#also excuse the translations

[milorits]

Map of Eternia

Finally did some cartography and made a map of my world Eternia. They're based of of seasons!

Carrd

[gurinpotte]

“

love me in the snow, love me in the sun, love me, the beige skin among the flowers of red" ∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄

Inspired in part by beloved Gravity, by @katnissmellarkkk and by Roi, by Videoclub! The song doesn't have the everlark vibes per se but the lyrics are so cute and very snapshot like. The fic is perfect, very natural paced and full of longing, 100% recommend!!! Please do zoom in for hi-res, gave my life and tears for this one 💖

[mxtxfanatic]

While flipping through mdzs to verify some stray thoughts of mine, I happened to fall into a translation discrepancy that I feel really, really emphasizes how important it is to have a proper grasp on the language you are translating before translating for a public audience.

Now before we get too deep into this, I want to reiterate that I am someone who does not understand Mandarin in any form but has been reading translations (both by humans and machines) for a few years now. However, because I have been reading translations that tend to follow the Mandarin more closely in grammar and because I haven't shied away from reading machine-made or bad human translations, I have noticed some places where mistranslations from Mandarin to English are common: pronouns, verb-subject matching, negatives, prepositions, and conjunctions. For this post, we will be focusing on the latter two.

In the lead-up to the Wen invasion of Lotus Pier, we are given a scene where Madam Yu whips Wei Wuxian, and in this scene, we are given a glimpse as to Madam Yu's average punishments towards the young ward.

While Madam Yu always pelted him with hostile words, she’d never really hit him hard before—two or three lashes at most, or being made to kneel or confined indoors, and it never took Jiang Fengmian long to release him from that.

—Vol. 3, Chapt. 12: Sandu: The Three Poisons, 7seas

In the past, although Madam Yu had always come at him with harsh words, she had never truly been cruel to him. The most that he’d been through were two or three strikes and being grounded. He’d also be let out by Jiang FengMian soon later.

—Chapt. 57: Poisons, exr

Reading these back-to-back, it should be very clear that though the same section is being translated from the same exact source, these translations do not say the same thing. The official stresses that Madam Yu had never hit Wei Wuxian "that hard" before, as well as saying that his punishments were a few lashes OR being made to kneel OR being confined, three separate punishments never taken together according to this diction. The exr translation, however, states that Madam Yu had "never truly been cruel to him" (emphasis mine) and that him being whipped was in addition to being confined. The emphasis on the strength of her lashings is absent, but an emphasis on the intent behind her actions—that she never meant to be honestly cruel to her ward—is established in its stead. (While this section as translated by exr does not mention kneeling, later scenes reflecting on Wei Wuxian's childhood in Lotus Pier do.)

Both of these translations... are wrong.

If we give exr the benefit of the doubt by virtue of being the original completed English translation of mdzs, then the official 7seas release should automatically raise red flags for the ways it seems to directly contradict the narrative that has existed for a few years before the novel was licensed. It doesn't help that the official has been riddled with many mistranslations and omissions from the very first volume, lowering any credibility it would otherwise have to stand on. But if we were to examine the rest of the exr translation, then the emphasis on Madam Yu's intent also rings false given the fact that we are told over and over again in this same translation that 1) Madam Yu is, in fact, unnecessarily, illogically, and erratically mean-spirited and cruel, and 2) Wei Wuxian knows this even at this time in his life (shoutout to the Lotus Pod Seeds extra) and understands her actions as targeted cruelty. What does the actual text say, then?

Although Madam Yu always spoke ill of him before, her hand had never been this viciously cruel. At most, she whipped him two or three times and ordered him to kneel down and be confined to his room, and he would be released by Jiang Fengmian sometime later.

