#and that's all five days done phew /lies down

[svenituse]

Day 5: Apple Pie

For the #ThanksYRH_6YearsLCF event on Twitter

[rainbowsalt0412]

Osamu Dazai’s Entrance Exam - Prologue

What are ideals?

There are innumerable answers to that question. One could say it’s merely a term, or an idea, or perhaps even the source of all meaning. But if you ask me, the answer is obvious. It’s the word written on the cover of my notebook.

My notebook has all the answers. It is my creed, my master, and a prophet that guides me. At times, it can be either a weapon or a solution.

Ideals.

Everything I am is written in this notebook, which I always carry with me. My entire future lies within it, from what I’m eating for dinner to where I’m moving five years from now, from my list of tomorrow’s tasks for work to the cheapest radish prices in the district. My plans, projects, objectives, policies—they’re all there, waiting for me to bring them to fruition.

I would even argue that this notebook is like my personal prophecy. My ideals are always inside—all I need to do is follow them. My future is under my control as long as I stick to the plans within this notebook. Control of my future—what promising words.

However—No matter how brilliant an ideal may be, if the path to realization is too far, then the light at the end is nothing more than an illusion, and those ideals—meaningless. Thus, the quickest path to fulfillment is inscribed on the first page of my notebook:

“Do what must be done.”

My name is Doppo Kunikida, an idealist who lives in reality, a realist who pursues ideals.

And this is a record of the struggles between a man who yearns for the realization of ideals and a new hire destined to interfere with them.

***

7th

Around three days have passed since I wrote a new page in my notebook.

What happened during that time is as follows:

Takekoshi came to my house. We took a stroll under the moonlight together.

Hacker Rokuzo Taguchi contacted me back regarding the foreign ship.

I ate a pear. It wasn’t sweet.

I mustn’t let petty things bother me.

Ah, I wish for nothing more than to do what is right.

“Stop right there!”

I chase the offender through the city of Yokohama. Mirthful vendors hawking at their stands, crowds of people talking in the streets, customers begging for discounts, and the sound of rickshaws riding east and west over the pavement: The busy shopping arcade is as boisterous as ever. If someone was to start a fight on the right side of the street, the people on the left side wouldn’t even notice, I’m sure.

I push through the clamor in pursuit of a criminal, a real lowlife. He made a scene at the jewelers’ before taking off with some merchandise. Mere baubles, but his third robbery earned him a request for his arrest.

I pursue the criminal after catching him on his fourth offense, but he has a good pair of legs on him, not once slowing down. We pass the market. I continue to cut through the rowdy streets, hunting down my prey until he disappears into a narrow back road.

“You better keep up, newcomer!” I yell to my colleague running behind me.

“Wait, Kunikida! My shoe came untied!” 

“Who cares?! Just run!”

Slowly lagging behind is a colleague who just the other day joined our office.

His name: Osamu Dazai.

A rather proper-sounding name.

“Phew. Kunikida, I’m exhausted. Could you slow down a little? This isn’t good for my health, you know.”

“Just pick up the pace, you lazy oaf! My own health is suffering thanks to you!”

“Congratulations!” 

“Oh, shut up!”

Osamu Dazai, a man of unknown origin and capabilities, a man most deficient in motivation, lives to throw off my schedule. He’s far too carefree and takes everything at his own pace. To make matters worse, his hobby—

“By the way, Kunikida. Our man is getting away, y’know.”

My train of thought interrupted, I look ahead to see the runaway mow down a street vendor’s vegetables before taking a left to escape. I instinctively click my tongue. Then I dive into my memories to recall a map of the area. He’s heading toward a narrow residential district with hedges lining each side of the street. There are countless houses to escape to or hide in around that area.

“You see that, Dazai?! Thanks to your dawdling, he’s now going to be even harder to catch!”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s all according to plan. More importantly, guess what I just saw.”

“I don’t care!”

“It’s this incredibly rare book called The Complete Suicide. I’ve been searching all over for it, and I just noticed it on display in the used bookstore back there— Ah! I have to go back and buy it before someone else does.”

Nobody asked.

“I could always just shoot you in the head if you want to die that badly!” I yell, to which he replies:

“Wait. Seriously? Wow, thanks.”

He smiles bashfully, even though there’s nothing to blush about.

For a man who doesn’t put much effort into his job, he sure puts a lot of work into fantasizing about suicide. It’s a world unfamiliar to me. However, there isn’t a waking moment when he isn’t searching for the cheapest, quickest way to off himself. He’s obsessed with suicide.

A suicide aficionado? How vile.

But no matter how twisted my partner’s interests are, no matter how much he tries to sabotage the mission, I will not allow the criminal to escape, for failure is not written in my schedule.

I chase the lowlife into a dark path wide enough for only one person at a time. Both sides are lined with hedges, and I can see a well and the backyard of an old house. A washing machine lies knocked over under the roof’s eaves. I open a map of the area on my mobile device, and a white dot representing our location is displayed along with the buildings and backstreets.

Narrow paths branch out in every direction through the residential district. If the thief keeps heading straight, he’ll most likely make his way to the old factory district, filled with premodern warehouses. We would have an easier time finding a needle in a haystack than finding him there.

The criminal slowly fades into the distance.

Looks like he really is heading toward the old factory district. 

“Damn it!”

The foul curse slips off my tongue. I won’t be able to catch up when I’m this far behind. And he would no doubt repeat the crime if he is allowed to get away. It would put our client’s business at risk while even further damaging our detective agency’s image.

What should I do? What can I do?

“Well then, I think it’s about time we end this so I can go buy that book. We just need to slow him down, right?” Dazai breaks into a smile.

Then he takes in a deep breath before yelling in a booming voice:

“Fire!!”

The townspeople immediately lunge into the streets in a panic, blocking the criminal’s path of escape. People nearby come rushing out in utter confusion: a woman holding a pot lid, a young man with sleepy eyes, an elderly fellow carrying his shogi board. People crowd the streets one after another, making it impossible to get by.

The criminal is at his wits’ end. The path is overrun with people, meaning going back is no longer an option, either. Verbal threats wouldn’t work against a crowd desperately searching for the fire, and an open door now further blocks the offender’s path of return.

“How’s that?”

“You idiot! Yes, you stopped him, but it doesn’t matter if we can’t get to him!”

“Sure we can! I mean, that’s why we have the skilled detective Doppo Kunikida with us, right? I set the stage, so now it’s your turn to show us what you’ve got.”

I’m going to sew those lips of yours shut before long!

I open my notebook and quickly jot something down. After ripping out the page with the words WIRE GUN inscribed, I infuse it with my will.

“The Matchless Poet!”

My special skill.

I don’t know how I do it, and I can’t logically explain how it works. All I can say is that’s just how it is. There is no rational explanation for why it has to be a page out of my notebook or how it can transform in spite of the laws of physics.

The sheet of paper transforms into a wire gun exactly as written. I leap onto a nearby fence before pointing the muzzle at the thief. That’s when I notice him reaching for a gun in his pocket to threaten the citizens blocking his way.

You know something is wrong with the world when even a lowlife crook in the outskirts of town has a gun.

At any rate, I can’t let him use it in such a densely populated area!

I aim, then pull the trigger. A harpoon-shaped hook shoots out toward the target with a steel wire trailing behind. Before the thief can even lift his arm completely, the hook knocks the gun out of his hand, then pierces his sleeve, tethering him to the wall behind.

“Jackpot.” Dazai offers a pathetic attempt at a whistle.

I reel in the steel wire while kicking off one fence and landing on another, repeating the movement to make my way forward. After jumping over the heads of the townspeople, I land right in front of the fugitive.

As I lift my head, he takes out a dagger he was hiding in his pocket. He swings the weapon not even three feet away, but the blade of an amateur has no chance of hitting me. I casually tilt my head to the side, then gently grab his elbow and wrist. With the help of his momentum, I twist his wrist while pushing the elbow in the opposite direction to send him flying into the air. He makes an arc in the sky before slamming upside down into the wall. His face contorts in surprise as if he doesn’t know what just happened. Then he falls to the ground and passes out.

It’s a throwing technique that uses the opponent’s momentum against them.

The area residents look back and forth between the thief and me in mute amazement. Soon after, Dazai finally catches up before addressing the crowd. “Our sincere apologies for all the fuss, ladies and gentlemen. However, there is no longer any need to worry. Oh, and the fire was a false alarm.” 

One resident speaks up. “J-just who are you people?”

I whip out my detective license and hold it up in the air so everyone can see.

“There is no need for concern. We’re with the Armed Detective Agency.”

***

[jraylambauthor]

Prologue - A Newberg Anthology

I decided to chronicle the story of the people who lived in Newberg: the public lives lived and the private lies hidden. Newberg is just like every other amalgamation of people. It has gossip, scandal, and intrigue. I was a resident of Newberg for twenty years – a native son born to outsiders. I would grow up, have my morals shaped and broken, and learn valuable lessons of the duplicity of human existence. When I left, I swore I would never return. Never is a powerful word that often doesn’t mean what it says on the tin. Now, some five decades from my birth, I look at Newberg and think to myself I want to return there and live out my life.

The younger me screams about the hate, repression, racism, and other horrible things that were there. My mature self sees how people looked out for each other, cared for the sick and infirm, and never let someone get into serious trouble. Both selfs tell the truth but they also tell a lie.

The anthology will be told by many characters with different points of view and different world views. An events may not be recognizable if you simply compared two peoples’ recollections. Being that I was a resident, I will be telling some of the stories that I was involved with, got pulled into, or should have been.

Before we get any further, I present a brief history of Newberg.

Around 1830, the first settlers moved into the township that would become Oakton.  Oakton was a small community that was destined to solely be a footnote in the history of Newberg.

In 1849, a new railroad company was chartered and by 1854 was setting up a new railbed three miles south of Oakton.

In 1856, Newberg was incorporated and the railroad reached the town.

1858: the first newspaper was founded in Newberg.

1860 saw the formation of the community band, still playing concerts in the current year (2023) and a second newspaper.

By 1880, several industries were already establshed including a brick factory, a coal compnay, a foundry, and a monument company.

Telephones arrived in 1883 and the following year saw the vacating of Oakton.

Electric light (and power) arrived in 1889, a five and dime opened in 1890.

I could keep going but I just wanted to show that Newberg was acutally somewhat special. Electricity was still new as were telelphones but yet Newberg had them at almost the same time as a regional city 30 miles to the east.

A few more historical dates are needed here as they will factor into the story.

1895 - Newberg Public School destroyed by fire and 1896 - the new brick school building was opened.

1912 - The Newberg Hotel opened.

1953 - A new high school is opened and in 1976 a fine arts addition is added.

1975 - The current firehouse was built and the railroad station was torn down.

1993 - A new grade school building is dedicated, replacing the 97 year old school.

Now, with all that boring history out of the way… Oh wait, no, it’s not quite done but it will rear up and show itself many times through the stories of the people in the anthology.

As the author of the anthology, I declare I am not an unbiased author and recorder. Far from it. I will be retelling events that happened to me that still infuriate me and get me riled up to this very day. I will retell of events that still make me cry from my time in Newberg. I am human and have all the flaws and faults that go with it. What would a collection of stories written by a robotic journalist be like? Cut, dried, and boring.

The stories I’ll be telling here are all based on true events in Newberg. The names have been changed (including Newberg) to protect both the people in the stories and to protect myself.

Phew…I’m tired of all this history and caveats.

Let’s get down and dirty in the lives of Newberg. Welcome home.

[angelarmitage98]

Harry Potter preferences...

How he asks you to be his girlfriend:

Harry:

His P.O.V:

She was sat quietly in the library reading a book about magical creatures to kill time as she had nothing better to be done for the rest of the day. When suddenly, BANG! A loud noise was heard throughout the entire library, I could see her wondering where that noise came from. I hope she doesn't notice it was me, not just yet anyway. She stood up searching for where that sound came from. So, I stood still behind the old, dusty shelf, waiting for her to come wandering around the corner to find the surprise, I have on my invisibility cloak so she doesn't see me yet. Finally, I see her trotting along to where I made the noise. She looked around as she noticed the little box I placed there for her, waiting and anticipating for her to open it.

Your P.O.V:

I heard a loud noise coming from behind the shelves in the library and before, I knew it my feet took me towards the sound. When I got here, I saw nothing but a tiny little box wrapped in a nice mint green wrapping paper and a golden ribbon. I picked it up wondering who's it could be when I saw a tag attached so I made the decision to check and see who it belonged to. Once I looked I noticed it had my name on it, hmm how peculiar I thought but yet it was so exciting, so I opened it to which a whole bunch of confetti and fireworks flew out, BANG! WOOOSH! WOOO! I looked up to discover the fireworks spelling out, 'WILL YOU (Y/N) (Y/L/N), DO ME THE HONOUR OF BEING MY GIRLFRIEND? - HARRY POTTER' wow, how beautiful I thought, I could not help but have the biggest grin on my face. Suddenly, I hear a noise from behind me, "so, will you?" it was Harry, I just looked at him with the biggest smile ever, this was the best day of my life. Obviously, I nodded my head frantically because of course who wouldn't, it's THE Harry Potter, every girl loved him, and of course, I was one of those girls, and I am still one of those girls.

Ron:

Your P.O.V:

I've just finished my last lesson of the day and have now decided to go find Ron, I haven't seen him the past couple of hours and I'm worried about him, what if he's sick. I saw Harry and Hermione walking my way and who better to ask about Ron than his two best friends, am I right? "Harry, Hermione, have either of you seen Ron anywhere?" I politely asked. Harry was looking at me in this weird way, and it began to make me feel as though I had something on my face. Hermione elbowed Harry in the ribs which to me was rather odd, but nevermind that I need to find Ron. "Oh, Ron is in the kitchen with the house elves, feel free to go find him," Hermione told me. I could tell she was trying to hold back a huge smile but I wonder why. Hmm, oh well I'll just talk to her about it later. "Ok, thank you," I replied and set off walking towards the kitchen. It took me ten minutes to get here but at least I finally arrived. I walked through the doors to see Ron covered in what seemed to be flour. 'Huh, I wonder what he's been up to.' "Ron, what are you doing? You look like a complete mess." I spoke. "Oh, (Y/N), you're here, erm I was just making cupcakes." The minute I heard the word cupcake, I rushed over, grabbed one and took a bite. "Bloody hell (Y/N), you were supposed to read them first." 'Oops,' I thought. "Ronald, seriously? How was I supposed to know that? And besides, its cupcakes how can I hold back from eating one." I said. "Look, I'll put it back and read them," I spoke again. Lucky enough I only took a small bite and the letter was still written on the cupcake. "Good." He replied. I placed the cupcake back where I got it and look at them to see it said '(Y/N) WILL YOU DO ME THE HONOUR OF BEING MY GIRLFRIEND?' as I read it I felt a small tear drop onto my hand. I then turned to look at Ron with a huge smile on my face. "Ronald Weasley, I would love to be your girlfriend," I spoke ecstatically, knowing that this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Draco:

Regular P.O.V:

You were sat at the Gryffindor table when you felt someone tap you on the shoulder. You turned around to see Crabbe stood there with a beautiful white rose. 'Hmm, my favourite.' You thought. "Follow the roses." Was all he said and pointed towards the Great Hall doors. You arose (no pun intended) from your seat and began walking towards the doors. There stood Goyle with another rose in his hand. 'How peculiar' you thought. "Keep going." He said. So you walked through the doors and heard Fred and George shouting your name. "(Y/N), This way, come on (Y/N), move those legs." Which caused you to laugh at them. 'Oh Merlin, these two are strange' you soon arrived in front of them and the boy gave you a rose each. "Just a few more to go." then pointed in the direction in which you're supposed to walk. You looked at the end of the hall and saw Ron standing there and began to make your way there. "Almost there, just head that way," Ron said nodding his head in the direction in which you're supposed to go while handing you another rose. You were so confused as to what was going on but you felt so intrigued to find out what was going on and how it all ends. You continued your walk and came to find Harry with another rose. "Just one more of these and you're there." 'Huh,' you thought. You then began to quicken your pace to see what was lying ahead. You came to a stop when you found Hermoine with the last rose. "Just there." She spoke in her soft voice and pointed outside towards the Whomping Willow, you took the final rose and made your way there. You came to a halt when you say 'Be Mine? - Yours Truly, Draco' written in rose petals. You heard someone say "ahem" from behind you and turned to see Draco. "I would love to be yours." You told him. "Good, and don't say anything about me asking Potter and his friends to help. I did it for you and that's all you need to know." You giggled at what he had said and thought to yourself. 'Best. Day. Ever'

Neville:

His P.O.V:

So, today's the day I've finally decided to ask out my crush. Her name is (Y/N). She's so beautiful, she has (H/L) (H/C) hair that frames her face perfectly. Her smooth (S/C) skin is radiant when the sun hits it just right. And her li- "Hey Nev, you ok?" A voice pulled me from my thoughts, it's her, oh Godric I'd know that angelic voice anywhere. "Ugh, erm, yeah. I'm good. I'm just getting a couple of books to study. Are you ok? And what you up to?" I already know what she's doing, I know her schedule better than my own and I know she's here to do a bit of light reading but I wouldn't want to say that out loud I mean she will think I'm a complete freak just like everyone else already does. "Oh, ok. You look a little a pale and I thought you might be feeling a little sick, but anyway I've just come for a bit of reading, would you care to join me?" I could listen to her talk all day. "Oh, sure. I'd love too, that would be great, I mean only if I-" "Nev, you're rambling, now just come on, let's go find some seats." "Yeah, sure," I told her as we began walking, we walked all the way to the back of the library and sat down on the seats further back. 'Ok,' I thought 'time to put this plan into action' "Nice book that, how far have you got?" I asked, trying not to let the nerves get the better of me. "I'm just on chapter thirteen, and honestly it seems pretty good so far." "That's good. Can you do me a favour? Go to page five hundred and twenty-one, line seven." I asked her, god I hope this goes well.

