Inspired by BoJack Horseman s05; e05: "The Amelia Earhart Story." Happy early America day (and a belated Canada day). I know that I haven't made anything for Canada yet, but I'm going to soon. I was actually planning to make something revolving around them both but I didn't end up finishing it before this.
Still trying to decide if I want to eventually merge all of these into one work on here. I think I'll post them as stand alones and then put them all together into the collection that is is on AO3 (admittedly, I'm unhappy that fanfiction/net doesn't have the same style of organization as the archive). Enjoy this shot oneshot. :)
Amelia Jones loved the sky.
When it's vast blue, when clouds are scattered far and wide, as far as the eye can see, when it's red and orange and purple, and especially when it's dark and lit up with the lights of distant stars, of the moon—it was an entirely different world than what was down below as well as the abyss that was beyond.
It was an escape. This different world was a safe place.
When she was angry, or sad, or hopeless, she always took to the skies. The wind and the occasional seasonal flock of birds were just enough company in the empty space she could go to clear her head when times got tough, when it was too much to bear, when it was difficult to think. When it was hard to stop, to take a breath and focus.
Her father had never approved, naturally. He wanted to keep her safe, she knew—he made a point to imply to her past lovers that he knew how to handle weapons for a reason—but this "safety" was stifling. It was controlling, and in its attempts to suppress her fire it only made it stronger.
The sky was freeing. Being so high up above everyone else in the physical sense so that she could feel that way mentally, competitively, looking down and seeing the miniscule houses situated atop of multi-colored squares of land that made up the countryside she was floating over. Weightless, and yet powerful nonetheless.
Soaring with purpose and yet aimless all the same, drifting away from everyone without much of a goal other than "feel better," come back to them refreshed and being herself once again.
A drug. It felt like a drug, the high that she got was addictive and left her seeking more, greedy. It was even better being something forbidden.
She was unstoppable, leader of the sky here as well as in her community below her. Below, everyone felt so far below her it made her giddy. She was the leader, the "Alpha," the best of the best, and this plane she was seated in now proved that.
But it wasn't just planes, it was any sort of air travel that got her blood pumping. Minus a few points if she wasn't the one in control, and bonus points if she was. But that usually wasn't what concerned her.
Her favorite thing, even above airplanes, was hot air balloons. The science was alright, sure, but she was in it for the view. You could see everything, everything. The boost almost seemed unhealthy.
Superiority complex aside, she was also very willing to help people. It wasn't that she felt they were inferior when she helped, but the warm blossom that filled her heart with joy when she did something good. Being leader up high, where no one was around to see her rapacity, was much different for her than being leader on the ground, using her leadership to guide others toward a better future. It felt just as good if not better than the feeling of dominating everything and everyone for a purpose that only served her.
It made her powerful in a way that was different than having command over everything, she thought. And, perhaps, she would use that other power in a way that would correlate with the sky as well, sharing her passion and her gift in a way that would be beneficial to not just herself but to the people around her.
Perhaps, one day.