—@jiangwanyinscatmom (emphasis mine)

Madam Yu has never been "as cruel" as in that moment when whipping Wei Wuxian, because normally she only whips him 2-3 times. She would whip him a few times and send him to the ancestral hall to kneel and be in confinement, which matches up to the memories that Wei Wuxian reflects on in other parts of the novel. This translation gets rid of the character inconsistencies that the other two translations create. So how did we get here? Remember how I pointed out those common Mandarin-to-English translation mistakes? Well, both the exr and 7seas translations fall into the trap of confusing conjunctions and prepositions. That's how we get a list of punishments rather than an order of events for a singular punishment type. That's how we get "not truly cruel" instead of "not as cruel." That's how we get these sections contradicting what we know about Madam Yu's personality and behavior from the rest of the novel through those two translations. Unfortunately, both translation teams just happened to flub in the same area in slightly different ways, and while I'm willing to give a multi-lingual grade-school student translating in their spare time the benefit of the doubt, a paid translator with a translation team hired by a professional publishing house should have better quality control than a spare-time hobbyist.

Also, just in case anyone wants more proof on what mxtx meant for us to take away about Madam Yu's treatment of Wei Wuxian from this scene, it was also apparently so important to mxtx for readers to know that Madam Yu was truly cruel to Wei Wuxian during his childhood that the act of her routinely whipping him whenever he was in her presence was something that was added into the revised mdzs. It was not in the original unedited version of the novel.

In the past, although Lady Yu always insulted or patronized him, she never laid a hand on him. At worst, she’d make him kneel for prolonged periods of time, but he’d always get bailed out by Jiang FengMian after a while.

—Chapt. 57. Act 12: Sandu/Three Poisons, Part 2, qinghe-nie

[wolfram-but-art]

i'm suffering so he suffers with me

[makiswirl]

can i just say. and this is probably a niche hill to die on. that i am so gobsmacked every time someone vaguely hints at the idea that jotaro doesn't care meaningfully for the other crusaders, usually particularly kakyoin and joseph, when those two actually tend to be the ones he reacts to being hurt the hardest

like he cares for his loved ones!!!! that literally plays into his character motives in every single part he shows up in!!! stop lying to me!!!!!!!

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 787: The back that was pushed!!

Pag 1

1: Packed with the passion of everyone in Sohoku... a full throttle injection of will-power!!

Pag 2

1: Iitsuka-san!!

Goo Fukuoka!!

Oh, Tomaribata!!

Fukuoka, take the mountain!!

2: What about Hakogaku's Manami!?

3: Don't worry about him. He did catch up to me but then suddenly stopped

When I shouted at him, he closed his eyes and fell silent!!

4: Is it because he found out that Iitsuka-san is Fukuoka Josei's “mountain shogun”?

Yeah, probably!!

Amazing!!

5: Let's take the lead now!!

Ahead there's also Fujiwara-san from the Kyuushu team Kumadai!!

6: But anyway for a moment I was so scared....

Pag 3

1: When Hakogaku sent ahead their ace Manami!!

2: I can hear it

4: The first day's mountain prize!! Let's take it, at our hometown's Inter High!!

5: Wait....!!

6: “The sound of wheels”? “He's catching up”?

Could it be that Manami is waiting for someone?

Pag 4

1: And that's why he slowed down....!?

2: Raise your pace, Tomaribata!!

4: We're still at the start of the mountain, if we use up our legs here....

It's fine, we'll establish a good distance now

Huh!? But

Think, idiot!! If you think about it, you'll get it!! The person Manami slowed his legs down to wait for....

Pag 5

1: It's Sohoku's “Mountain King”!!

Pag 8

1: Mountain King!!

2: Fo-fo-for the first day's mountain!?

Why even the Mountain King, even the Mountain King!!

I don't know!! I don't know but that doesn't change the reality!!

3: Last year so many times we couldn't race each other

So I thought that maybe this year too...

4: What do I do if he doesn't come, I thought....

5: I was scared

6: For a while I couldn't even open my eyes

Pag 9

2: I caught up

4: Thank god it's real!!