Your P.O.V:

Huh, Nev seems to be acting a little strange but that can wait. I've decided to do what he's asked and went to the page and look at line seven. The words 'This was his moment, it was time to ask her, but will she say yes...' Wait. What. Is he... Oh my gosh... He's asking me out. "Oh Nev, yes, yes, yes thousand times yes." this is the cutest thing anyone has ever done for me, and I'm glad it was Nev, I mean I've adored him since we met each other in my compartment of the train.

Seamus:

Your P.O.V:

I was walking down the hall when I noticed if I didn't hurry up I would be late for my next class. I parted ways with my friends and scurried off down the hall towards potions. There's no way I can risk being late considering the fact that I have Professor Snape for a teacher, he's so heartless and doesn't even give you a chance with anything if you're not Slytherin and guess what I'm not Slytherin. I walked into the classroom and realised that he wasn't here yet, phew, I thought. I took my seat next to Seamus as I usually would but for some reason he looked extremely nervous, I wonder why? But before I could ask Professor Snape walked in. 'Great' I thought. The class proceeded as normal and halfway through making my potion, I heard the usual bang come from the side of me, which usually meant Seamus messed up his potion, so I turned to the side to help him fix things as I'd normally do. Only this time I noticed something different. I saw the words 'Will you (Y/N), please be my girlfriend' written within the smoke. I looked at Seamus who said "Will you?" with a nervous smile etched on his face. "Yes, definitely yes," I spoke with excitement laced in my voice. "Miss (Y/L/N), Mr Finnigan. Detention." I heard Professor Snape say The one thing I didn't want to happen today, happened. But in all honesty, it's definitely worth it.

Fred:

Regular P.O.V:

Today's the day for the Quidditch match. It's Gryffindor VS Slytherin to see which team shall win the final match of the year. Yet even though you should be cheering for Slytherin you're not. In fact, you're actually cheering and screaming for Gryffindor instead, all you keep doing is cheering for Fred Weasley, your crush and George. All you want is for them to win but at the moment they only have 70 points and Slytherin have 80, which of course you're happy with because it is your house team but you'd be so much happier if it was the other way around. You're pulled from your thoughts when you saw a bludger come your way but before it had the chance to get close enough you saw Fred fly down to save the day, he hit the bludger away then turned to you to give a sly wink. You couldn't help but let the blush form on your face. Then all of a sudden they called for a time out and everyone began chattering among themselves confused as to what was going on. Then suddenly Fred was in front of all the players with a microphone at hand "So," you heard him say, you looked right at him to see what he was about to do next. "We all know this gorgeous girl that I always have by my side, she's my partner in crime, well my other one, I also have George." You couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, anyway, she's perfect and I've been crushing on her for a long time now and well I have this for her." And randomly the team started flying around to spell out. 'Will you please go out with me?' and then Fred began flying towards you. You stood shocked. He arrived right in front of you and said: "So, (Y/N) will you be mine?" You stood nodding your head vigorously not knowing what to say because you felt as though you couldn't trust your words. Fred smiled at you as though he'd won the lottery and screamed through the microphone 'she said yes' and the whole crowd began to go wild. You felt as though you had never been happier in your whole entire life than at this moment right now. This is the start to a beautiful life to a guy you've been in love with for quite a while now and you can't wait to see what the future has in store for you both.

George:

Your P.O.V:

I was sat with Fred in the Gryffindor common room waiting for George so that we could go get dinner, but I wonder what's taking him so long. Suddenly Fred stood up and told me to follow him. "But what about George?" I asked, "Don't worry, we're off to find him." He replied. So I stood up and began to follow him, we had a small conversation about his pranks and how good he feels his and George's prank will be. Next thing I knew we had arrived in the middle of the Quidditch field and saw a beautiful picnic laid out. "Fred, what's going on?" I asked but when I looked up he was nowhere to be seen. "Fred... Fred..." I kept shouting but he wasn't anywhere near here. I sat down on the blanket, wondering what was going on when all of a sudden I felt someone grab my shoulders while screaming boo. I jumped, feeling frightened. I turned myself around to see George stood there, I picked up a pillow and began hitting him with it while screaming at him, telling him how much of an idiot he is for scaring you like that. "Ouch, ouch, stop it, woman, I'm sorry." He said while laughing. "Yeah, you better be, now what the hell is all this you idiot?" I asked. "Well, this dear is a date." He replied. "Oh," I said. "So, erm, (Y/N) how about I teach you to fly." George suddenly said. "Ok," I replied. We got up and he began to teach me how to ride a broom. We had now been doing this for about an hour when all of a sudden I began to lose my grip. I began to fall off my broom and screamed for George and he swooped me into his arms. "Why thank you for saving my life. You're my hero, my very own Superman." I said while laughing "Well if I'm Superman can you be my Lois Lane?" George asked with seriousness laced within his voice which caused me to stop laughing. I stared straight into his eyes and replied with "Nothing would make me happier than being Lois Lane to your Superman." And with that, he flew you back toward the ground where you sat and finished your picnic while waiting for the sunset to come. (You told him about Superman because you're muggleborn and know all about him, so you thought it would be fun to tell him about superheroes and anything related to them).

[tl-notes]

Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon S2 Episode 9 Notes

...設立から大分地盤が固まってきており、少しずつだが、業態は改善されている。

One thing to note here is that Kobayashi(‘s narration) isn’t saying the company has already made solid improvements, it’s that the company has finally established itself somewhat (as it was only founded relatively recently, and typically new companies are especially busy while trying to get off the ground) and now is starting to make improvements.

Similarly in the second sentence, it’s not “was” slow going, it’s “is still” slow going, and the working conditions “are” improving, not “have improved.”

This is がんば ganba, short of course for がんばって ganbatte, which I’m sure most of you are familiar with: the (in)famous “do your best.”

I only mention it because I like this shortened version of it. Ganba!

This is a fun little idiom(?)/saying: 鼻で笑う hana de warau (conjugated as hana de warawareta), lit. to laugh using the nose. It’s used to describe laughing at someone you’re looking down on for whatever reason (not necessarily in a super serious way, could just be a friend being dumb etc.; in this case it’s Elma’s being naive).

Typically it refers to like a “heh-but-through-the-nose” kind of “laugh,” but as you can see in this scene (where clearly Kobayashi is laughing with the mouth, even starting with “pff” lips) it works idiomatically even if the laughing isn’t only through the nose.

You may have heard that Japan is/was a “lifetime employment” country, where typically people would get hired right out of school and stay at that company until retirement. While that’s much less true today than it was even a couple of decades ago (and has become kind of controversial in ways), it’s still much more common of a practice than in say the US.

One result of this is that there’s a much bigger distinction placed between hiring people in spring as part of the annual graduation rush (the Japanese school year ends in March), and mid-career hiring. Typically you can’t participate in the fresh grad hiring if you aren’t one, even if you’re new to the field in question. 

For larger employers (i.e. 5k+ employees), roughly two-thirds of all hirings come from fresh grads, and only small employers (<300 employees) hire more mid-careerists than people directly out of school.

Of course, this split tends to apply mostly to “standard” full time jobs, not so much part time, and is not necessarily a thing in every industry/at every company.

Just as a minor point of clarity, this “organized text” in Elma’s document refers to the phrase まとめられた文章 matomerareta bunshou. In a literal sense, matomerareta can mean organized/consolidated etc., and bunshou text/passages, but meaning-wise it’s more like “writing that gets its point across clearly/cleanly.” 

This is a pretty big compliment and a very useful skill to have in organizations like this, as writing such that people can quickly and easily understand exactly what you’re trying to say often saves a ton of time and frustration.

我々はエルマの気迫に押されるがままにその書類を読み始めた。

Another minor point, but where the English could imply that they were overwhelmed by Elma’s intensity through the act of reading her report, the Japanese implies more that they started reading it because of how intense Elma was being. 

It doesn’t really make much of a difference either way, but it stuck out a little for me. 

To justify mentioning it, I guess I’ll explain the grammar point Kobayashi uses: されるがままに sareru ga mama ni. Sareru is a generic verb/verb conjugation for having something done to you (technically here it’s 押される, to be “pushed/pressed/pressured”), and mama refers to a state, condition, or “way” (like “do it this way”).

Put together, the whole phrase is used to indicate “you” do/did something that someone else wants you to, without (meaningful) opposition. (Something similar in raw meaning but with a very different connotation would be “going with the flow.”)

If a friend says “hey let’s go do something,” and next thing you know you’re out bowling despite preferring to stay at home, this is you.

You can stick the mama ni to various other things as well to come up with a similar idea, but without the sareru the nuance may end up different. 

The word for clairvoyance here is 千里眼 senrigan, lit. “eye(s) [that can see] a thousand li”, li being a Chinese unit of measurement for length (shorter than a mile, but for general purposes “eyes that see a thousand miles” is basically the gist).

Despite the perhaps physical-sounding nature of the term, it does actually describe the same power as “clairvoyance” in English: being able to perceive things outside your actual range of vision, including potentially into people’s hearts and minds etc.

Hence why it’s a thousand screen display, when she updates it with tech knowledge:

“Tainted by work” here is 職業病 shokugyou-byou, lit. an occupational disease. The “proper” definition is a disease one gets from working in a particular job, such as black lung for coal miners or even posture-related health issues for desk workers. 

Additionally, it’s used colloquially to refer to noticeable habits or quirks that people in a certain profession pick up, like a baker always waking up super early or a programmer using programming lingo out of context in normal conversation. The latter being especially noticeable in Japanese, as a lot of such terms are English in origin.

“Shocking” here is a fun word: ドン引き don-biki. “Don” here is added just for emphasis; the main meaning revolves around 引き hiki/biki, from the verb 引く hiku, meaning to pull. 

The idea is that someone does/says something that you recoil from. Maybe it’s gross (“I only shower once a week”), maybe it’s mean (“They didn’t smile enough so I didn’t leave a tip.”), maybe it’s creepy (“I sent like 30 texts yesterday but still no reply.”), just anything that has you feeling like you might want to create some distance because... phew. 

It’s kind of similar to the current use of “cringe” as an adjective/noun, though with less of an internet-slang feel* to it, and generally used more as something the speaker is doing rather than describing whatever/whoever is being cringe. 

(*I think it started being used popularly in this way in the early-to-mid 90s, with the “don”biki variant specifically popping up around 2005.)

A “Premium Friday” is the last Friday of the month, where you get to leave work at 3 pm. It is largely theoretical. 

The idea was created by the Japanese government as a way to reduce working hours and encourage domestic spending (boost demand), but it has not been implemented by all that many employers, and especially not many smaller employers. There isn’t, after all, any mandate or government-provided incentive for doing so.

Evidence from the places that did implement it suggests it is actually good for the economy, but good luck convincing bosses to give extra paid time off.

“Last Friday of the month” was chosen because most people get paid on the 25th each month (Japan tends to pay monthly instead of every two weeks), so it would usually be right after payday, when people are more willing to get spendy.

Kobayashi saying eight hours here reminded me of a “fun” fact: the typical Japanese work day is eight hours plus a one hour break. Plus a one hour break, not with. So a typical work day is actually nine hours. Most commonly 8 to 5 or 9 to 6. Not many “nine-to-fives” here.

The characters for Joui are 上井, which usually read as Kamii or Uwai. It’s “Joui” because that means, when written as 上位, “superior.” As in “a superior life-form.” Like a dragon, say.

でも、ゆっくりやる事業改善案を見せてもらえたじゃない？

This one is actually kind of a critical mistake. In the English it sounds like she’s talking about the improvement proposal that Elma made and that the boss looked at. In the Japanese though, she’s talking about a different plan, one the boss showed them*, that is similar in idea but is going to take longer to be fully implemented**. So we’re being told that while Elma didn’t get what she wanted as fast as she wanted it, it is still basically going through at a slower pace.

*In ”見せてもらえた misete moraeta,” the misete vs mite means they were the ones who got shown something, rather than the ones who got someone to look at their stuff. 

**Which you can tell from the ゆっくりやる yukkuri yaru, where yaru is basically “do” and yukkuri means (in this case) at an unhurried pace.

(Re previous note: Hence why she says “immediately” here.)

“Black (ブラック)” and “white (ホワイト)” in the context of Japanese employers refers to how well employees are treated: a company with good benefits/pay, reasonable levels of overtime, and feels safe to work at is “white,” while a company that has excessive overtime, often pays poorly, breaks labor laws, and allows harassment to fester is “black.” 

While “white company” was created simply in contrast to the term “black company,” the latter finds its origins in front businesses for organized crime, which were called “black” in the sense of “illegal” (similar to “black market” or something being in a “grey area”). Given the international reputation of Japanese work life, you can imagine that “black company” as a term sees much more use.

There’s been some discussion about maybe replacing it due to the racial implications (especially since it uses the English word “black”), but while typically English translations drop the color for that reason (e.g. ブラック企業大賞, an “award” given to Japan’s worst employer each year, is officially “Most Evil Corporation of the Year Award” in English), it hasn’t really penetrated to the mainstream at this point.

The rice there is in a 飯盒 hangou, a metal container that looks… like that, and is the stereotypical item of choice for cooking rice while camping. It has its origins in the mess kits used by the military, but these days they’re primarily marketed as portable rice cookers for camping use. 

You can get round ones too, but the bean shape is very popular.

“Settings” here is 設定 settei, lit. exactly that, “setting(s).” E.g. if you open a computer program and look at the settings menu, it’ll be settei in the Japanese language settings (settei). 

I bring it up here because there’s a bit of a difference in how it gets used colloquially like this. In English, the “setting” for a story typically refers to where and when it’s set. In Japanese, “setting” in that sense is usually 舞台 butai. But settei is still used when talking about fiction, just in a different, more expansive way.

Often in these cases settei is used to refer to the various conceits that provide the context in which the story takes place. In this show, for example, one such “setting” is that dragons are real: another is that magic exists. It comes up especially often in fantasy/sci-fi type stuff where there are major distinctions between that universe and the real world—not that stories in a real-world setting don’t have settei of their own, but they often are lumped into descriptions of the plot in that case (”a dragon comes to live with an office worker in her apartment”).

It also refers to the “settings” of characters, like name or age, and things like “they run a bakery that’s going out of business and are trying to save it.” Basically all the details you’d have in a character profile.

It also gets used in conversation to refer to pretend things or (basically) lies: like here, where Saikawa thinks Shouta is playing pretend with his ley-lines talk, or e.g. if someone is trying to tell you some outlandish story (“my uncle works at Nintendo…” or someone asking for love life advice for “their friend”) and you’re just like “Okay so that’s the settei here, I see.”

Not really a big deal, but Elma’s line here in Japanese implies she won’t let Tohru call her that anymore (see her もう mou). Tohru’s response is also more of a “I haven’t been?”, since of course she wasn’t aware of Elma’s-mental-image-Tohru tormenting Elma in the previous scene:

The word for “full of” in the title here is ざんまい zanmai (a suffix form of 三昧 sanmai), usually meaning that there’s a whole lot of [whatever] to immerse oneself in. I mostly bring it up because there’s a famous restaurant chain called Sushi Zanmai that specializes in, obviously, sushi.

And you know, Elma is a water dragon that looks kinda like an eel… I’m just sayin’…

Not really a translation note, but wild that Elma didn’t even touch her parfait. (Not so wild that Fafnir finished his so quickly.) Serious business ahead...

“Genuinely” here is 素直に sunao ni, where the “ni” is used like “-ly” to make sunao work as an adverb. Sunao itself is an interesting word that falls into that category of “simple concept that is often hellish to translate.”

