
The next evening, Angel and Sandy are away doing press, Rum is at swim practice, and Mai is watching her younger siblings alone. Suddenly, a mysterious figure breaks in and grabs Mai, pulling her into the ocean. Mai tries to fight back, but is knocked unconscious.
When she comes to, she is alone in an underwater cave. Unused to her siren form, she can do nothing but worriedly wait as her captor reveals herself... it’s the former Queen Melia. She reveals all that Mai’s family has done against her, raging against the current “half-blood” queen and revealing that such an abomination of human and siren offspring existing is a disgrace. She smugly lets Mai know that she is glad that it’s impossible for “half-blood” sirens to have children, anyway, as this means that Aetna’s rule will end in chaos.
Suddenly, Sandy bursts in and begins to fight her sister. Mai quickly escapes to a boat where Angel waits tearfully, glad to have her daughter safe. Unfortunately, in the struggle, both Sandy and her sister lose their lives.
Devastated, Mai and her family mourn, and Mai doesn’t come to school for a week. What’s worse, is the mysterious emailer is at it again. When Gin shows up at Mai’s door to help cheer her up, though, he spots a certain phrase in the email that makes him realize who the emailer is - it’s the swim team captain and Gin’s friend in the popular crowd, Root Beer. Gin, angry, goes to the school officials with the evidence, and Root Beer is expelled. Gin becomes the swim team in his stead, and he uses his influence to get Mai onto the swim team as well.
Meanwhile, Angel uses the story of Sandy’s ongoing bravery and sacrifice for the protection of humankind as a powerful example that sirens and humans can coexist, and for the first time, the world seems willing to listen, moved by the story. The new acceptance allows Mai to swim on the swim team... though she cannot compete unless other sirens join, she is allowed to practice and cheer on her teammates.
Gin denounces his former friends and he and Mai grow closer. They get married after graduating, but Mai is devastated to find out that the former Queen Melia’s words were true - she has difficulty getting pregnant. They decide to adopt a young siren girl named Violet Pear, hoping to give her a good home.
Then, a miracle happens. Mai becomes pregnant. She gives birth to her son, Orange Dream, but the pregnancy and birth takes a toll on her body. She begins practicing yoga to help with the aches and pains of her body, but her worried family knows they will have to find her more professional help sooner or later...
Kids (L to R): Rum Punch, Mai Tai (Gen 3 Heiress), Bay Breeze, Paloma Peach
Story:
Now a successful author, Angel Wing Chariot is known around the world for her hard-hitting environmental nonfiction as well as her famous YA series about a young siren girl who falls for a human woman and attempts to bring their disparate worlds together. Still close to her sister, Aetna, Angel hopes her popular writing will begin to open the hearts of the human populace to the struggle of the siren kingdom.
At her favorite writing spot on a little shake shack on the beach, Angel is intrigued by the mysterious waitress working there, who goes only by the name “Sandy,” a nickname given to her by the regulars. Angel mostly ignores the whispers and rumors about Sandy’s mysterious lifestyle until one evening, as the shack is closing, when Sandy pulls Angel aside and solemnly asks to talk to her.
Sandy tells her that she is a siren, and asks that Angel stop her writing. She explains that she and a few other sirens have been living on the land of Starfruit Island for years, keeping their human forms up and hiding their secret identities. Now, though, with Angel’s writing and Aetna’s push to unite the human and siren worlds, Sandy and her fellow land-dwelling sirens fear that the siren queen does not actually want to coexist with the humans - rather, she plans to severely wipe out the population of Starfruit Island as revenge for polluting their waters and killing so many of their kind. She suspects they hope to get closer to the humans only to betray them and kill them.
Angel is shocked, and starts to suggest talking to her sister, but Sandy swears Angel to secrecy, saying that she and her fellow land-dwelling sirens will be in danger if their locations and identities fall into the wrong hands in the siren kingdom.
Still, Angel is tortured by worry, and begins to question Aetna’s efforts. Aetna is confused at Angel’s sudden reluctance, and this drives a wedge between the sisters. At the same time, Angel continues to talk to Sandy after the shack closes every night, trying to get her story out of her. She refuses to reveal much personal information, but the two become closer, and begin spending time together every evening, often going on evening walks together on the beach.
However, one night, Aetna, returning home from the siren kingdom, spots the two of them walking one evening, and realizes she recognizes Sandy. After Sandy and Angel part, Aetna stops Angel and questions who Sandy is. Angel tries her best to keep the secret, but stops when Aetna harshly informs her that the woman she was walking with looks just like the siren queen - Queen Melia.
Horrified and confused that she was apparently being lied to, Angel prepares to confront Sandy the next day, but Sandy is nowhere to be found. Weeks pass and she does not return. Angel attempts to ask her coworkers at the shack, but they are just as confused and worried. So, Angel decides to make a trip to the Siren kingdom.
Angel asks Aetna if there is any way she can be brought to the siren kingdom. She pretends it is to research for her next novel, and manages to fool Aetna into revealing that a magical seaweed could give Angel the ability to survive underwater for a few hours. The sisters make the long voyage out to sea, finally coming to the Siren kingdom. Angel manages to secure a meeting with the queen under the guise of further research.
However, when she finally meets Queen Melia, she realizes that she is not Sandy. She looks a great deal like her, but a jagged scar on the Queen’s face gives her away. On a tour of the siren castle, however, Angel spots a familiar figure rapidly swimming into one of the bedrooms. Angel goes after her, breaking away from the queen and the tour guides. Angel pursues Sandy out of the castle and through the Siren kingdom, finally cornering her on the outskirts of the kingdom. Angel demands to know what is going on, when suddenly, the seaweed wears off. Angel’s temporary siren tail vanishes, and she begins to drown.
She wakes up on a lonely stretch of beach. She looks up to see Sandy next to her - she has saved her. Sandy urges her to rest - she nearly died - and explains her true identity. Sandy’s real name is Xanthe Melia, and she is the disgraced twin sister of the siren queen. Once the first in line to the throne, Sandy’s soft-hearted distaste for hunting humans and unhappiness as the heir to the throne caused her to run away to live her own life on land. Unfortunately, when Aetna, confronted Queen Melia about her so-called relationship with Angel, she knew immediately that her missing sister’s location had been discovered, and quickly demanded she return to the siren kingdom.
Sandy reveals that she is not the only siren on land or at sea to have sympathy for the humans, but that her sister, the queen, was not one such siren. Angel apologizes for having revealed Sandy’s identity, and Sandy softly forgives her, saying that she is perhaps more useful to protecting humankind in the siren kingdom, where she can keep a close eye on her sister’s actions. The two share the evening together on that beautiful beach, and the next morning Angel wakes up in her bed.
Months pass of Angel not seeing Sandy. But, she becomes pregnant with Sandy’s baby, and gives birth to their son, Rum Punch. She attempts to get news of Sandy from Aetna, but otherwise keeps quiet about Sandy’s attempts to protect humankind, hoping not to blow her cover.
A year passes, and one evening, while walking home from the shack, Sandy steps out from the waves. Thrilled, Angel runs into her arms, and Sandy whispers that a coup has unseated her sister. She does not say that the coup was her own doing, but Angel can read between the lines. Sandy also reveals that she has given up the throne to the siren she thinks is the most capable leader... Aetna.
With a ruler who is truly pro-human (as she is half-human herself), Sandy has deemed it safe to live with her love, Angel. The two are wed with all of their family (including Aetna) in attendance. Together, the pair have three more children: Mai Tai, and identical twins Bay Breeze and Paloma Peach