Pag 10

1: You came, Sakamichi-kun

Yeah!! Manami-kun!!

Pag 11

1: Can we race?

2: Yes!!

Pag 12

3: Everyone in the team pushed my back!!

Pag 13

1: Onoda-kun!!

2: He should have caught up with Manami around now!!

3: Onoda-san!!

4: Hahaha!!

5: Back-gate slope-senpai!!

6: At full throttle!!

At full throttle!!

Run!!

Please run!!

Pag 14

1: Nghh...!!

2: “Nghhh” it's right!!

3: Ahaha

Hahaha

They're suddenly laughing, let's raise our pace!!

Yes!!

4: It was during your training camp on our first year

5: When we raced for the first time

6: I remember I was so excited when I heard that our names were “Sakamichi” and “Sangaku”

It's the perfect combo!!

Pag 15

1: I was surprised you didn't even have your feet fastening on

We stopped at the summer house and talked

2: We were so free back then!!

We didn't have any responsibility, not teams nor jerseys!!

3: Ahaha

4: When you're in second and third year the things you have to do increases so much....

5: I'd throw this “captain” title away anytime!!

Hahaha I get it, it's difficult for me too

Pag 16

1: If someone on my team heard that they would get angry

Doubashi-kun especially would get angry!!

Sounds scary...

4: You're wearing the number “3”

Ah, yeah, uhm, we talked with everyone on the team

Huh.... on official races the winner of the previous year should wear the number “1”

5: I see, leave it to me then

I'll push through, hahaha!!

Thank you!!

Is.. is that alright?

Waa, Pierre-sensei is so reliable!!

6: Your teacher....!!

Then...

7: Yeah, “3” like Makishima-san's “173”

Pag 17

1: I'm also wearing Toudou-san's number “13”

2: “Sleeping beauty”!!

Kuah!! Toudou!!

Pag 18

1: That day, the first day of the Inter High two years ago

2: While we were pulling the team, I imagined those two fighting for the mountain prize....

3: I'm sure they must be having fun

Fighting until you're empty

It can't not be fun!!

4: We can't go right now, but let's do it

A fight until the last drop, until our limits!!

Yeah!!

5: We promised to race

Today may be the day to truly make that wish....

Pag 19

1: come true!!

Pag 20

1: Our third year, the last Inter High

2: The first day.... a fight to compete only for the colored bib

3: The purity of this race is infinitely high!!

4: Yeah!!

Pag 21

5: Let's do it, Manami-kun!!

Pag 22

2: I've been waiting to hear those words!!

[mi-xin]

just a day like another in Rattay

[jyfrnd]

"She's calling out to me. I can feel it." / "Sora saved me once. And...I heard him call my name. He needs me."

[fluffypotatey]

To be honest I am a huge Nalu shipper. But the thing is I want to know the difference between the way Natsu cares about his guildmates and Lucy. Like what is the obvious difference since that boy sees every as Nakama so how can we say that the wag he cares about Lucy is different?

Like even when Erza passed away? (All the way back in first season there was a segment where the guild was gathered at her grave and all) Natsu was still very reactive. Plus he was also said to be depressed even when Lisanna passed.

What's the difference between all of them and Lucy?

the fact that he stayed. the fact that before he met Lucy, Natsu wasn't one to stay in a group or even want to work with anyone besides Happy at the start of the story. hell, he was ready to just file Lucy down as "New Guildmate" once they reached Fairy Tail

but then, Lucy doesn't leave. she follows him on his mission to save Macao despite her not needing to or even really understanding everything about it. she stays and then fights with him and saves him. it's no secret that Natsu is strong and can take care of himself really well. he's been going on solo missions for years now, and no one has really stopped him, but that means he's been in a lot of sticky situations where he and Happy are on their own and have no backup. and yet, without asking, Lucy offers it

and i think this is the moment when Natsu considers that maybe it's okay to have someone there to have his back (sans Happy)