For some context, the first character, 素, is also used in the word 素顔 sugao, which is a face without makeup and 素材 sozai, basically raw ingredients/materials. The second, 直, is used in words like 直線 chokusen, a straight line, or 正直 shoujiki, honest.

Put them together, and you’ve got a word with connotations of directness and being unadorned. The original definition of the word tends toward “simple, natural” in the sense of e.g. life growing up on a rural farm. 

The more common use for it these days is to describe people and their actions. Positively, it can mean something similar to a person being happy to help, or kind of like the opposite of conniving; open, frank, genuine. Less positively, it can mean someone is too trusting and easy to trick into doing things OR someone who is “too honest” and says hurtful things. 

(If it helps: tsundere characters are often described as explicitly not sunao.)

In this case, the idea is that Tohru accepted the invitation easily as-is, without putting any conditions on it, or doing any “ugh, what a pain, do I have to, jeez” rigamarole—she just accepted. Another way you could put it in this case might be “It’s even more unusual for Tohru to accept an invitation like this without a fuss.”

Just to point out the hand on head thing again.

Also just to point out that this is another example of otsukare, as a reminder of how ubiquitous that word is.

And it makes a good place to end on: thanks for reading!

[harrygroves]

a simple favor -- chapter one

Billy’s laughing. Head back, banging his fist on the table, corners of his eyes wetting -- fucking cackling.

Steve waits. He expected this. He crosses his arms over his chest, and sags back in the booth they occupy.

Billy sucks in air between laughs. “You’ve --” Another sharp laugh. “-- you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not.” Steve replies crisply, his leg jiggling under the table.

They’re sitting at the back-end of a Dunkin’ Donuts, away from other customers, but Billy’s starting to cause a scene.

They’ve both got coffee and donuts in front of them. Untouched.

“P-please. Ask me again.” Billy says, words almost slurred because of the laughing.

Steve huffs. “Will you please be my fake boyfriend.” It’s a question, but Steve doesn’t pose it as one. He says it with defeat.

Billy starts howling again.

Eventually, eventually, Billy quiets down. “Oh my god, phew...I really needed that.” He’s grinning ear to ear. “Yeah. Um. Absolutely fucking not.”

Billy’s moving like he’s going to leave the booth but Steve stops him. “I figured you’d say no, so I came prepared.” He reaches into his backpack and removes a folded sheet of thick paper, pushing it across the counter.

Billy blinks slowly at Steve before leaning forward, elbows on the table. He unfolds it and sets his chin in his hands, eyes flicking over the offer.

For the rendered services of Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrinton is prepared to offer the total sum of five thousand dollars.

It’s more money than he’s ever had in his whole life. Billy looks up, faking nonchalance but it feels like there’s no more air in his lungs. “You pilfered one of your dad’s law documents?”

Steve shrugs, looking away, pretends to be interested in brushing lint off my sleeve. “It’s a basic contract. You can get them at Office Depot.”

Billy grabs his coffee cup and takes a long swig. After swallowing he asks, “You’re going to give me five thousand dollars? To be your boyfriend?”

“Fake.” Steve clarifies.

Billy rolls his eyes “Yes, okay, fake. For how long?”

Now that Billy’s asking questions, Steve feels a little less like dying. But only barely. “Maybe a month.”

Billy cocks his head. “Why?”

Steve’s face darkens. “Do you really need all the details?”

Billy likes when Steve’s annoyed. It feeds him in some sick, twisted way. “Pretty sure I do. This is a ridiculously steep favor.”

Steve’s quiet for a beat. “Because...my trust fund is going to kick-in next year, but my dad has the power to push it off another four years. He thinks I’m...unstable. About a year ago, he started threatening me with it, holding it over my head. He thinks I sleep around and do drugs.”

“Well do you?” Billy asks, interest piqued.

“You don't need to know everything, Hargrove.” Steve says evenly, keeping a neutral expression. Billy raises his eyebrows. “I lied to him. I told him I’ve been seeing someone. He keeps talking about how a relationship will set me on the right track so I figured, if that’s what it takes for him to give me the money -- fuck it.”

“...and this guy’s a lawyer?” Billy snorts.

Steve makes a ‘tsk’ noise, growing more annoyed as the conversation stretches on. “Look, I just need you to help convince them I’m in a healthy, functioning relationship.”

Billy’s lips are wiggling like he’s about to start laughing again. “Why me?”

Steve lets out a frustrated sigh. “Because you’re here. Everyone else is either shipped out to college or too gross for me to even fake it with.” Steve makes eye contact with Billy. “And I know you need the money.”

Billy’s grip on his coffee tightens a bit. He sneers. “You don't know shit, Harrington.”

Steve narrows his eyes. “I know enough. I know you want to get the fuck out of here. We both do. Seems like the means to an end.”

Billy looks out the window next to them, watching traffic go by. He’s quiet for so long that Steve almost says something, but Billy cuts him off. “I want ten thousand.”

Steve doesn’t miss a beat. “Fine.” He reaches out to take the contract, pulling out a pen and making the adjustment.

Billy’s glad Steve’s not looking at him because his eyes widen in disbelief. “Fine.” He repeats hollowly.

Steve pushes the contract back towards Billy. “But you have to sell this shit.” Steve’s tone is serious, almost threatening.

Billy grabs the pen on the table. “I will.” He signs his name, and it feels like he’s selling a bit of his soul.

Steve snatches the contract back when he’s done and folds it back up, tucking it in his backpack. “We need to talk terms.”

Billy snorts. “Obviously. Let’s get out of here. I want a smoke.”

They scarf down their donuts in quick bites before walking out into the cool breeze. The sun’s high and hot but the wind makes it bearable. Billy lights up a cigarette before they start walking side-by-side through town.

“So, like, we’re going to have to kiss.” Billy points out once he’s about halfway through his cigarette.

Steve clears his throat. “Yeah, well. We’re adults. I think we can handle it.”

“I’m going to have to, like, touch you and shit.”

“And I’ll try not to puke, I promise.” Steve snaps.

Billy grins around a mouthful of smoke. “Ya know, you’re being really bitchy for a guy needing a favor.”

“Oh please, you’re an asshole, Hargrove. It’s not like anything’s different between us.”

“Except for the whole making out part.” Billy points out, flicking his cigarette into the street.

“You’re really hung up on that.” Steve says.

“Well yeah. We don't like each other. It’s gonna be pretty fucking obvious when we try to peck at each other and look like we’re trying not to gag.”

Steve sighed, long and hard. “Goddammit.”

“Yeah, so maybe start being nice to your fake boyfriend. After all, he puts up with a lot of your shit.”

“A real saint, that guy.” Steve deadpans.

“I’ve never had any complaints.”

“Yeah, but I’m guessing that has less to do with performance and more to do with the amount of time you stick around after you get what you want.” Steve bites out.

Billy stops walking, pointing a finger at Steve. “You better knock this shit off, Harrington. I might have signed a contract but I’m not your fucking punching bag.”

Steve stops as well, turning to stand in front of Billy, a bitchy expression on his face. “Don't get this favor confused with likability, Hargrove. You’re getting paid for a job. You better own this shit. I’m serious. If I don't get paid, neither do you.”

Billy sucks in a deep breath, but deflates on the exhale. Steve’s not wrong. “Fine. Whatever. When does this whole deal start? I need to mentally prepare to be around your bitter ass for a whole thirty days.”

They continue walking. “I got an apartment near the edge of town. I’ll text you the address. Meet me there tomorrow so we can work through some of the details. We leave for my parent’s summer home at the end of the week.”

“Peachy. See ya later.” Billy says before diverting away from Steve.

About five feet apart, he turns and calls out to Steve, “How did you get my number?”

Steve stops, turns his head and says, “I have my ways, Hargrove. Tomorrow. Noon.”

“Noon?!” Billy repeats loudly, like it’s the most offensive time of the day.

Steve resumes walking away, an amused smile on his face.

to chapter two

[raysofcrosby]

LITTLE DO YOU KNOW PT. 8

"𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵...𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥?" ━ 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫

gif credit (x)

series masterlist

requested: yes | no

warnings: implied smut, otherwise some slight fluff and angst.

word count: 4,916 [i barely proofread this bc lack of sleep so plz dont h8 me]

authors note: phew ok i was a little scared that i wouldn’t get this out before sunday, but i literally forced myself to sit down and write (both as a way to destress and get this done) and voila, i finished! i hope you guys enjoy it, and as always, i love everyone for reblogging and liking! i love seeing your tags, and hearing what you guys think about the series! i hope you enjoy and without further ado, here’s part 8!

Your last few weeks with Tyler felt like you were living on cloud 9. As usual, you and Kennedy switched off on nights of who got the dorm room, so more often than not, you'd been at Tyler's. In those few weeks, while you were dedicated to studying and preparing for finals week, Tyler often pulled his charm and managed to get you away from studying for an hour or two, and as he put it, christen every surface in the house with you, though honestly, you wouldn't have been surprised if he had done that before. None of that mattered, his past didn't matter and neither did his former hookups because he was here with you. You went to bed with him almost every night either cuddling into his side, him cuddling you or the both of you cuddling with the dogs.

Literal Cloud 9.

But that easy lifestyle came to a pause as finals week loomed over you, Kennedy and your entire campus. Luckily for you, you only had three finals. One final on the first day, a final the morning before tonight's game and then one on Monday. Your first two finals you felt as if you aced them– their courses were an easy A and you never struggled or felt stressed whenever it came to studying or writing papers for them. Your last final, however, was the one you were the most worried about– and quite frankly, spent the most time studying.

Stupid Physiology and Anatomy.

You were determined to lock yourself away in the library after the game tonight to study for Monday, but as usual, Tyler invited you over, even offering to help you study. You accepted and like always, he picked you up from your dorm and took you home. Of course, not failing to stop at the grocery store so you guys could pick up some quick ingredients to make yourselves mini pizzas while you studied. A study break, Tyler called it. Though, while more tomato sauce ended up on the counter and ingredients were tossed around– and your pizzas turned out a little crispy...it was a fun distraction, one that you were grateful Tyler planned and one that he knew you desperately needed.

However, when dinner came and went, you plopped down onto the couch in his living room and broke out your study cards You set them out all around you and started to plan out where you'd start when Tyler came down and plopped beside you. You were suspicious at first because you could feel him staring at you from the corner of his eye, but you brushed it off. It wasn't until you felt him creep his hands around your waist and press a kiss against your neck, did you realize what he was trying to do.

"No, Tyler. I have to study!"

He pressed another kiss to your neck, higher this time before pulling away and pouting at you. "It's anatomy, I like to think that you know enough about that."

You laughed, turning at him and poking him in the chest with a card. "Not the point Seguin. How am I supposed to for sure know what a–" you took a glimpse at the card. "Epiglottis is, if I don't study?"

Tyler looked off and mumbled to himself before looking back at you. "That's the thingy that stops food and water from getting into your lungs, right?"

You flipped the card over, reading a definition that summed up what Tyler had said. "Lucky guess."

"No, not lucky guess," he pulled you closer to him. "If I know what any of this fancy stuff means, then you do too. Because I only know it from helping you study, which no offense...is a shit ton, ya nerd."

You sighed, staring down at the card and feeling his eyes burn holes into your head. "Tyler..."

"Pleaseeeeee?" He started to squeeze your sides before tickling your waist. You smacked at his hands, trying to get them away and failing. "Please, please, please?"

He lied you down onto the couch and you sighed, smacking his chest with your card. "Fine."

He leaned down and kissed you before pulling away and sitting up, taking off his shirt. He looked down at you and wiggled his eyebrows. "If you're so torn up about not studying...you could always study me?"

You smiled, reaching up and wrapping your arms around him and tugging him down closer to you, nudging your nose against his own. "Studying can wait."

❒❒❒❒

Your studying session took you from downstairs on his living room couch, to upstairs on the theatre couch. While Tyler had managed to strip you from your clothing downstairs, he carried you upstairs, fully clothed and even offering you a pair of boxers and a shirt because 'it was only fair for what I have planned next.'

What he had planned next, of course, was studying...but a studying game he made fun. He'd help you study your cards by using reading them to you and if you couldn't tell him the definition and point out where the card belonged, then you'd have to strip (see how unfair?) And for every 15  cards you got right, he'd strip. Of course, Tyler being Tyler started to pout when you were still dressed in his t-shirt and boxers and he was left with nothing but 1 card left and his boxers. When you got that last card correct and he had to full-on strip, he was even more upset. Though, he didn't let that fully show until after he congratulated you on being smart and reassuring you that you'd ace this final.

And of course, you rewarded him with some good ole fun since he helped you study for a while, but then after that, it was back to studying again. And that was the routine: Study, break, study– just like that. Now, the two of you were relaxing on the couch. He was sitting up and you were lying down, your head rested on his thigh, the both of you covered with your shared blanket as he rubbed your arm with one hand and played with your hair with the other one.

"You know, for someone who played 65 minutes of intense hockey...you sure do have a lot of pent up energy," you turned your head and looked up at him. "four times in three hours is...a little aggressive."

His childlike smile took over his face as his smugness crept in. "If you keep moving your head, it's going to be five times." He leaned down and kissed you before sitting back up. "Let me guess. Was Cole a one and done, kind of guy?"

You felt a little embarrassed to reveal your past sex life to Tyler, especially since you knew how much he disliked Cole, but that soon eased. "More like once a week and that stopped before summer."

Tyler burst into laughter and you felt yourself at ease when the vibration from his chest echoed throughout his body. You could listen to him laugh for hours on end and never get tired. "No wonder why you're able to keep up with me." He poked at your nose, "you've got pent up energy too."

You laughed and swatted his hand away, sticking your tongue out at him. "It's all fun and games until you break a hip, Seguin."

"Eh, I don't see that happening anytime soon," he smiles, nodding back down at his lap.

You roll your eyes and look up at him. "Better calm down boy, because we've still got some studying to do."

"If it leads us back to where we are right now, then I'm perfectly okay with that." He smiled and you reached an arm up and cradled the left side of his face. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your nose and then your lips, resting his forehead against your own. "I think I could stay like this forever."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd love to have me in your lap forever, Seguin." You joked, looking at him.

Only then did you see the look in his eyes that you'd never really noticed before. It was a soft, tender look, one that you'd only seen in movies or described in the Nicholas Sparks books your brothers teased you about. "Well yeah, but no...I meant–"

A creak, following by a thud caught your attention and you were silently curing whatever it was that interrupted whatever Tyler was about to confess. "Did your front door just open?" You asked, pulling away from Tyler and looking towards the open theatre room door.

"Hey Seggy, it's just me! Are you here?" Oh shit, you knew that voice anywhere...it was Jamie.

"Oh fuck!" Tyler grunted, scrambling off of the couch and standing up quickly, resulting in you falling onto the floor with a thud. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry," He apologized, stepping over you and looking around for his shorts and putting them on.

You reached out for your fallen blanket and wrapped it around your body. "What is he doing here?!"

"I don't know, it's almost 1 A.M." He whispered back, rushing towards the door and turning back to you. "Just...stay here."

No sooner than he disappeared around the corner and down the stairs, did you take in your surroundings. You grabbed all of your study cards and your notebooks, quickly shoving them beneath the couch. Your heart was racing and it felt like you could pass out at any moment. This was the worst-case scenario– Jamie walking in on you and Tyler before you ever had the opportunity to tell him about your relationship. You'd spent weeks, thinking of this scenario and telling yourself that it wouldn't have a chance of coming true...and yet it was right downstairs. I mean, there's no other way you'd be able to explain exactly why you were naked in Tyler's house.

"Oh, dude did I...interrupt you?" You heard Jamie say as you paused your clean up and moved a little more towards the door to wait for the 'coast is clear' sign.

"What? No...why?" God, could Tyler be any more panicked? Just by the way he stuttered over his reply, was enough for Jamie not to believe it.

"Because there are women's clothes on your couch...unless this bra is yours?"

Your eyes widened as you mentally smacked yourself for ever letting Tyler undress you on his couch. He didn't strip out of his clothes down there, which was evident by the fact that you were the one stranded in a blanket and he was in the comfort of his running shorts.

"Oh uh...yeah, uh..."

"Jesus Tyler, get it together," you whispered, closing your eyes and resting your head against the door frame.

"Dude...are you back with Maisy again?"

"WHAT? No...why would you think that?"

Jamie paused and it killed you not to know why he did. "SMU? Is this her sweatshirt?"

You could feel yourself begin to sweat as the fear of Jamie recognizing anything down there as yours, set in. He even bought you that sweatshirt your freshman year move in! What if he recognized it as yours? Did Tyler had the capability to play it off as you leaving it here from the last time you watched the dogs? Honestly...probably not.

"Oh Uhm," Tyler cleared his throat, once, twice...and a third time. "No, it's not Maisy's."