"but Natsu only needed Lucy for the next quest because of the requirements," well, Natsu also wouldn't have taken or even considered that quest if it weren't for Lucy, yeah? he was not a team player (in the picking job's sense) or really wanted other people to help him on his quests sans Happy. and then he goes and picks a job that caters to their team whilst ensuring that Lucy can't say no

or maybe i'm reading too much into it 🤷🏻‍♀️

or maybe Natsu's got horrible abandonment issues that he will latch onto people so fast (Igneel & Lisanna) but also cause him to distance himself so far when left behind (his 1st time at the guild, Lisanna's death). Erza and Gray are Natsu's closet friends after Lisanna and yet they cannot reach him when he closes himself off. and then we have Lucy, who stuck by and had his back, so who is to say Natsu didn't make some contingencies to ensure whether or not she'd join him?

but maybe it's the rose, colored ship glasses i have on

because yeah, Natsu cares for all of his guildmates. the power of friendship is his biggest motivator. when we meet Natsu, our first introductions of him is defending his guild's reputation from Bora (who was using it as a guise for human trafficking) and saving Macao. and our 1st big arc (Galuna Island), where Natsu adamantly refuses to allow Gray to use Ice Shell and sacrifice himself despite how antagonistic they've been to each other. we get Natsu 100% at Erza's defense throughout the Tower of Heaven and he is even ready to defend Wendy though they only met hours ago

Natsu is a character with a bleeding heart and cannot help but wear it on his sleeve, but we don't really see him allow others to fight his battles or have his back until Lucy comes in. to be honest, i don't even think he had his heart on his sleeve until Lucy. he still has a bleeding heart (i don't think anything could stop that), but he was not ready to be open in receiving company because he was so used to it being ripped away from him

that being said: of all the characters he interacts with, he finds Lucy to be someone compatible enough for him to start going on team missions and inviting her on them (for example, his 1st S-class mission, which he stole, he went to her house to show it to her. the fact that part of the reward was a celestial key might be a coincidence, but i wouldn't doubt it as Natsu and Happy's trump card in case she refused)

but yeah, the difference is that he stayed and didn't push her away at the beginning, but instead continued to invite her along with him to the point that doing a mission without Lucy wasn't his regular anymore. compared to the rest of the guild, of whom he spent most of his childhood with, even if he spoke to no one, they would still be around and talk to him anyway. he might not invite them on job and only challenge them to fights, but the guild is his home and a constant in his life, a constant he needs (bc heavy abandonment issues).

"okay, but he still pushed her away after he watched Igneel die right in front of him. and he left the guild for a whole year, too. so what's the difference there?" you may ask.

so 1) Natsu never thought the guild would disband. he returns to Fiore after a year and is the last to know that they disbanded. he assumed, like all the other times before and while he and others were sealed for 7 years, that Fairy Tail would still be there when he returned. he assumed that his disappearance would not impact so hard because the guild would still be around and Lucy would have the others with her

which, did not happen :)

and like, so many guild members go off on jobs, quests, or even just leave for an indiscriminate amount of time (which i, personally, believe was his rationality for leaving), so him being gone for a year was nothing! right? no harm, eh? his plan was never to be gone forever :))))

2) he just watched his father die and lose any chance of having some semblance of a long term reunion with Igneel. he literally lost one of his main driving motivations for getting stronger and taking jobs. before Fairy Tail, before anyone, it was Igneel. and to learn that a) Igneel was always with him to begin with and b) he only got to see him for less than a day after 14 years of nothing......i would feel lost too ngl

man's needed space from everybody. and he also needed comfort, but Natsu has been shown not to really be the character who asks to receive comfort (and when he does receive it, it's usually when he's already emotionally compromised). he is in the habit of shutting people out after being abandoned or losing someone close to him, with his next rationale being to "get stronger" in order to prevent what happened in the past to ever happen in the future.