"Let me guess," Jamie sighed, probably tossing your sweatshirt onto the back of the couch. "You found another hot girl from SMU then?"

"Well, yeah she's pretty hot," Tyler replied, and you could tell by the way that he ended his statement, that he was smiling and you couldn't help but wonder if you should be flattered that Tyler said you were hot or scared of your current situation.

"Dude, you've got to stay away from the college girls! No college girl is worth the drama, even if she's smoking hot. I mean, did you ever listen to Y/N and her Cole drama? Or the drama from this last year? You're wanting to put up with more of that?"

"But–"

"Anyway," your brother sighed. "Y/N asked me to come by sometime to pick up her Psychology or Anatomy book or whatever. I guess she left it here when she sat the dogs last week. She's been so busy with finals, so she forgot it and I forgot to come by before the game today. But I'm with Bish checking up on their house so since we're in the neighborhood, I thought I'd stop by."

Now you really wanted to smack yourself. In the mess and stress of finals and hanging out with Tyler and the pups, you completely forgot that you had asked Jamie to stop by and pick up your book. Though, in your defense...you weren't supposed to be here anyway.

"The Physiology and Anatomy one?" Tyler must have seen the confused look on Jamie's face, so he cleared his throat. "She's been complaining about that course whenever she tapes up my ankles– huge bore of a book. Do you know where she left it? I can grab–"

"No, no. You go back to your girl." Jamie patted Tyler on the shoulder, "she told me where she left it. I'll just grab it and go."

You could hear Jamie's footsteps come up the stairs and it was like you were frozen in place. You had told him it was in the theatre, which is where you did most of your studying at Tyler's. When your eyes scanned the room, you saw it lying on the left side of the couch, right on top of the small side table. You considered running across the room and shoving it under the couch until you focused in on how close their footsteps were.

"No, really...I can grab it for you. You wouldn't want to leave Bish in the car!" Tyler said, obviously trying to prevent Jamie from coming up the stairs.

"He's not a dog, Segs. Plus the A.C. is on...I think he's good. Now really, you go back to your girl, I'm a big boy. I can find a college textbook."

There were no good places to hide in the theatre room and you could feel the panic in your chest only continue to rise. There was not enough time to book it across the hall and into Tyler's room without risking being seen and identified by Jamie. You looked to your right and saw the little crook that Tyler's door made, rest up against his entertainment center. A designing flaw you'd pointed out to him many times– but not one Tyler cared too much about to fix. Right now, you felt like hugging that stupid flaw, because it was about to become your saving grace.

You quickly opened the door and ducked into the space, pulling the door right behind you and casting you in the crook. Just as you went to peek through the crack to see if they were near...they walked into the room. You held your breath as you saw Tyler relax a little bit, knowing that you had managed to hide just in time. You moved away from the crack in the door, pressing yourself against the wall as you heard the two of them move around.

"She said it was in here somewhere...."

"Are you sure she left it here? I haven't seen it."

"I mean," Jamie paused, digging into his sweatshirt pocket for his phone. "She texted me yesterday saying that she desperately needed it and forgot it in the theatre. But she's also really stressed...so it's possible."

"Great! Then maybe she just–"

"I just thought that I'd come and check, just in case. Acing these finals means a lot to her. Plus Jordie and I are planning a huge Hawaii trip for her and Kennedy after graduation. So I just don't want her to stress herself out too bad and ruin her chances at getting a good grade...just because of this book."

You felt a twinge of guilty hit your chest hard. Jordie and Jamie were currently planning an amazing trip for you and your best friend...and you were not only hiding the biggest secret from them but also currently hiding behind a door...naked and wrapped in a blanket.

"HA!" Jamie yelled, scaring you and almost causing you to jump and knee the entertainment center. "I found it! Physiology and Anatomy, perfect!"

"Huh, I guess she really did leave it." What a liar, since the two of you were just using that book for a guideline to your cards.

"Hey, do you know that your entertainment center is completely blocking your door?"

Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

Your heart was hammering against your chest as you closed your eyes and prayed that Jamie would stay as far away from your location as possible.

"I mean, either you need to get this door realigned or figure out a better place for your entertainment center, man. This door closes too fast?" You watched in horror as Jamie's fingers curled around the upper side of the door. He tugged it towards him, revealing you and your hiding space as his attention was all on Tyler. "It could really damage it."

You looked at Tyler as you gulped, sending him a helpless look. His eyes were wide and staring in your direction, as Jamie held all of his focus on Tyler. "Why do you look like you've seen a–" Jamie finally turned to you, "Y/N?"

You were speechless. The moment you opened your mouth to explain, your throat dried and it was as if you forgot how to speak. You could see Jamie was still trying to register in his brain why you were there. You watched helplessly as his eyes traveled down to your blanket before coming right back up. It was scary, watching his eyes gloss over and darken all at once– something that only happened whenever he was really angry...or on the ice.

"Bish and Jordie were right...weren't they?" He turned to Tyler and you already knew what was going to happen. "You're sleeping with my sister?"

Tyler opened his mouth to speak, stuttering to come up with an answer at first as he looked at you over Jamie's shoulder. "Listen, Chubbs it's not–"

In a flashing moment, Jamie swung at Tyler, landing a solid hit right on Tyler's eye. "Are you sleeping with my fucking sister, Tyler?"

You pushed past Jamie and rushed to Tyler's side, tugging your blanket tighter against your body before placing yourself in between the two grown men. "Jamie, stop!" You yelled, your voice cracking since your throat had been so dry.

You turned your attention to Tyler, who was just nodding you off as you brushed your thumb against the warm red spot beneath his left eye. "Jesus Christ," Jamie scoffed, shaking his head as he rested both hands on top of his head. "Jordie and Bish were right. You two are...you're..."

You've always heard the phrase of someone 'turning green' whenever they were going to be sick, but you never understood it until you looked at Jamie in this very moment. The look in his eyes and his expression on his face said it all– he looked as if he could throw up at any moment. He went to say something again, closing his mouth before turning away from you and Tyler and rushing out of the room.

"Jamie!" You called out, turning to Tyler who just nodded at you to go after him.

"Jamie, stop!" This time you screamed, feeling the desperation practically leaking from you as you held the blanket tight against your body and ran down the steps after your older brother.  "Please, stop!"

Yet his steps hadn't faulted and he kept the same pace and his back to you. He didn't need to turn around for you to understand just how mad he was. You could feel the anger radiating off of him as he came to a stop at the front door. "Jamie, please..." You cried, not even realizing that tears had started to fall down your cheeks until you heard yourself speak.

He kept his back turned to you for what felt like hours but was only seconds. "When?" He asked, finally turning to you, his look of anger still plastered on his face. "When did this all start?"

"I-I mean I've had feelings for him for a while and we-we've been flirting and–"

"When did you start having sex with him? Halloween?" The loud and harsh tone of his voice, startled you back a few steps and for the first time, you were scared of your brother.

"N-no! Not until I broke up with Cole." He turned away from you again, this time grabbing the doorknob and you reached out for his arm, grasping onto his sweatshirt sleeve. "P-please, Jamie just...listen, please."

Jamie starts to turn the knob, ignoring you before he took a deep breath and sighed, turning back to face you with a look of hurt written all over his face. "I just...I don't get it! Don't you know his reputation, Y/N?" He asked, his left hand waving towards the stairs. "It's not a lie! He sleeps with girls all the time, it's who he is!"

You tugged the blanket tighter, letting your grip on his sweatshirt sleeve fall. "It's different with me J. I...I think I–"

Before you were even able to confess your feelings, Jamie brushed them off with an aggressive scoff. "Don't even say it, Y/N. Do you really think that you love him? That he loves you?" His voice was getting higher and if you could shrink into the floor, you would. "He's not even capable of loving someone, Y/N! And you–" he drops a hand at you, shaking his head. "You're just a kid."

"I'm almost 22-years-old, Jamie. I'm not that little girl with pigtails following you, Jenny and Jordie around like a puppy. I'm a big girl capable of making decisions and I know what I feel!"

Jamie just stared at you as you felt your confidence start to dwindle off, just as fast as it appeared. But then you saw it, a small moment in his eyes where his anger subsided and he seemed to be taking in your statement. Maybe this was it, maybe he wouldn't brush off your feelings for Tyler like it's a pre-school crush, and actually take you seriously. For that moment, he was the big brother that you went to for so many years when you skinned your knee and needed someone to hold your hand while your mom drowned the wound in hydrogen peroxide.

And no sooner than that moment opened up, it closed off again the moment his eyes wandered off of you and to the area behind you. His eyes glossed over and darkened once again, pushing your comforting big brother aside. "You asked me about Maisy? Well, there's a reason why he never let her post anything. Because she was nothing more than a hookup. A piece of ass that he could call when he was lonely and needed to get laid." His eyes wandered back down to your blanket and you pulled it tighter against you as he looked you back in the eye. "What makes you think that you're any different than her?"

He turned back towards the door, only for a moment before turning back and looking at you. "I'm down with you." His eyes looked over your shoulder. "Both of you."

He opened the door and walked out, slamming it hard behind him. "Jamie!" You cried out, staring at Tyler's front door, knowing that going after him was not an option. When you went to take a deep breath, sobs escaped from the back of your throat and your legs felt like buckling beneath your weight.

You turned around to see Tyler standing there and looking somber, dressed up in sweats and a t-shirt, which was a whole different outfit from when he answered the door. His eye was starting to swell and it only served as a reminder of everything that had just happened in minutes. He places your clothes in a neat pile and looked at you, taking in your tears. You walked towards him, wrapping your arms around him and feeling him return your embrace...only somehow, he felt distant.

You pulled out of his arms and sniffled, wiping your cheeks on to your arm as he pulled the blanket tight against you, again. "I think you should leave. I can go pack up your backpack and call you an uber."

It was as if he drove a stake through your chest with those two sentences. You nodded, only because if you were to speak, you'd let out more sobs you were holding. He handed you your clothes before disappearing up the stairs.

The moment he was out of view, you made your way to the downstairs bathroom and locked yourself inside of it, letting your sobs escape. You played the details in your mind: Jamie's face, the spite in his words. How distant and cold Tyler just seemed to you. Like he was brushing you off as just another random hook-up with his uber comment when normally you'd be staying the night or he offered to drive you back to campus.

As you got dressed and splashed water onto your face, you took in your reflection. You hadn't realized just how hard you had been crying until now. Your face was flushed and your eyes swollen and red. You splashed some more water onto your face before drying it off with a towel, leaning against the counter and letting your head drop.

Everything has changed.

❒❒❒❒

"Have a good night Ma'am and whatever it is that has you so upset...I'm sorry." Your uber driver, a friendly elder man said, giving you a soft smile and offering you a candy cane from his candy bowl.

You smiled, sniffling as you took one. "Thank you and I'm sorry for being such a mess."

"Oh don't apologize. I remember what it was like being your age. It's a difficult time, and I'm sorry if I'm just overstepping here...but young men at this age? Wouldn't be able to see the women of their dreams if she was standing right in front of his face. So don't let him get you down and you just go ahead and focus on school and being your best self? Okay?"

You nodded, closing the door and watching as he drove away. You adjusted your backpack on your shoulders and stuff the candy cane into your sweatshirt pocket, wiping your cheeks on your sleeves. You hadn't stopped crying the moment you got into your uber. Hell, it was a miracle you had managed to stop crying when Tyler came to get you from the bathroom.

He had knocked on the door, giving you only seconds to collect yourself and grab the blanket before opening the door to him saying: 'The uber is here'

And all you were able to say was 'Okay.'

The walk from the bathroom to his front door was awkward– you just followed behind him like a lost puppy, trading his blanket for your backpack. He had opened the front door and you walked outside, expecting him to follow after you– only when you turned around, he was rested in the doorway and nodding his head at the end of his driveway. You couldn't think of anything to say except for– "See you"

And all he did was nod and watch you walk down the driveway. When you got to your uber, you turned around to wave at him, only to have your heart sink into your stomach when you noticed that the door was closed. That's what started your endless tears in the uber. He didn't even bother to make sure that you were safe getting into the uber and didn't even bother to shoot you a text to ask you to text him when you got to your dorm.

Speaking of which, walking to your dorm right now at almost 2 A.M. felt like an extreme walk of shame, though since it was finals week...maybe you could pass it off as you coming back from a hardcore study session that just caused you to spiral into a mental breakdown. When you got to your room, you opened it and walked in to see Kennedy and Big Rig chilling on her bed, watching Netflix.

"Hey babe, how did studying go?" When she turned to look at you, she immediately took in your appearance, tossing off her blankets as you made your way to your bed.

You dropped your backpack onto the floor, keeping your face hidden from them and trying to best to keep your cool. But the moment Kennedy started to rub your back, your bottom lip started to quiver and you let out a sob. You heard Big Rig shift in Kennedy's bed as he paused their show and you kept your back to the both of them as you climbed up onto your bed.

"Am I kicking his ass?" Big Rig asked, causing you to let out another sob and you saw Kennedy wave him off as she rested her arms on your knees.

"What's wrong, Y/N?" She asked, tapping her finger against one of your knees and causing you to look at her.

You sniffled again and looked at both of them through teary eyes. "Jamie knows."

[cawolters]

December...? DECEMBER!?

What about September?

November?

October?? What did I miss??

Yes, well, no you didn’t miss any vitals updates. I have reasons for why I haven’t been active on tumblr, and the most honest reason is that I didn’t feel like writing and posting on here since spring.

The writeblr community is so so great, one of the best in the web, but the platform is driving me nuts. Flagging, shadow bans, tag dysfunction and draft erasing/crashing, have just completely smashed my love for making fun and elaborate posts.

However, lots of updates has been made and i keep seeing wips I want to tag list and people i want to hang out with, so I’ll stick around for another decade or so! Hashtag always lurking.

The more polite reason for my absence, and equally truthful I might add, is that I was very busy the last few months —COMMISSIONS! LIFE! IRL NETWORKING!

And now I’ll tell you about it all, starting by answering the Q on everyone’s tongue:

1) Is Flash Fiction Friday Getting Revived in 2020?

In short, yup.

I need it, you need it, the world needs it. We need to WRITE folks. And the lovely prompt Friday will be back with week no 30 (!!) on:

Friday the 10th of January!

I have a capable team of creative and lovely writeblrs on the job as to how we an ensure consistent posting —and just and FYI, we might even end up with giving the FFF it’s own blog.

Run free, be with the people my beautiful prompt creature, inspire! And give me something to read!!

Stay tuned for updates and tell me is you want to be added to the FFF tag list.

Now next up is my scrip update!

2) Querying ‘The Serpent Kiss’

All is well in the land of querying.

or... well almost.

Alrighty, lemme explain below.

So, if you’ve been following me for awhile, you know my third child (whom is not currently teething or using my lipstick as a crayon) is my dark new adult fantasy trilogy —The Serpent Kiss <3

If you donno what I’m talking about, here’s a quick summery of the query process:

I finished the English first draft, two and a half years ago (I think?) and started looking into querying after my fifth draft was done.

I decided very early on that I would feel more comfortable working here in Denmark, where I already have a literary network, and actually understand the cultural unwritten rules when working with publishers!!

Since then I have been rewriting, tweaking, had beta-readers, editors, a sponsored translator (who translated the script from English to danish) BEFORE I started querying seriously in Denmark.

During the time where the book was being reviewed, I’ve kept in touch with houses who showed interest in the book from the get go (encouraging me to push onward), done a lot of social media work (especially on Instagram since the publishers all mentioned the importance of that platform) and attended books cons to physically mingle (it makes a difirence —really).

Ah, and now, finally, we’ve starting to get serious replies back from the Danish publishers.

Let’s look at what they’ve said so far.

(And mind you, this is Denmark. We’re a tiny country and we DON’T have adult fantasy books written by danish authors, so their critique is based on that. YA is what’s sellable and had been for years, buuut I also know that tendency will shift, so that’s what I’m really selling. A new trend basically. Always understand what pov the critique is coming from and don’t stop at the first rejection)

3/5: ‘no thank you, there’s no marked in Denmark for your book’

1/5: ‘we love it but rewrite it to YA and we have a deal’ — I said, no thank you

1/5: ‘we love it as is and we want to give you a deal, but we have to work out the legal kinks, and we will give you final answer by the end of January!’

So I’m awaiting the final judgement!!

But not really, it’s not the final judgement. If the deal falls through, and it might, never pop champagne before signing, I still have four more houses I could send the book to here in Denmark.

And, I could still go the international route and query over seas.

Yup! That’s the update on that!

Next up? The general writing!

3) A Year Of Author

“It’s really hard being a writer... Not on the days where you’re writing, but on the days where you’re not!”

— @CAlisaWolters, Instagram confessions

My year of full time professional writing, meaning mainly relying on my text/skill/art to heave in the cash, is six months down and going — OK!!