anyway

what makes this different? well for one, he sent the letter only to Lucy (or it's implied since no one else is shown getting one) because of how the two spend most of their time together. even the line that goes with the panel makes it sound like Natsu is unsure on how the note will be received (maybe even hesitant? but that could be my own hopes)

and one of the 1st people he reunites with after a year is Lucy and we get such a similar parallel to the first chapter of Fairy Tail between the two as if the narrative itself is slotting them together to say "ah yes, now everything is back to normal and new journeys can begin"

but yeah, this is just a long way of saying, that Natsu does love his friends and guildmates but even when he is close to them, he kept to himself (and Happy) and sort of stayed in their orbit but always with some emotional distance because of his fear of abandonment. and then you have Lucy where he will stay for and allow her to orbit around him and he will invite to new adventures no questions asked

that's the difference

[per1w1nkl3]

apparently like a month after stevenson published his book a magazine published a parody called "the strange case of dr t and mr h" where 'stutterson' loves eating for free and his friends' houses and talks wayy too much, dr 'trekyl' transforms into mr 'hideandseek' after some whisky and soda, everyone tries to shut stutterson up before he spoils the ending and in the end trekyl goes 'yeah I could've split myself into three or four other people but two is already too much for 140 pages that cost a shelling'

[sees-text-shenans]

Okay so it's extremely funny seeing Fuuka talk about the high cut armor "giving" good protection since in reload it has no stats and is just an outfit (like persona 5) and it's funny that Yukari just wears it sometimes, she just wants to wear it, it provides no good stats whatsoever

LMAO HAHA I KNOW 😭 i feel like yukari would despise but like it and still wear it because she moves around to fight a lot better in tartarus so she blames minato and kotone 💀 fuuka’s so embarrassed by the armor but she’s never worn anything like it so she’s probably curious as to how the other girls can wear it so easily like “does it really offer better defense?”

[belletroxa]

i think that it's a canon event for neurodivergent art theater kids that hyperfixate in pwaa to draw something involving both legally blonde and ace attorney, and now it is MY TURN TO SHINE!

[mari-lair]

It’s wild when I see people say Aoi is written only to be Akane’s love interest, cause Akane never hid that he is her boy.

He goes the extra mile just for a hint of her attention and had given the classic childhood friend heroine speech of "I’ll love my crush even if they never look my way."

It's framed as a joke but he is genuinely happy as long as Aoi exist, he can enjoy his life and look forward to all his days no matter how shitty they are (Teru bullies him, the clock keepers work him dry, he gets rejected constantly, and so on,) as long as Aoi is alive and happy.

He is ridiculously easy to please when it comes to Aoi.

And while Aoi does loves Akane, visibly being affected by him: As seen by her possessive attitude, her wish to be closer to him, and the way his hard work influenced her, she doesn’t try or want her world to revolve around him.

Yes, she will cry and crumble if he doesn’t like her because she cares deeply, their relationship is a solid part of her character, but she has plenty of hobbies and plans without him, most of her problems are caused by herself or society's views and expectations of her, she wouldn’t do what Akane asks of her or change for him, not unless he is asking for something she also wants for herself.

Let’s compare how they talk about each other for a bit.

The only time Aoi talks about her feelings for Akane is in chapter 84, which is very far into the manga.

And this exposition shows her envious and insecure side, how she admires kindness and wishes she was as lovable: It shows a conflict that says as much about Aoi’s character as it does about Akane’s character.

Meanwhile, Akane consistently talks about her, and most of his expositions don’t offer any substance to his character, other than “he is in love”.

The only exposition that says as much about himself as it does about Aoi is the one in chapter 24, which shows he stalks her, and Aoi encourages it, since she trusts him, and unfortunately, she have been in need of constant protection from a young age:

Even when Akane explicitly says he’ll talk about himself.

He doesn’t.

He  proceeds to spend the whole chapter talking about Aoi.