Here’s what I’ve learned/done so far:

I’m writing 4-7h on commissions, the second book of the trilogy, short-stories, poetry and another little YA project every day. Yes. Every day. And that’s very very cool and also exhausting mentally. My advice to others: HAVE OBLIGATORY DAYS OFF! (Oh yea and I also won nanowrimo but the project is a secret shh).

I’m somewhat alone most of the time but being a closeted introvert, I don’t mind, but I miss coworkers. That’s why Café dates and write-ins with writer pals IS IMPORTAINT.

Also! Speaking of socializing, I’ve been to five writers cons/events and I definitely recommend making it a priority for all professional authors. BRING BUSINESS CARDS!!

I have a set routine and I’m really happy with it! Early mornings is the best! And Monday is where I don’t write, but keep up with social media and answer mails and run errands! MAKE A ROUTINE!

And that’s the update on THAT!! Phew I’m getting winded, are you? Fear not we one have one last thing to cover. Promise.

4) Personal Life and Drag Kings ^_^

Where to start? Ah I know! I’ll start with the drag king storytelling event because that’s really what stands out!

I’m a mom, a wife, a bisexual, a general theatrical person and a genderfluid jellyfish who uses she/her pronounces, so when someone booked me for a storytelling event, I decided to go in drag. Naturally. Tsh duh.

I’ve really been experimenting with my gender this year, playing with apperence and comfortzones, and discovering that my real happiness lies somewhere between flooofy dresses and black buttondowns. And not just the clothes, but there attitude, the demeanor, the mental space of wearing cologne!! It might not sound dramatic, but to me it’s been A RIDE!

(I’ve been dying to go full drag for a long looooong time and I should’ve gone all out on the makeup —but next time!!! Also the event went so so well and I had the best time! I’m going to do it again!)

And NOW I’m done! Hah not really, but I won’t force you to spend all day reading my updates and this post is already so loooong 💕💕✨💕

The new year looms!! May it bring you love and confidence, and lots of new opportunities!!

Hug hug hug!!

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~Ciao

[calliecat93]

Top 5 Things I Disliked About RWBY Volume 7

Well everyone, Volume 8 will soon be upon us. IDK about anyone else, but I’ve never been so anxious about a volume in the near seven years I’ve been watching this show. Not even V3 had me this nervous, and I knew by nature of it being a Tournament Arc that it was gonna be painful. But as we near the new volume, I want to reflect on the previous one. So I am bringing back my Likes/Dislikes posts… except this time I DON’T have to do twelve posts for six volumes in a week. Only gotta do one Volume for today and tomorrow. Phew!

While V6 remains my favorite volume,V7 was a very well done one and by far the best written thus far. It was honestly super hard to pick five things I didn’t like, and are all pretty minor honestly. Heck I expect V8 to address some of these since V7 was clearly the build-up. But I did manage to make a Top 5 Dislikes List. As always, this is just my personal opinion and you are free to disagree with me. Take everything here with a grain of salt. Anyways, that’s enough exposition. Let the countdown begin~!

#5. Too Many Characters/Lack of Focus

RWBY has a lot of characters. A lot, loooot of them. You can tell it’s an anime for that reason alone, haha. Volume 8 thought might be the winner in the amount of it’s cast. We have our main cast, which consists of nine characters already (ten if you count Ozpin and eleven if you count Maria), which is already a lot to keep up with. But in this volume we have Ironwood, Penny, Winter, the Ace-Ops, Pietro, Robyn and her Happy Huntresses, the Schnee Family, Watts, Tyrian, and the list goes on. And those are just the relevant ones.

To the show’s credit, the volume mostly handles the focus well. They make sure that ones like Ironwood and Penny get a proper amount of focus considering their importance in this volume specifically. They also do a lot to showcase characters like Robyn, Clover, and Marrow so that we understand what they’re like and care about them, which makes how things end up even sadder. That being said, it did cause some of cast I think to get the short end of the stick a bit. Characters like Maria and Jaune pretty much got barely anything, and Blake and Yang would have also been out of luck if not for their talk with Robyn in Chapter 7. Some of the Ace-Ops, like Elm and Vine, and the Happy Huntresses who aren’t Robyn also didn’t get a lot of focus and the latter especially only got bare minimum glimpses into their personalities. Even with characters I was happy with like Ruby, Weiss, Ren, and Nora I feel could have had more done with their arcs here (the latter two especially but we’ll get tot hat later) had there been less characters and/or more time.

This is Number 5 because not only is it a minor issue, but it’s kind of inevitable. Shows only get so much time and the characters we focused on needed that time. Ironwood’s downfall wouldn’t have been nearly as powerful if it weren’t center stage. It’s one of those hard choices where you want to see more, but the show just had other things that took priority for the sake of both production and the story. Ultimately, it was the right decision and at most just makes me wish there was more.

#4. Emotionally Draining

Again, minor. I wasn’t even sure if I should add this because really I think it’s more of a personal thing than anything. But I failed to come up with another option, so... gotta take what I can get.

As good as this volume was, it was a VERY emotionally draining one. It was probably the only time I was kind of happy when it was over because ie meant a chance to breathe until V8. There’s the whole political plot that hit way too close for comfort, Tyrian’s murder spree and Penny’s framing, Ironwood’s downfall, everything from the halfway point of Chapter 11 to the end. Heck eve the first two chapters, and even bits of 3 and 4, were super tense and on edge. We had plenty of light-hearted and fun moments in the beginning. But by Chapter 6, that came to an end (or I didn’t find funny, like JNR’s antics in Chapter 8, sorry guys) and it was V3 again, but somehow even more on-edge.

Like I said, this isn’t really a dislike and is on here because I couldn’t think up anything else. As I said, the writing was very strong and on-point. I was nervous, but I’m pretty sure that’s because the writers wanted the audience nervous. They wanted us to feel the tension and fear. hey wanted us to be as conflicted about everything as the characters that we were watching. It was effective too. But it did leave me relieved that it was all over. I didn’t watch V7 in full again until recently when I got my Blu-Ray copy to put into perspective how drained I had been. I was fine upon rewatch, but yeah... way to rise up my stress levels CRWBY!

#3. The Ren/Nora Conflict

This is related to the Number 5 section. I think we can all agree that Ren and Nora tend to get the short end of the stick compared to Jaune and the rest of the main cast. V4 was an improvement, but 5 and 6 returned them to minor supporting roles and even V4 did more for Ren than Nora imo, who to this day is imo the least developed of the main cast. But clearly they wanted to start changing that, and given Jaune more or less got closure last volume it seemed like an ideal time to give the two development, especially where their relationship is concerned.

While Nora was overall fine, Ren... not so much? They do a god job setting up the two’s conflict, albeit the cliché ‘girl compliments boy, boy ignores her as they’re in the middle of something else’ joke in Chapter 3 was dumb. But Chapter 6 made it clear that there was far more going on. Nora is pushing to help Mantle and in the following chapter we have her snap at Ironwood for forcing so much sacrifice on it, but not on Atlas itself. Ren however is closed off (more tha usual), focus more or less solely on the task, is clealry afraid of their uncertain battle against Salem, and even seems to side with Ironwood in Chapter 7. It’s the first major conflict between the two with Nora just trying to get Ren to talk to her. She even finally kisses him... and we all know what happens after that.

The main issue here is two things. One, we NEVER get any clarity on why Ren is acting so cold to Nora, the one person he was always open around (well... for him anyways). I mean I have a good idea why and I’m 99% sure that V8 is going to go into it, but without any clarity it just comes off as him being unfair to Nora who is just concerned for him. The other issue is there is no closure to 9it. We have the final chapter where Ren tries to fight Neo, but as she’s disguised as Nora it goes badly. The poor boy is tearful, snaps at Nora when she tries to calm him down, and it ends in the boy looking like he’s about to have a nervous breakdown. It’s heart-wrenching, but still ultimately leaves the conflict unresolved. Plus we had a pretty large gap between the Renora Kiss (Chapter 6) and that moment (Chapter 13) with some brief moments sprinkled in. Otherwise, Ren acted as we’d expect even with the goofy plan in Chapter 8 where he seemed unusually chill considering. So it just kinda feels like for a while they... forgot about it.

This is right in the middle because as I said, I expect Volume 8 to go more into this. They’ve outright said that if there was something we were confused by or felt didn’t go anywhere, Volume 8 was going to address. This was set-up, and it leaves me anxious to see how things will go with these two especially going off the brief lines we heard in the trailer. But it still sucked that we got no closure and didn’t go further into why Ren is acting like he is. I know I was unsure of how to feel when it was all over. But I guess we’ll see the final result soon enough.

#2. The Truth Revelations

If you were reading my Volume 7 reviews, you know that I REALLY did not like how Chapters 9 and 10 were done. Why? Because of the truth reveals. Now I now know why t was handled like it was, which actually saved it from being out at Number 1 on the list. But does that change me opinion of it? Nope.

First, I want to talk about how it more or less began. That being Blake and Yang revealing the Amity Project to Robyn in Chapter 7. While I DO like them taking matters into their own hands instead of being complacent, I STILL have major issues on how they didn’t talk to Ruby and Weiss about it. I’ve heard the arguments about it, but imo when we have Yang having major hang ups with lies and half-truths (it’s why she was enraged at Oz), her and Blake seeming to pull the same thing... doesn’t look good. There is zero on-screen indication that they let the other sin about it later, which had they done so then the group could have planned proper steps in helping the two sides which may have caused Ironwood to not jump off the slippery slope as badly. Will V8 mention this? IDK, but it does bother me and I would like it addressed especially concerning the themes of trust.

Then we get to Chapters 9 and 10, where my issues go into effect. Robyn drops the hostility and reveals her knowledge of the project, but wants to try and work with Ironwood. The heroes reveal everything to Ironwood and while understandably shocked, he otherwise takes Salem being unkillable well. Then the two leaders reveal this to Mantle, using Robyn’s Semblance to prove it, and... that makes the citizens okay. Yeah... even knowing what happens later I still have issues with this. Because even with that knowledge, there was NO GOOD REASON fo AY of this to go well.

Robyn may know why Ironwood was depleting Mantle resources, but it doesn’t change that he caused a LOT of damage to Mantle due to it. Ironwood, despite his expected reaction coming later, still took the Salem news far too well especially considering how on-edge of her he’d been at that point. The citizens of Mantle know about Salem, but not why ironwood was depleting resources. Plus it doesn’t change that he was a borderline tyrant towards them and he didn’t try explaining that part to them. The fact that THAT calmed them down so easily, even with Robyn’s presence, just came off as... too easy.

Which it was. All of this was an elaborate psyche out. We think that things are finally going well... then Chapter 11 happens, and it goes downhill from there. Can’t lie, they got me. Chapter 11 was a HUGE gut-punch for that reason. As such, I decided to put this at Number Two. But it’s only because of the psyche out. It was still done to make the shock effective and while it worked, it doesn’t change that it felt like things got downplayed far more than they should have. Still, it saved this form taking the top slot. So what DID make it? Well...

#1. Willow Guilting Weiss

For a character that only got one major appearance, Willow left one Hell of an impact. All we knew about her prior was an off-handed remark by Whitley in V4 that implied that she was an unhappy drunk. Here? We see exactly what Jaques has done to this poor woman. She’s a drunk, unhappy, and her expression just screams exhaustion and broken. She knows that she did nothing for her children once she broke, something Weiss makes very clear, but she does make some amends by giving Weiss her Scroll and the evidence needed to expose Jaques and Watts, She’s even relieved when We3iss confirms that she’s never returning for good. It’s a very powerful scene that in minutes makes Willow one of the saddest, sympathetic characters in the show.

I do have one huge problem, however. That’s when she leaves. She has one request for Weiss, and that’s for her to not forget about Whitley. While it’s been becoming more and more clear that Whitley is a scared kid who has been just as abused by Jaques as his sisters, he WAS still a cocky jerk to Weiss. He was never nice to her, and when he was it was for his own benefit. He had zero issue rubbing into Weiss her misfortune in V4 after the concert and how he’s the new heir. Of course Weiss wouldn’t like him and be justified in believing that he didn’t like her. When she points that out, this is Willow’s line:

Of course not. You left him here... with us.

Yeah, this really pissed me off and I think is a problem on the writer’s end. They want to have Weiss realize, like the audience is, that Whitley is like he is because unlike her and Winter, he can’t escape, has none of the abilities that they do, and is thus still a prisoner and under his father’s control.. He succumbed to it instead of fight or get away because that was all that he could do, and hating his sisters kept him in his father’s favor. It’s all very understandable and yes, having Weiss realize this and make an effort to try and help Whitley would show how much she’s changed and allow the Schnee Family to all break free form Jaques once and for all.

But the way the line is worded make it feel like Willow, and in turn the narrative, is gui9lting Weiss into not realizing this and not helping Whitley prior. Umm... no. Hell no. Weiss was under zero obligation to help her brother, who at the time portrayed himself as an egotistical snake to her. He rubbed his success in her face. he rubbed getting the title in her face. He was even trying to do so again in the very same chapter Willow was introduced. Weiss HAD to help herself. And unlike her, who as far as we know never hated Winter and the two always treated each other well, as far as we can tell Whitley never had that relationship with them and we don’t know if he ever tried. Jaques made sure that Whitley and his sisters would be divided, and Weiss shouldn’t feel guilty at all for not seeing this.

I get why some may get after Weiss and what Willow was trying to hint to her. We know that Whitley is a victim. We know that because he had no one, he became the way he is. He still has hope, but Weiss is the only one in any position to get him the help that he needs. I expect V8 to go into this, especially since Weis sis why Jaques is now in prison and took away the only figure that Whitley had (a HORIRBLE one, but still the only). However Weiss did what she could in her position, and doesn’t have the advantage of NOT being in the audience to everything. Do I expect her to realize all of this and try to get Whitley to as well? Yes, and it’ll be her character coming full-circle as well. But did she deserve to be guilted? Hell No. Don’t think it was intentional, but it still rubbed me the wrong way and I still don’t like that bit. Thus, it is the moment I dislike most in RWBY Volume 7.

Okay, that’s it for now. Tomorrow, I’ll post my Top 5 Likes. Which trust me, I got plenty of ‘em~! See you all then~!

[katieputnam18]

Could you have set the bar any lower?

Asked my sister when I told her about this series of decisions.

There is a heaviness in my chest that I haven’t felt since my high school boyfriend and I broke up. 

On paper, this looks like a complete train wreck. 

Because, it is.

There is a reason they tell you to avoid relationships your first year of sobriety and it’s not because they’re trying to cock block you.

I met a guy the first week of November ~ the very first day I put the bottle down. 

Red flag; number one. 

The last thing I was thinking about when checking into rehab was a guy.

You’re not exactly winning life if you’re there, obviously. It’s not like you’re on the top of your game and think; next stop, rehab.

But, when I saw him I felt a feeling of comfort that I had known him forever. And, there was something about his eyes. They were soft and gentle and he was quiet. An athlete. He was sensitive and kind. 

And, I was smitten. 

He left a few days after I got there and we reconnected when my 28 days were done (I went directly to another facility after that because I was definitely not ready for the real world yet). 

When my time was up at the next facility we talked about the next plan and the most logical thing we came up with was living together.  Because, why not?

So, we moved in together. 

Red flag; number two. I moved into his parents basement. 

Against ALL recommendations from every woman I loved. 

So, as I started rebuilding my life, he was facing a different future (I’ll get to that), but we made it work. 

Each day we lived our little lives; working, meetings, movies, dinner with his parents every night.

I was learning how to live again. I was busy adulting; creating structure, routine, and social circles.

He was doing his thing. 

Friendly reminder, save yourself the pain and don’t fall in love with an addict in recovery unless they actually want to get sober. 

He got picked up for one thing or another and spent two weeks in jail. 

Red flags; three, four, and five. 

When he got out of the slammer, he was sober, happy to be back, and the sweet doll I remembered.

When you are on the other side of addiction the lies never end. The sneaking around, the looking at the phone, I felt neurotic; it’s an endless cycle. 

I didn’t even know how to live, let alone manage this huge amount of co-dependency and an addiction. That, though, thank God wasn’t mine. 

So, that was fun, que eye roll.

Then, I went to Germany for a week for work. 

And, while I was gone, he was acting weird, but I thought that it was just because he was doing his thing. 

When I came home he changed his status to in a relationship on FB, and I was like, aw, cute, finally.

It’s been over six months. 

Spoiler alert. He posted a picture of himself hugging ANOTHER GIRL.

I cannot roll my eyes hard enough at that right now. I did not see that one coming.

So there I was, completely shocked. At work. Crying, calling him, like, um, hey, remember me, we live together.

What the actual fuck are you doing? 