The only thing he says about himself in that entire rant is “I hate that part of you”, which he later admits was a lie, something that he used to have her stay and listen.

He isn’t just her boy, he has a life outside her, a very busy life.

As Aoi put it, “He works hard and is dutiful.” which mostly translates to ‘helpful and trust worthy’, so he is constantly seen giving other characters advise that works or making them snap out of their bullshit: He is the reliable one.

His classmates respect him , Teru trusts his judgement, and hell even Kou, who barely interacted with Akane had called him and not a close friend like Nene, when he felt powerless and needed help.

But no matter how seriously he may take his duties or want to help people, Akane has decided he was born to love and protect Aoi.

That’s his priority, always.

His only long term goals involve Aoi, he devoted all his heart and soul to her.

If she wanted Akane to change his style to clothes he would never wear on his own, or make him get into new hobbies, or tell him to score lower than her, he would do it right away: He is comfortable being her boy, he’ll throw his pride away with no hesitation for her and do anything to make her happy to an extreme even most ‘heroines’ I see wouldn’t cross.

The one thing Aoi made VERY clear despite never saying out loud is “Keep your eyes on me. Don’t flirt with anyone else.” and that’s a wish that Akane took to heart, to the point that he is the only character that stays ‘loyal’ to his love interest even on silly extra events, like the ‘kiss day’ arts.

Everyone else send a kiss, no matter if they have a love interest or not, since is just a fun little bonus.

Akane only starts to touch her when he is confident Aoi likes him too: When he assumes she wants him, before that he always kept a certain distance, understanding he ain’t entitled to shit just because they are childhood friends.

Akane is far from perfect, he can be selfish and self centered, his approach to help usually tactless, but at his core, he always seek to do what Aoi wants, no questions asked.

His devotion is extreme to the point of being unhealthy, but he isn’t lying or trying to please Aoi here: As long as she is alive, and enjoying life, he will be delighted doing any of the things she wants. Her best hairstyle in his eyes is always the one she chose to style, the best clothes are always the ones she wants to wear.

There is nothing he likes more than her. Or to make her happy.

Even what Akane loves to do the most, which is to gush about Aoi nonstop until he looks batshit insane, is something that she had encouraged and never complained, no matter how much it escalated, so he was convinced she loved the attention.

Once she is honest and admits she doesn’t like it, he immediately tries to drop it.

He still has an ‘I was born to love you’ mentally, he just stop putting on a show, or trying to make her heart flutter. Most of his displays of worry, affection, or ‘ill protect you’ became either quiet or casual.

...Still.

He can’t help but show his love loudly from time to time, he is cringe at heart, truly hopeless, but he is trying his best.

In short: Aoi is in desperate need for more character focus, but the one determined to make their life revolve around their love interest is clearly Akane.

[mel-loly]

-Happy Easter..💛

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 780: The sprint at 100m left!!

Pag 1

1: Hakogaku and Sohoku finally caught him!! They lined up to Gunma!!

There are 100m left until the sprint line!!

Pag 2

1: We caught up to you with the solidarity of road racing!!

2: Seriously? This situation is really bad!!

3: Get out of the way!! MTB guy!!

Pag 3

1: The next 100m!!

Pag 4

1: Are for us top sprinters!!

Pag 5

2: They lined up to me and then moved ahead right away!!

3: To avoid doing that, I'd move back when we're all in a line and count “three seconds”!?

4: Whoa!! They saw through me!!

5: As expected from the speed experts!!

But aren't you forgetting something?

Pag 6

1: It has nothing to do with road racing or MTB

If someone is running in front of you, you want to chase them

2: That's an “impulse”

3: that everyone who rides a bike has!!

Pag 7

2: I won't let you do as you please either!! San-na!!

3: I've worked for a year for this

Pag 8

1: I ran in the storms, facing the wind!!

Horuaaa will you lose!?

2: 100m left!!

I'll win!!

I'll win against you!!

3: For sure!!

I'll make you say “I'll get my revenge”!!

4: 70m left!!

5: 60m left!!

Pag 9

2: My legs!? They hurt so much!?

3: But I'm not worried!!

I haven't raised them to be so soft that they would stop just for something like this!!

4: One more time

Bloom, “golden yellow”!!

Pag 10

2: I won't yield to you either, Orange!!

3: I won't yield to anyone!!

I've come 'til here!! I'll take it!!

4: I'll win the first result two years in a row!!

Pag 11

1: Doubashi-san!!

Please take it, Masikyo-senpai!!

Doubashi-saaan!!

2: Hosoda, Kajimoto, Mori, Taniguchi, and even the Saimon siblings – you're all here?

3: Watch this, you all

Inside the course at Hakone Academy...

The meaning of running here

4: It's neither honor nor authority

Pag 12

1: It means to win and prove Hakogaku's worth!!

Pag 13

1: Three people are pushing on!!

2: Pedal!!

3: Pedal!!

4: Pedal!!

5: 50m left!!

Pag 14

1: Here, Gunma, who had a late start

Pag 15

1: caught up to them again!!

Pag 16

1: Huh!?

2: You...

3: They're lined up again!!

Pag 17

1: 40m left!!

2: 30m!!

3: Seriously!?

4: I thought we left this guy behind earlier!?

5: I thought we brought this to a one-on-one between me and Orange!?

6: Does he want to prove MTB's worth so much?

What is he running for

Pag 18

1:It's so hard he's breathless and his body is shaking!!

2: Why are you trying so hard to win!?

Pag 19

3: Well

Pag 20

1: Because there's a small kid cheering for me!!

3: Amazing.....!!

[adaines-furious-feast]

Baron's Game: Fabian Seacaster

Still waiting on AO3 invite, but I can't get this out of my head. Sorry it's so long.

The dust stung Fabian’s eye. He screwed it shut and went to rub it when a loud, low sound vibrated through the room. There was a sudden silence and Fabian became painfully aware of his own breathing.  

When he opened his eye again, Fabian was alone. 

The silence continued, almost smothering him. 

Fabian laughed uncertainly, looking around the room. 

“Guys?” 

The silence swallowed his voice almost as soon as it left his mouth. 

“Hello?” 

Fabian scanned the room for any clues, mentally going through his spells to find something that might help. 

Movement out of the corner of his eye made Fabian spin around. 

A full length mirror stood in the corner, leaning against the wall. Cobwebs clung to it, but the face was eerily clear of dust. 

He approached slowly, not sure what to expect. 

Fabian found his friends reflected in the mirror. They were talking, but Fabian couldn’t hear anything. Their hand movements indicated they were planning something. Someone waved into the far corner and Fabian realised he was standing there. No, something that looked like him. It joined the conversation and agreed to whatever was being planned. 

A thud made Fabian jump out of his skin and he spun around. 

Slowly, a small orange ball rolled out from behind some boxes. The sound of it rolling span around the room and Fabian’s head. 

“What the-” 

Fabian approached gingerly, his hand on his sword hilt. It wasn’t a ball. It was an orange. He reached out and picked up the orange, and only then realised the far side was rotten. He instinctively dropped the orange, which smashed as it hit the floor. The rotten flesh scattered across the floor.  

Another nervous laugh escaped Fabian’s lips, only to be immediately swallowed by the silence again. 

Fabian turned back to the mirror. 

“Jesus Christ!” 

The skeleton creature was now in the reflection, standing directly in front of the mirror. It stood with its hands behind its back, head shifted to one side and a perfect smile on its face. 

“What the fuck?” 

“Do not be afraid, Fabian Seacaster,” the skeleton boy said. It’s mouth did not move. “I am not going to hurt you. Not just yet.” 

“What the fuck are you?” 

“I am Baron,” the boy said. 

“O... kay...” Fabian said slowly, backing away from the mirror. 