This was 3:00 in the afternoon and I was supposed to be home for dinner at 6:30 with the family.

Needless to say, dinner never happened. 

I went to a meeting and told the women there what had just happened. I was shell shocked. I was so hurt. And, I was pissed. At myself, but mostly at him.

Around this time my lovey sister jumped in and asked me if I could possibly have set the bar any lower.

“We’ve gotta go up from here.” she said with an exasperated sigh.

I went to his house the next morning at 7am after he left for work and got all of my stuff. I was in a daze. I literally couldn’t believe it.

Who does that?

That morning, all I could think about was one of the many bottles hidden around both houses (I moved into an apartment) by closet alcoholics and how good it would feel. To not feel.

And, to be honest, I had to call one of my girlfriends at every step along the way as I drove past gas stations, grocery stores, the NH State Liquor Store to hold myself accountable until I got to work. 

I went to a noon meeting.

And, I was sitting there, thinking, I already lost the guy, there is no way in hell I’m going to loose my sobriety too. 

I remembered that I had a choice.

FINALLY. Something I could control.

I can decide what I put into my mouth and for that day, alcohol was not it. 

The past few weeks have been a blur, I went on a few dates with a guy in the area, but honestly, I was just sitting there, like, the last thing I can think of is a relationship right now. 

My heart hurts. 

It literally hurts. 

So, I’ve been doing a lot of writing, a lot of talking (shocker) and sitting in these feelings.

I’m not really sure what the hell I was thinking, he was looking at life in prison for drug related charges and was recently sentenced to 12 years. 

Phew, dodged a bullet there. “Hey Honey, do you want to go see your daddy in prison?”

No thanks. 

I’ve seen enough TV to know that’s not the life I want to live. 

But, my heart didn’t know that and when I fell for him it was the most amazing feeling in the world. 

I know that there are lots of theories of where my mind was (transferring addictions, distracting, deflecting, blah, blah, blah) but I’m not ready for that. 

Once my heart has healed I’ll work on that part. I should also add that two days later my phone was blowing up, unsolicited pictures were arriving, and someone was apparently thinking. That’s alright buddy, I’m good.

Bye boi.

For now, I just know that it’ll get better, I’ve lived through it before, but for the love of God, if you can save yourself from this please do. 

[the-gedonelune-times]

Happy Birthday, Hugo!

Hello everyone, just as the title entails, this will be a fic about a certain future boy’s birthday! I was given the idea of doing this fic after a very good friend of mine @explosiveglitterqueen were talking and they brought up an idea of how Hugo’s birthday could be Valentine’s day. After hearing about it I just couldn’t pass up the chance to write it out! I will warn ahead that this fic will be a little bit longer than what my fics usually are, but I really hope you’ll read until the end, because Hugo will have a special message for you!

With that being said, I hope you’ll enjoy!

Also, Lizzy, if you’re reading this, I really hope I did your OC justice in the scenes where she appeared!

“Phew, finally finished!”

I neatly stacked the now finished papers on the end of the desk, I’d put them in their proper places later. For now, I leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh, I was exhausted. After I had finished teaching a rather early class, I was pulled aside by our acting headmaster; Schuyler. He told me that there were a few things he needed me to take care of. Tasks which ranged between delivering books to the Archives, or going into town and grabbing a few things for future lessons. I had just finished my last task and all I really wanted to do right now was take a nap.

The room was warm from the sun’s light that had been pouring in through the open window and the soft breeze that would occasionally blow past, made my stress melt away and I found myself sighing once more.

“Long day?”

A voice startled me and I found myself practically jumping right out of my seat. Turning around, I saw that Elias had just walked in, followed by Yukiya and Alfonse.

“O-Oh, yeah, just a little.” I managed to flash a smile. “Hello, by the way.”

“Hey, Liz!”

Alfonse walked ahead of the other two and plopped right down on the sofa.

“Seems like I’m not the only one who’s had a long day?”

“Decorating can be a lot of work, especially when you’re the one doing all the work.”

“What do you mean? I thought you were placed with five other people.”

“He was. But his so-called group goofed off and did nothing to help him.”

Elias spoke up, irritation was heard clear as day in his voice..

“But it’s alright, it all worked out in the end. The place is ready for the holiday festivities.”

“Oh, that reminds me, isn’t the Love Holiday celebration changing?”

“Yes, with the Night Class involved now, we’ve had to add a couple of new things as per their request.”

“By their you probably mean the troublemaker.” Elias scoffed.

“You mean Zeus?” Yukiya spoke up.

“Yes.”

“It was actually a unanimous vote. Almost all of the students in the Night Class voted for it. “

“It sounds like a headache.”

“Elias, you sounded like Klaus just now.” Alfonse chuckled.

“W-well…”

“I think it’ll be interesting to see where this will go. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised that Schuyler approved of this. I’ve seen how scary he can get when the classes are conjoined.”  

Flashbacks to those classes filled my mind and I found myself shuddering at the end of my statement.

“Same here. But I’ve heard that Schuyler is trying to listen more to what the students here have to say. Not to mention he’s passing quite a few new rules which are being put to action almost immediately.”

“New rules? You mean like the one up for vote, which could be added for any and all upcoming big celebrations at the Academy?”

“Wait, what are you talking about, Elias?”

“There was a recent rule that from now on, only students at the Academy can participate in these events. If they aren’t enrolled here then they’re forbidden to join. This can mean previous graduates, or even visitors from places like Queensblade. Although, it’s still going through some votes and hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. However; the likelihood of it passing is….rather big. Especially considering the recent headmaster incident.”

I could feel my heart sink as Elias spoke. Truth be told, I was hoping to invite someone to the party that would be thrown for the Love Holiday. But if what Elias says is true, then I suppose it just won’t happen. I was torn.

“Liz, are you alright? You seem a little lost in thought.” Yukiya’s voice shook me from my thoughts.

“I’m fine, I guess I just overworked myself a little bit.”

“You really should be more careful…” Elias spoke up.

“Elias is right. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that you’ve been working harder than ever recently.”

“It really can’t be helped though, given the recent circumstances…”

I recalled back to all that had happened up until this point. We were introduced to a new headmaster after Randolph had stepped down. We were introduced to a whole new class, we unlocked mysteries about the Academy that I had never thought existed. We solved the case of the Raging Wizardess, the BBW, cured the Black Robe Plague, broke Caesar’s curse and even freed the Prince of the Labyrinth. We encountered new villains, such as Felix and we found out about Rembrandt’s plans….and through it all, I found myself in love with someone.

For the longest time, we didn’t know if we were friends or foes, he’d helped us out a few times, especially during the case of the Black Robe Plague and helped us unlock the power of the Star Sapphire. But although he helped us, he had also betrayed us and for the longest time, I didn’t know if I could trust him. But recently, I’ve seen a side to him I never thought I’d ever get to see. Underneath that cold exterior, lied a pool of different emotions, he was sweet, caring and had a strong sense of justice. All he wanted to do was save the future from the horrors that he had witnessed and was living through and I wanted to help him change it…

I gave a little sigh and pushed away from the desk before standing up from my seat. “Classes are almost done for the day, right? I’m going to leave a little early if that’s alright, I have somewhere I really need to be right now.”

“Oh, you need to go see *him* don’t you?” Alfonse playfully winked and I felt my cheeks flare up.

“A-Alfonse…”

“Go on and find him, we can handle the rest of the tasks.”

I gave a quick bow and hurried away from the office. I knew that it was wrong to abandon my duties like this, even if it was just for a little while. I just couldn’t get him out of my mind and I desperately needed to see him, especially after hearing about the new rules from Elias.

I was making my way to the village when I spotted a familiar figure up ahead.

“Mischa?”

“Oh?” Turning her head, she looked at me, with almost a troubled expression. “Don’t you know it’s rude just to sneak up someone?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect to see you out here of all places.”

“It’s a good place for thinking without any disruptions.”

“Is everything alright? You look a little bit troubled.”

“Well...if you must know, I'm trying to figure out what to do for Hugo.”

“Do for Hugo? What do you mean by that? Is everything alright?!”

“Yes, he’s fine.” Mischa swished her tail a little and looked at me with a hint of amusement. “Do you know what’s in a few days from now?”

“It’s going to be Valentine’s right? The Love Holiday?”

“Yes, but that’s also Hugo’s birthday.”

I widened my eyes and felt my heart stop beating for a few seconds. I heard that correctly, right? Just to make sure, I decided to ask Mischa to repeat what she had just said to me.

“Did you just say it was Hugo’s birthday soon?”

“Yes, in a few days.”

“I-I see, so I did hear you correctly…”

“Something wrong?”

“N-no, not at all!”

“If you say so.”

“Is there going to be a special time for a party?”

“Party? Hugo hasn’t had a party in years. According to Vain, the last time Hugo had a party, was the day he became old enough to start taking on missions. Even then, the only people that were there was us three and it wasn’t big, nor anything special really. Vain had gathered up what little amount of money we had and got Hugo a small gift and a few sweet treats.”

As I listened, I could feel my heart begin to ache and tears build up. “But...you’re wanting to do something for him this year?”

“That’s the plan. Things have changed since then and since we’re no longer in the future, more opportunities to celebrate, have been given to us.”

“I want to help too then!”

“Oh dear, no need to shout, my ears are quite sensitive you know.”

“S-sorry, it’s just…”

“You want to make him happy, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I want to give him a great party, I want to put a smile on his face.”

“You’re probably one of the few that could actually achieve that goal.” Mischa said while smiling.

“I should go and ask him about what he’d like to eat and what kind of cake he’d like an-”

“Wouldn’t it be much more fun if it was a surprise? Besides, Hugo left with Vain a short time ago, a few minutes prior to your arrival, actually.”

“Oh.. well, do you know when he might be back?”

“Probably not for a few more hours. Your best option is to head back to the dorms wouldn’t it? No use in staying out here in the woods during the dark, right?”

“You’re right, it’s just, I really wanted to see him.”

“I’ll let him know you stopped by.”

“Thank you, Mischa.”

I smiled at her gratefully and started walking back to my dorms, but stopped when I heard Mischa’s voice ring out.

“Oh, one more thing! I’m going to meet you at the prefect office tomorrow, make sure you’re alone so we can start discussing some plans.”

“Got it!”

I waved Mischa off before departing back to my dorm. Once there, I saw Amelia had just put her Grimoire down at her study desk and turned around to greet me.

“Liz, you’re back!” Amelia rushed towards me and gave me a big hug.

“Woah!” Steadying myself, I hugged Amelia back. “I haven’t been gone that long.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t talked like all day! You left earlier than usual this morning and I didn’t see you at all during lunch. I know you’re busy with prefect duties, but I still miss my bestie.”

“Oh Amelia. Don’t worry, I have time to spare, everything for the Love Holiday is ready, so I won’t be as busy as I have been recently.”

“Really? Oh I can’t wait! Oh you know what? We should go into town tomorrow and go shopping for the party!”

“Amelia, about that I--”

I was about to explain to Amelia that I wasn’t going to be attending the celebration, but a sudden tap at the balcony door interrupted me.

“Who do you think that is? I mean it’s pretty late.”

I let out a sigh and looked over. “Zeus, if that’s you again, then my answer to your question from earlier is still a ‘no’, I’m not going to the Night Class cafe. Last time you invited me, you got into a fight with Viggo and me and the others were left dealing with the mess you made!”

“I’m not that loud idiot….”

That voice made me freeze and for a split second, my heart skipped a beat, followed up with a warm sensation covering my entire face.

“Hugo?!” I quickly got up from my bed and ran over to draw back the curtains, revealing Hugo standing right in front of me….well, between the glass of the door that separated us.

“May I borrow you for a little while?”

I looked at Hugo and then back at Amelia who wore a big smile.

“Sure, but tell him, you have to be back before it gets really late.”

Opening up the door, I smiled at him. “Amelia said sure, but I have to be back before it gets really late.” I giggled.

“I’ll bring her back soon.” He smiled.

“You better. Now go on you two lovebirds!” Amelia began to shoo us away with a smile before giving me a wink and mouthing the words *have fun* before closing the curtains.

“Hugo…”

The moment Amelia closed the curtains, I found myself spinning around and embracing Hugo. In return, I felt his arms wrap around my body, while his face leaned down closer to mine, making my heart pound against my chest.

“Mischa told me you stopped by earlier.”

“Yes, I was on my way to meet you, but then I saw Mischa sitting on a tree stump. But she told me you wouldn’t be back for another couple of hours?”

“That was what I thought it’d take, however what we needed to do got done early.”

“Were you tracking Felix again?”

“Yes, and Rembrandt as well.”

“I see.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You’re supposed to be getting ready for some big event, how’s that been going?”

“Pretty good actually, everything is supposed to be done and ready, but we still need to do another lookover to make sure.”

“Are you going to be going to it?”

“I..” I stopped the words I wanted to say, and thought carefully before continuing. “I’m actually not going to go.”

“Why not?”

“I have other plans. There’s actually a big test happening not far after and I don’t want to fall behind.”

“What are you talking about? You’re top of your class, along with the youngest Goldstein, right?”

“I-- well er, yes but there are still certain things I’m not confident in, you know?”

“I understand, but Goddess, I believe in you. You’ll pass.”

Seeing his smile after his statement made my heart ache. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I also didn’t want to ruin the surprise Mischa and I were planning for him. So I swallowed the words I truly wanted to say and had to put fake ones out instead.

“Thank you, Hugo.”

“Please do not thank me.” Leaning down, his lips brushed against mine and I felt my heart begin to flutter. “I should go, it’s getting rather late. I will see you soon, Goddess.”

Giving me one final kiss, on my cheek, Hugo turned away and jumped down from the balcony, his scarf fluttered beautifully in the air and surrounded him when he land perfectly on the ground below. I watched him off, before turning my own back, and let out a sigh.

When I got back inside, I noticed that Amelia was already tucked in bed and was snoring softly under the covers. I made my way to my own bed and got settled in before lying down, my vision meeting the ceiling. It stayed this way for a while before my thoughts calmed down and sleep embraced me.

The next day, while I was placing a stack of papers in their proper folders, I heard scratching at the window. I had a feeling I knew who it was, and as I inched closer, I was able to confirm my suspicion; it was Mischa. The moment I opened the window, Mischa jumped off the branch by the window and on to the floor below. Afterwards, I went over to close the window and made my way back over to the desk, where I had a saucer of milk, meant for Mischa.

“I thought since we could be here for a while, you might want a refreshment.”

I watched as her eyes lit up once the saucer was placed down in front of her. “Thank you.” With a swish of her tail, she began to lap up the contents.

“No problem, so, where should we begin?”

“Well, let’s start off with how this will go about.”

“What do you mean?”

“The big celebration, are you not going to it?”

“I decided against it. I’d much rather spend time with Hugo then be cramped among the other students attending.”

“But what about your friends, do they know?”

I fell silent and looked down while biting my lip, I was so swamped today with teaching classes, that I hadn’t really gotten the chance to sit down and even bring up the reason for why I wouldn’t be attending.

“I take it as a ‘no’, then.”

“Yes…”

“Hmm, I see, well, I suppose you can explain it to them another time. For now, let us focus on the task at hand, shall we?”

“Right.”

“Do you have any ideas for what you’d like to do?”

“W-well…” Truth be told, I had a few ideas floating around. “I was thinking of maybe going into town and buying a few decorations, like streamers and ribbons, maybe even some balloons? Afterwards, I’d like to get ingredients to make the dishes he likes the most.”

“Those don’t sound bad, but now I have to ask what exactly you’re planning on doing to distract him, while you set up for the party.”

“Well.” I smiled. “That’s where you come in Mischa.

“Me?”

“Yes, I’d like you to distract Hugo while I get things together. That’ll include some setup, meal cooking and even baking a cake.”

“I can try my best, but I can’t promise that this will go just the way you plan it.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Hugo has a very special bond with you, my dear. Have you not noticed? Whenever he senses something is wrong or could go wrong he’ll immediately flock to your side. Plus, need I remind you, he has the power of time on his side? He could freeze the time around him and that would include me.”

“I know that, but need I remind you Mischa, that I too wield time as well? I think I’ll be able to stop him from finding out about the surprise should it come down to that.”

“Well, well, I see you’ve become quite accustomed to your unlocked abilities.”

“Well, I want to be able to help save the future, so I have to start learning all that I can of it.” I smiled.

Mischa smiled in return before hopping up on the sofa, before lying down. “I believe you’ll be able to do it.”

“Thanks, Mischa.”

The two of us continued our chatting and planning, a few hours had passed by and soon it was time for us to go our separate ways. Mischa had left before I had, and just when I was about to leave, Alfonse had walked in, with Caesar in tow. Both had a fair amount of boxes in their hands.

“What’s all that?”

“Most of it is some of the stuff we were asked to get from the Archives.” Alfonse replied before sitting the boxes down with a huff.

“Yeah, some of these things date back years and years ago, most seem to have been untouched.”

“So you have no idea what’s in here?”

“Nope.”

“We were told to look through it and see what all is in there.”

“Will you be needing the office for anything else? It might get pretty cluttered in here.”

“It’s all yours! I was actually just about to go into town quickly.”

“Oh?”

“For what?”

“O-Oh well, just a few things for cooking.”

“Does this mean we’ll be getting some special lunches soon?”

“Your lunches are always good.” Alfonse grinned.

“I promise, you’ll get some soon! But I really should get going.”

Without another word, I hurriedly grabbed my stuff and scrambled to get out of the office before getting bombarded with more questions. I had just made it out and was walking towards the back of the school, near where the sports field for Ladilz was, when I heard a few voices ring out.

“Okay, OKAY I GIVE UP QUIT!”

That voice…. It sounded very familiar and I found myself walking and then turning a corner. Out in the distance, a fellow prefect, Lizzy Luna, had the one and only Zeus Brundle in a headlock, while Vain laughed at the whole situation. I walked forwards, hoping to hear more of the ongoing conversation.

“Now what are you going to do when we get back to the office?”

“I don’t see why I have to be th-- GAH! OKAY, I’LL CLEAN UP THE OFFICE, I SWEAR!”

“Good.”

Letting go of him, Lizzy took a step back and dusted off her hands, a smile was on her face. It was just then that I noticed she was looking at me.

“Oh, hey Liz!”

“Hey, Lizzy!”

I wore a smile as I began walking over to where the others were.

“I’m sorry you had to see all that.” Lizzy scratched at her cheek shyly.

“It’s fine. Actually, I’m a little confused as to what caused this whole dispute.”

“It started because someone” shooting a glare in Zeus’s direction, Lizzy then turned her gaze back to me and began speaking once more. “Decided it’d be a good idea to summon a monster in the Night Class prefect office, after getting into a fight, with one of the students.”

“I didn’t cause that much damage.”

“Are you kidding me?! Pieces of furniture got shredded, Lucious almost got eaten, and Hiro almost got set on fire! If it weren’t for them and us.” Lizzy motioned to herself and Vain. “Being in there, the whole office would be nothing but a pile of rubble!”

“I could have taken care of it myself you know!”

Lizzy was about to come back at him, but Vain put his hand on her shoulder and I watched as she began to relax.

“Look, just clean up the office, Vain and I have our own matters to address. I’ll be back in a little while and if nothing’s been done, well….” she smirked. “I just hope you’ll be ready for the glitter attack of your life.”

With that, Vain and Lizzy left hand in hand back towards the Academy, meanwhile, Zeus gave a huff, before making his way back to the Academy. He began muttering something under his breath, but because of the distance between us, his words were inaudible. I looked up at the sky and realized the sun would be setting really soon, with that, I took out a small notepad and quill pen out of my bag and began writing a note to Amelia, explaining to her that I may be a bit late.

After I had sent the note, I took out a peram and summoned my broom, then I summoned my bag into the peram before tucking it into my cloak pocket. I knew that if I were to travel on foot, it would cost me a great deal of time; time, which I was already limited on as it was. I could have waited to go shopping until tomorrow, but I knew what tomorrow was… and I was going to need the time tomorrow to start setting up for the party.

Scouting the area from above, I tried to locate the shops that I desperately needed to visit first. Luckily for me, there was a fresh produce stand which also seemed to be selling all of the things I’d need for the dinner preparations. While I knew the kitchen offered some ingredients and kitchenware for use, I knew that I would need more than what they’d allow me to use, especially with the amount of stuff I was going to be whipping up.

After landing and browsing for the items then proceeding to pay for it all, I gingerly placed the items into the peram and tucked it away in my pocket once more. With a smile and broom in hand, I began to walk around the area, looking to see if there were any other shops that caught my interest. Oddly enough, on the same street, there happened to have been a crafting shop.

I pushed open the door and it sounded out with a ring, moments later an elderly woman came to greet me with a big smile on her face.

“Why hello there young lady, what can I help you with today?”

“O-oh hello! I’m actually just here browsing.”

“Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”

“Do you have anything along the lines of birthday decorations?”

“Hmm...let me think.” With a hand under her chin, the elderly woman appeared to be deep in thought. “There might be a couple of things around here that can be used as makeshift birthday decorations if you’re interested that is.”

“Yes! I’m very interested!”

“Right this way then deary.”

I followed the lady over to where a large assortment of colored ribbons were, along with large blank banners, bottles of confetti and much more. I ran my fingers over some of the materials, checking the texture and looking at the colors that would be perfect.

“See anything that you like?”

“Yes actually!”

As I spoke, I began grabbing a few different objects, which included a blank banner, paint, scissors, quite a few yards of different colored ribbons, paper, confetti, and some glitter. I was about to take my first step with the objects in my hand when I almost tripped over the ribbons. Luckily for me the lady was able to help steady me and took a few things off the pile that now resided in my arms.

“Thank you so much, I’m so sorry for the trouble.”

“Now don’t you go apologizing, you’ve done nothing wrong and have caused no trouble. I’m always happy to help out any customers who walk into my shop. Now here, let me ring you up for all of these.”

I couldn’t help but smile after hearing her kind words, and after she rang up all the items, I handed her some more Lune than what was asked. “Please, keep the change.”

“But this is quite a bit more than what’s needed, I can’t accept this.”

“Sure you can. You have no idea how much you’re helping me make someone’s day as bright as the morning sun.”

As I spoke, I began placing the items I had just gotten checked out, in the peram as well before heading out of the store with a big smile on my face. I looked down at peram in my hand and I couldn’t help but slightly blush and hold the peram closer to my heart. As I walked onwards, I noticed that night had fallen over the town and shops were beginning to lock their doors for the night. Given the fact that I had arrived pretty late, I managed to get a good haul and pretty much grab everything that I would need for tomorrow.

I was about to leave when a certain store caught my eye, and before I knew it, my feet were moving on their own accord and I found myself standing at the entrance to the store. Through the window, I saw a few of the items on display, things that ranged from wands, to magical supplies, to decorative things. I turned the knob on the door and made my way inside, it didn’t look like anyone was around at the moment.

I took this chance to look around see what all the store had to offer, at the moment, it looked more like items meant for the Academy wizards and wizardesses. I brushed my hand against some of the brooms they had and made my way up to the front where I saw a glass case. As I peered inside, I noticed that there was a variety of different Love Holiday themed items. I  began to wonder if one of these things could work as a gift for Hugo. I had yet to get him a present for his birthday.., I know Hugo has a sense of fashion, but would jewelry be good for him?

“Can I help you, miss?”

“Oh uh, no, well I mean yes, see I was just browsing and well, I’m not sure what to get…”

“Is there something in particular?”

“Well… someone very dear to me is going to be celebrating their birthday tomorrow and I just want to try and pick out something that they might like.”

“I see.” The shop owner took a step behind the case and reached into his pocket, grabbing his glasses and putting them on. “Now allow me to ask; is this special person your boyfriend, by any chance?”

“Y-yes, he is.”

“Hmm, well then...” His voice trailed off and he tapped the top of the glass case a couple of times before grabbing a key and unlocking it, taking out a blue velvet box. “This might be something worth looking into buying for him.”

“What is it?”

Opening the box, revealed a pair of matching pendants, each had a crystal heart and a ring on the end of the chain.

“These are a matching set and they are usually quite a big hit with couples, especially during this time of the year. However, there’s something special about this set than a set you’d find at one of the jewelry stores here in the town.”

“Really? What?”

“You see those crystal hearts that are connected to the ring?”

“Yes?”

“Well, if a couple’s love is true, then the hearts will both turn a rose pink color. It also means that they’ll have an eternal love, unbreakable by any force.”

“R-really?!” I looked at the box with shining eyes. “How much are they?”

“750 Lune.”

My eyes widened and I scrambled around in my pocket, looking for my small purse that I kept my Lune in, however, when I looked inside, I realized I was a few short from the amount.

“I’m a few short, b-but thank you anyways.” I smiled and put my small purse back in my pocket, however, just when I was about to turn and leave, the man called out.

“You know what, for you, I’ll cut you a deal. You’ll only have to pay 500 Lune for the complete set.”

“B-but, are you sure?”

“Yes, I can see how much this day means to you by the look in your eyes. It’s the same look I had when I fell for my lovely wife years ago.”

After the man had rang up the items, he then wrapped it up and topped it with a lovely bow before handing it to me with a smile.

“Thank you for your business.”

I took the gift and tucked it gently in my pocket before bowing graciously.

“Thank you as well!”

With a satisfied sigh, I left the store and walked a little bit more before finally getting on my broom and took off into the night sky, heading to my dorm. It was a flight that only lasted for a few minutes, but the thoughts that ran through my mind made the time drag on longer than what I thought it would have. I looked down below at the girls dormitory and located the balcony that belonged to our room, I gently began to descend and land upon it before hopping off my broom and carrying it inside, before gently shutting the door behind me.

I wasn’t sure if Amelia was asleep or not, but regardless, I decided it was best to be cautious and make as little to no noise possible, for fear that I might disturb her from her sleep. I put all my things up and then made way over to my bed, not even bothering to change as I was feeling exhaustion seep into my bones. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow and the last thing I needed to be, was sleep deprived.

I wasn’t sure what time it was when I woke up, but I knew it was still nighttime. There was no trace of the sun anywhere and not a sound could be heard within the halls of the dormitory. I tried my best to try to go back to sleep, but after a few minutes, I found that it was futile. With a groan, I pushed myself off of my bed, grabbed my perams and trudged out of the door, might as well make the most of time I have now to do some decorating I guess…

I let out a rather big yawn as I entered the dining hall, the tables here were rather big and spacious; perfect for doing a little arts and crafts decorating. Touching the peram released all of the contents inside, including the produce, which I placed back inside, knowing that they would still be kept well preserved until their use for later. Meanwhile, I laid out the blank banner in front of me and then brought out the art palette and small brushes. I then reached over and grabbed a couple of paint tubes, taking off the caps and squeezing a little bit of each on different parts of the palette, careful not to mix them together.

“What are you doing up so early?”

I let out a yelp of surprise at the sudden voice and squeezed the paint tube I had in my hand a little too hard, sending a little bit flying onto the table.

“Goodness, no reason to act like you’ve seen a ghost, it’s just me.”

“Mischa?! What in the world are you doing here?! Aren’t you supposed to be with Vain?”

“I would be, but he’s got a little fox to keep him company for the night.”

“You mean Lizzy?”

“Yes. Now tell me, what are you doing here so early, don’t you know what time it is?”

“No… I don’t think I do..” Come to think of it, I never even bothered to check what the time was before coming down here.

“Well it’s barely two in the morning.”

“S-seriously?! That early?!” I let out a groan.

“I’m going to go ahead and guess that you couldn’t sleep because of today?”

“Pretty much…”

“Are you worried?”

“Yes, actually. This is a huge day for Hugo and I want to make it the best day ever for him! But at the same time I… I don’t know if I can…”

“Calm down, Liz!” Her eyes went wide and she began to paw at me, as if trying to snap me out of a trance.

“I’m sorry, I guess this whole thing has got me stressed to no end.”

“You really have nothing to be stressed or worried over. Hugo has always been a guy who like simple things, just seeing you there throwing a party for him would surely be enough, don’t you agree?”

“I…” I looked down at the table and blushed slightly. “I suppose so.”

“Now here, let me help you with some decorating.”

“You’re fine with getting your paws dirty?!” My eyes widened in shock.

“Don’t be so surprised, for Hugo and Vain, I’d happily get my paws dirty. They’re my family.”

“Mischa…” I couldn’t help but smile at her words. *Mischa really loves those two huh?*

“You know, this means I’ll get my paws dirty for you too, Liz.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, if you and Hugo ever tie the knot.”

“M-Mischa! Don’t tease me like that!”

“You’re a very teasable girl.” Mischa mused while swishing her tail.

Pouting a little, I reached outwards and grabbed one of the paint brushes and dipped it into one of the globs of paint on the palette before beginning to write the words ‘*Happy Birthday, Hugo. We love you!*’ on the blank banner. For every ‘O’ in the word, Mischa pressed her paw down, giving the banner a unique touch.Once the banner was deemed finished, we began thinking of what to do with the small jars of confetti,

“We can make a confetti cannon.” Mischa suggested.

“Wouldn’t that get a little messy?”

“Won’t we have to clean up the mess of streamers and stuff anyway? A little more isn’t going to hurt.”

“Fair point. But when would we use it?”

“Right when Hugo walks through the door.”

“Mischa, are we trying to surprise him, or give him a heart attack?”

“Surprise him of course, things like that wouldn’t scare him in the slightest.”

“I suppose you’re right. Alright, I’ll see what I can do about getting a cannon made for the confetti. Next up would be the ribbons I got.”

“What are you planning for those?”

“I was hoping to hang them up around in the room.”

“That would require hanging them from the ceiling correct? The cabin is rather tall.”

“I can easily do it with magic.”

“Alright, so we cross that off the list, anything else?”

“Oh, that’s right!” I looked down at the stack of papers I had. “I wanted to make paper hearts and hand them up by the banner.”

“Oh, now there’s a cute idea.” Mischa smiled.

“Hmm, I think that’ll do it for the decoration portion. All that’s left is the baking, but I can do that a little bit later.”

“First off, I’ll need to retrieve the cannon and I know just the girl for that job.”

“Who might that be?”

“The Academy’s very own Glitter Queen.”

A few hours had passed after Mischa left to go back to Vain, and I was still sitting at the table, I still couldn’t find the will to sleep and at this point it was too late for me to get a little rest. But I knew I’d be able to manage just fine. During my time at the table, I had cleaned up any mess I had made and transferred the finished products into the peram, all I had to do now was to locate Lizzy and ask her to borrow her special glitter cannon.

I knew one place in particular that Lizzy might be at and I followed that hunch all the way to the lake. At first, I saw no trace of anyone even being around the area, but after doing another scan of the area, I saw a familiar pastel cotton candy blue haired prefect who seemed to be walking and talking with another person. I knew it might be a little rude to interrupt, but today was the day and I just couldn’t risk having anything go wrong, so I steeled myself and began walking towards the pair with one thought on my mind: *do it for Hugo.*

As I walked closer to them, I quickly recognized the second voice, it was Vain and boy it didn’t take them long to spot me from where I was standing. Of course, Lizzy was her usual bubbly self and greeted me with a smile, while Vain crossed his arms and gave an awkward scowl. He tried to look tough but deep down, everyone knew how much of a softie he was for his girlfriend.

“Hey, Liz! What are you doing out here at this time? Aren’t you usually getting ready to go do your prefect work?”

“I… er- yes but today is something special and well, I had a favor I wanted to ask from you.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I hear that you have a special glitter cannon and I was wondering if I could borrow it for something very special. It’ll only be used for a few hours and I promise I’ll return it back to you tomorrow.”

“Hmm.” Lizzy thought for a second and then looked me right in the eyes with a serious look. “Are you planning to murder someone with it?”

“N-no! Absolutely not!”

“Good! Because I don’t want my glitter cannon getting stains! Oh but you can’t have the glitter, that’s strictly off limits.”

“Don’t worry, I just need to use it for some confetti.”

“Yeah? Well then here.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small pale blue rose brooch. “When you touch the center where all the petals start, the cannon will appear.”

Taking the object in my hand, I looked at it intently.

“Pretty nifty huh? You never know when you might need to glitter attack someone right in their face! Plus who would ever suspect a brooch, am I right?”

“That’s actually really incredible!”

“Hey, babe? Can we get going now? I’m not going to see you until later and I’d still like to continue our walk.” Vain spoke up and gave Lizzy’s hand a squeeze.

“Guess we’re going, but hey, enjoy the cannon, alright?”

She waved me off and disappeared within the vegetation at the lake, leaving me alone with a cannon brooch. *I hope this will give off the similar effect that a party popper would give*

I had tucked the brooch away in the pocket of my cloak and I was now making my way back to the girls dormitory. I still had a lot of cooking and baking to do, but I knew that with a little bit of magic I’d be able to cut down on the time spent on all the dishes I was going to make.

The moment I walked through the doors, I was greeted with the sound of chatter among other students as they ate their breakfast. I ignored the chatter and made my way over to the kitchen entrance with the peram now in my hand. I grabbed the nearest apron and ties it tightly around my waist before touching the peram, summoning only the ingredients needed for the cooking, I then grabbed all the measuring cups, pots and pans and other utensils and cracked my knuckles.

“Let’s do this!”

After a few hours of baking, and quite a bit of mess making, I could finally say that everything was officially ready for the party. I summoned the cooked goods and placed them in a separate peram before putting it in my pocket. Before leaving for the party I was definitely going to have to freshen up a little bit before departing for Hugo’s house to get everything set up.