“It is good to meet you, Fabian Seacaster,” Baron said. “I believe I have you to thank for my existence.” 

Fabian didn’t say anything, continuing to edge towards the door. He kept Baron in his sight, as if the creature might jump out of the mirror if he looked away.  

When Fabian didn’t reply, Baron stayed silent. The silence seemed to get louder, violently pushing on Fabian’s eardrums. 

He reached the door and ripped it open, preparing to run. But when he turned to face it, he found nothing. There was no corridor, no room, no outside. It wasn’t darkness. It was just a void. 

“It is very rude to run away during a conversation, Fabian Seacaster,” Baron said. “The conversation will always find you.” 

“What the fuck?” Fabian said again. It was all he could think to say. Every other thought he had was drowned out by the question. He heard it on every breath he took as he began to hyperventilate.  

“It would seem you are in the mirror,” Baron said. “You have met a terrible fate. Only wat is reflected in the mirror exists. I am sorry I had to put you here. It is important to the game.” 

“What game?” Fabian asked, trying to make his voice sound powerful. And failing. 

“You will see,” Baron said cheerfully.  

Baron sat down, their legs crossed. They leaned their chin against their hands, leaning forward so their head was almost touching the mirror.  

“What do you want?” Fabian asked. 

“To talk,” Baron said. “You are the friend of my Romance Partner, Riz Gukgak, and responsible for my existence. I would like to get to know you.” 

“And then you’ll let me go?” Fabian asked. 

“Eventually,” Baron said. 

Fabian looked around the room again, but no new ideas came to him. “Fine.” 

The answer seemed to please Baron. “I would like to play a game of question and answer.” 

“What’s that?” 

“I will ask you a question, and you will answer,” Baron said. “Then I will answer any question you have.” 

Fabian looked around again. “O...kay...” 

“Why did you lie about seeking a relationship with Aelwyn Abernant?” Baron asked. 

Fabian frowned again, trying to figure out what on Spyre the freaky creature was talking about. 

“I didn’t,” Fabian said. “I mean, I’m a cool guy and she’s a hot girl so I wanted...” Fabian’s stomach heaved and he doubled over before vomiting. 

“You should not lie, Fabian Seacaster,” Baron warned. “If you do, there will be grave consequences.” 

When Fabian looked up, a crack had appeared in the mirror, crossing Baron’s face and slicing through his empty eye socket. 

“I didn’t,” Fabian tried before vomiting again. “Fine, I did but... I’m supposed to get in a relationship with a hot girl. And she kissed me!” 

Fabian breathed heavily, wiping drool on the back of his hand. 

Baron sat still, waiting. 

“Why do you care?” Fabian asked, glaring at him. 

“You lied about a relationship, which made your friend, Riz Gukgak, lie about a relationship,” Baron said. “But rather than choosing someone he knew would never date him, Riz Gukgak created me, his Romance Partner.” 

“Why would the Ball-” 

Baron tutted, wagging a boney finger at Fabian. 

“It is my turn to ask a question. If you believe you should be in a relationship, why do you reject those that wish to be in a relationship with you, Fabian Seacaster?” 

“Because I don’t want a relationship,” Fabian said, speaking quickly so he could get to his question. “Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to.” 

Baron cocked his head, apparently surprised by how quickly Fabian spoke. 

“I want you to think about these answers,” Baron said. “There are few things more horrifying than what you really are, Fabian Seacaster. It has already pushed away your parents. It will not be long before those you call your friends will leave too.” 

Fabian’s eye was closed. His grip on Fandrangor tightened. If he was trapped in the mirror, there was only one way to get out of here. 

He was suddenly thrown to the floor. His eye burst open and he found Ragh on top of him, shouting something.  

Fabian found himself in Adaine’s room, his friends around him.  

The memory of the mirror world slipped from his mind as he tried to understand what had happened. But there was something digging deep in his subconsciousness that was not going to disappear.