After rushing up to my dorm room and took a quick shower, brushed my hair and then wrapped my towel around my body before making my way over to my dresser. Amelia wasn’t in the room and the curtains were closed, denying anyone view of our room. As I dug through my drawer I picked out my other garments and put them on before rummaging around, looking for an outfit to wear.

I opted for a periwinkle colored empire waist sundress, which faded into a rose pink at the very bottom. I then slid on a pair of flats and closed the dresser, before heading back downstairs and out of the dorms, both perams and brooch in my grasp.

As I navigated my way up and through the forest to Hugo’s cabin in our village we had built, I opened the door with the spare key that I had hid under the mat by the door. Once I unlocked, the real fun began. I wasn’t sure where to start and because of that, I let out a sigh.

“Wow, that was a big one.”

“Huh?” *That voice…*

“Oh, you were right, Alfonse, she was coming up here.” Another voice joined in and when I turned around, I was greeted by the faces of the other prefects.

“Alfonse, Caesar?! What are you guys doing here?!”

“They thought something was up, considering you seemed to be off in your own little world.” Elias was the next to step in the room, followed by Yukiya.

“So I’m guessing today is a special day for Hugo?” Yukiya asked.

“Who cares, if there’s a party I’ll be the life of it!” Zeus suddenly came charging in.

“If you’re at the party it’ll be a disaster.”

“I agree.”

I watched as two figures came and joined in; Lucious and Hiro.

“G-guys…”

“Hugo is our friend too, so why don’t we all pitch in and throw him a spectacular party!” Alfonse beamed.

“But what about the party at the Academy?”

“It’s not fun if you’re not there.”

“Plus, celebrating a friend’s birthday is much more important than some Academy festival.”

I looked around at everyone and I couldn’t help but break out into a smile. “Alright then! Let’s get started with decorating!” I put my fist in the air and then summoned everything out of the perams and then summoned out the glitter cannon that Lizzy had let me borrow. In record time, everything was being hung up in their proper positions, all while everyone was engaging in some friendly chatter. After a little while, we all took a step back and admired the work, the cabin was covered in decorations, all we needed now was for Hugo to show up.

I wasn’t sure when that would be though, so just as a precaution, I began explaining to everyone the procedure for his arrival.

“Alright, Alfonse, you’ll turn off the lights and then the rest of us will have to find a place to hide, alright?”

Everyone gave a nod and I let out a long breath before checking out of the window for what seemed like the hundredth time. Only this time, when I looked out, I saw Hugo’s figure coming over the hill. It looked like he was rather irritated for some reason and as he inched closer, I saw that Mischa had dug her claws into the back of his cloak and was desperately trying to get him to stop, but was being dragged along the ground instead.

“Oh Mischa… w-wait, everyone, hide!”

After I shouted, Alfonse cut the lights in the room, plunging us all into darkness as we desperately began finding places to hide. In the midst of our hiding, we heard a loud crash, followed by Zeus’s and Hiro’s voices.

“Dammit!”

“Great going King Kook…”

“Both of you, shh!” I hissed between my teeth and held my breath when the door to the cabin opened with a creek.

“Mischa, let go of my cloak…”

“But Hugo, it’s an emergency!”

“Chasing after birds isn’t an emergency, Mischa, it’s just your pastime.”

“Hmph.”

Mischa’s paws sounded out as she entered the cabin and was followed up by Hugo’s voice.

“Why is it so dark in here...I thought I left the living room and kitchen lights on. Plus, I remember locking the door.”

Once he shut the door and turned on the lights, we all jumped up while yelling all at once.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUGO!”

“What the?!” Hugo took a step back with widened eyes.

“Surprised yet?”

“At you being noisy? No. Wait, what are you doing in my house?!”

“To surprise you!”

Walking from where I had been previously hiding at, I made my way over to Hugo and smiled before taking his hands in mine.

“But how did you even know about today?”

“Mischa told me.”

“She told you? When?”

“Remember a couple of days ago when I told you I had met her on my way here?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Well, during our meeting, she told me about your birthday.”

“Listen, we can chat later, how about we start the party already!” Zeus shouted out and few others began to chuckle.

I smiled at Hugo and gave his hand a gentle squeeze before pulling him with me over to where everything was set up. We all began digging into the food I had made for the party and Alfonse handed out some refreshments that he and Caesar had brought on their way over. Before we knew it, we were all engaging in chatter as we ate and drank. Next to me, Hugo gave a few soft hums of delight with each bite of food he took and when I took notice of it, he turned away from me and began to blush. It made my heart swell to know that the food I had prepared was making him happy.

As we were finishing up, Zeus had suggested that we play a few games and play a few tunes from the radio that we had placed in Hugo’s cabin. Of course, Hugo objected to it at first, but later changed his mind, especially when a song he had grown to like came blasting through. I found myself giggling and smiling as he began dancing along to the tune and then blushed when he asked me to be his dance partner. Afterwards, we played a couple of rounds with an assortment of card games, followed up by a little bit of Truth or Dare, but during that time, Hugo asked to be excused for a moment and I decided to follow him.

“Are you alright, Hugo?” I spoke while stepping through the door out onto the balcony.

“Huh? Oh, Goddess, it’s you. Yes, I’m alright, I just needed a little bit of fresh air for a moment.”

“I see. Is it alright if I joined you for a little while?”

“Of course.” Hugo smiled. “To be honest, I have a question to ask you.”

“W-what is it?”

“Why did you do this? And when did you get the time to do this?”

“Mischa told me about how you were unable to really afford to throw birthday parties in the future you come from. She even told me about how the last time you had a party was around the time you were old enough to begin going on your missions. I just wanted to be able to give you a birthday, Hugo. I wanted to make you smile, especially on such an important day. As for the time thing...w-well I may have told a little lie. There was never any test going on that I had to study for, and I decided to not go to the Love Holiday celebration. I just wanted to celebrate your birthday with you, but I’m sorry that I lied to you...I didn’t want to do that, but I also didn’t want to ruin your surprise.”

“Goddess…” Leaning down, Hugo brushed his lips on my forehead and whispered. “I forgive you. The truth is, I’m a little upset that you would throw away such a big event all for the sake of me, but at the same time, my heart’s filled with joy.”

“H-Hugo.”

I felt my cheeks go hot and I leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around me. Then something dawned on me and I found myself pulling away from his embrace.

“That’s right, I got something for you.”

“Goddess, you didn’t have to give me anything.”

Once I found the gift, I handed it over to Hugo with a smile and watched as he hesitantly and gently took it in his own hands. Undoing the ribbon, he gently removed the wrapping paper before opening it up, his eyes widening slightly.

“What… what is this?”

“They’re a matching pendant set. They each have a crystal heart and ring with a special gem in it.” Reaching out, I grabbed the one that was meant for me, and held it up. “The shop owner said that these ones are special because if the love is real, then the hearts will change color, it even means eternal love.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“What’s wrong with that? I know our love is real, but it’s cute to think of the hearts actually changing though.”

“I think it sounds foolish.”

Although he seemed a little disinterested, a blush had creeped on his face and he picked up his own pendant.

“Here, let me help you.” I offered.

“Alright..”

As he turned around, I stood on the very tips of my toes and clasped the chain in place, watching as it fell down and stayed put. When he turned around, the silver chained seemed to glow in the moonlight.

“It looks so good on you.” I whispered while smiling.

“Allow me to put yours on you, Goddess.”

“O-oh, alright.”

Turning around, I lifted my hair up, allowing him to clasp the chain together. Once he had, I felt the cold metal of the pendant on my skin and I let my hair drop back down before spinning to look at Hugo.

“How does it look?”

“Beautiful…”

Neither of us said a word after that, instead, our face got closer and closer until I could feel his lips brush softly against my own.

“Hugo, I love you…”

I managed to whisper before Hugo took my lips once more, only this time, the kiss was filled with a passion and warmth, that only Hugo’s love could give. We pulled away for a second or two before embracing each other and sharing another kiss. Once over, Hugo rested his forehead on mine and looked at me directly in the eyes.

“I love you too, Liz.”

The moment that Hugo finished his sentence, a bright light enveloped our pendants, it was so bright I had to close my eyes tight and waited for the it die down before opening them once more. When I did, I looked down and saw that the crystal hearts had changed color and were now a rose pink.

“I… can’t believe it.”

“Can’t believe what? That the color changed?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“You called me by my name! You never really do that, you always refer to me as ‘Goddess’.”

“Hmm…”

“Hugo?”

“Yes, my beloved Liz?”

My eyes widened and I felt my cheeks flare up once more.

“That, blush makes you so cute, Liz.” Hugo smirked.

“Okay, okay I-I get it.”

“Get what? That I love you more than anything, Liz?”

“O-okay now you’re just being a butt!”

“Pfft!”

“Hahahaha!”

We were unable to contain ourselves and broke into a fit of laughter.

“Come here.”

Pulling me by my waist, Hugo embraced me into a hug and he rested his chin upon my head, before giving the top a kiss.

“I really do love you. You know that right?”

“Of course I know that, and the same goes for me as well. I love you so much, Hugo.”

“You know, I hope, that saying about these necklaces are true, that this means we’ll have eternal love.”

“I thought you said you didn’t believe in that stuff.” I smirked and leaned into him more.

“I know what I said, but at the same time, I want to know that there will be a future with you in it, where I can continue to love you even when we’re old and gray.”

“Hugo, I--” I was about to say more when a voice from behind stopped me in my tracks.

“Oh, so this where the two lovebirds are.”

“Vain?”

“Good guess, little brother.”

I felt Hugo’s embrace on me loosen and when he let go, he turned to face his brother, clearly not too happy to see him.

“Leave us be.”

“Not a chance.” Vain then turned to look at me before speaking. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal my brother away from you for a little while.”

After he finished speaking, he ruffled Hugo’s hair and pulled him back inside, leaving me alone on the porch. I gave a soft chuckle and smiled while watching Vain attempt to make Hugo laugh by doing a few party tricks. I then chuckled and moved inside as well, making my way back over to the man I loved, where we continued to celebrate until the early morning hours.

[draconesinfinitum-blog]

Dimensional Breach | Newton’s Separation

Length: 4,400 Words TWs: Violence, Gore, Disturbing Imagery, Language Summary: Gravity fends off an Extradimensional, and Newton is separated from him leading to this RP.

Earth Time: 10:54PM GMT, 27-May-2XXX

“Just a castaway, an island lost at seaaa-oh!”

A blue dragon walked through corridors, echoing the sounds of the dragon’s pitter-patter on the floor, and of someone’s muffled voice in a nearby room singing to themselves. The dragon nudged the door open a bit and peeked into the room, then quickly pulled his head back into the hallway, as if he had been spotted and spooked. But no one spotted him. It was just... a reflex probably. The small dragon (or rather large if you considered slightly overgrown Komodo dragon size to be a large dragon) peered back into the room.

“Another lonely day, with no one here but meeee-oh!”

In the room was a human, dressed comfortably in a T-shirt and shorts, scribbling some strange symbols on five dry erase boards sprawled out against the walls. He appeared to have small headphones on and connected into his left pocket. Probably his phone. 

Some of the symbols on the boards looked familiar to the dragon, some he couldn’t recognize at all, but overall it didn’t make much sense. There was some usual lettering, some Greek letters, some arrows and all sorts of that weird math the human and a green wyvern babbled on about with each other before. And then there were symbols he definitely didn’t recognize from anywhere except when the human wrote it out before. Some strange swiggly lines, pointy looking. Who knows. 

“Mooore loneliness, than any man could beeeaaaar!”

It didn’t seem like the human could hear anything other than the music he was listening to, and he didn’t turn around to see the blue dragon either, and yet the human raised his left hand and motioned a ‘come in’ to the dragon without removing his gaze from the boards. The human explained to the dragon how he was aware of his surroundings like this before, but the dragon didn’t understand the reasoning behind it. Something about the human feeling gravitational fields without using his ears and eyes to see, even so far as to say he really did have ‘eyes on the back of his head.’ But the dragon could see no eyes on the back of the human’s head. That would be really weird. Definitely weirder than how humanoids looked in general anyway.

“Rescue me before I fall into despaaaaiir.”

The dragon nudged the door open all the way and showed himself in. The first thing he did was rush over by the human’s left side and demanded pets by pulling on the human’s shirt with his teeth. And so the human rubbed the dragon’s head and neck while still writing on the board with his other hand.

“I’ll send an SOS to the world! I’ll send an SOS to the world! I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my... message in a bottle, yeah.”

The dragon purred from the pets and rubs.

“Message in a bottle, yeah...”

Then, the blue dragon hopped onto a bed nearby and considered it his temporary spot, like a cat finding a random place to sleep. He felt comfortable here, listening to the human’s singing and the scribbling of marker on a board. Sure, the human’s singing wasn’t professional singer quality, but it wasn’t a screechy mess either. And the dragon felt safe here, too. He swished and thumped his tail back and forth on the bed along the human’s singing.

“A year has passed since I wrote my note... I should have known this right from the staaaart.”

The dragon yawned and continued listening to the human singing the current song, then the next... then... he must have dozed off because suddenly there was no more singing, no more scribbling on the board, and most of the lights were off. The dragon panicked for a split second, lifting his head up to see if the human was still there. And sure enough, he was. Phew. The human was on his laptop a few feet away. Looked like he was reading something.

The blue dragon stretched, hopped off the bed and joined the human’s side, shoving his snout in front of the computer screen.

“...”

The human remained silent, focusing on whatever he was reading, but slowly placing his hand on the top of the dragon’s neck and rubbing the textured scales that lined it. The dragon purred and lied his head beside the keyboard. He enjoyed being petted, and the human found dragon scale texturing calming, a way to relieve stress.

“How long did I sleep?” the dragon asked, staring at the computer’s clock and forgetting what time it was when he came in.

“About two hours,” the human responded.

The dragon pulled his head away and looked at the boards. There was different symbols written on them. “D-Did you figure the thing out?” he asked, shoving his snout under the human’s arm, pushing the side of his snout against the human’s chest and giving him a great bit smile.

“Nope,” the human answered, closing his laptop and the only source of light in there. Immediately though, the human waved his hand up in the air and the lights above turned back on. “I still can’t understand why kinetic energy doesn’t interact very well with neutral matter, or how it can be moved in the first place. It’s like its own set of rules contradict each other, and I’m trying to see if it has anything to do with temporal vecto--” He stopped rambling and looked at the dragon, who’s facial expression admitted he had no idea what the human was blabbering on about. 

The human gave a small nudge with his face on the dragon’s snout, similar to that of a kiss. “It’s fine. Curie and I will figure this out eventually.”

The human stood up and got down to the dragon’s level, placing his hands under the dragon’s front legs, around his middle, and effortlessly picking him up. The dragon had to weigh at least three, maybe four hundred pounds at his current size. The dragon kept his front legs wrapped around the human’s neck and lifting his head up high. “Come on, Newton. I brought more supplies yesterday, and I wanted you to try something.”

The human carried Newton down the hallway into another part of the station. He placed the dragon down carefully onto a chair in a kitchen area. Newton sat patiently, swishing his tail from side to side and waiting for the human to return from the nearby counter. He came back with a bowl of fruit, including fresh cut mango, cantaloupe, kiwi, and another bowl of some very strange food Newton hadn’t seen before.

“Here’s your usual favorites, just in case. And this right here,” the human started, holding up a very hairy red fruit, “is called rambutan. If I remember correctly, this sort of tastes like grapes... maybe. Don’t quote me on that,” he explained, ripping the hairy red shell off and exposing its shiny white interior. “Here,” he said, handing the fruit over to Newton. “Just peel and eat the white part. There’s a large inedible seed in the center, so avoid that.” The human wasn’t sure how a dragon like Newton would react to eating the seed, but he wasn’t going to risk anything. Higher leveled dragons seemed to be able eat practically anything, both edible and inedible, but Newton wasn’t at that level yet. Then again, lower leveled dragons appeared to be fine with highly inedible objects, but... He had a feeling Newton wouldn’t like the flavor of the seed anyway.

The dragon took the fruit in his front paws and carefully munched on it, taking the human’s advice to consideration. He practically removed all of the edible parts off the seed in a few seconds. “This is good!! B-But I like mango better. I think. Second best, behind mango,” the dragon said.

The human slid the bowl of rambutan over closer to Newton. “Just dig your claw a bit into the flesh, and peel that bit off,” he told Newton.

--

After some time, the dragon was almost done picking at the last bits of fruit in each bowl. The human didn’t bother leaving the room. He knew if he just left, it would make Newton nervous, and probably get the dragon to start following him. Possibly some kind of abandonment issues, the human thought, but Newton wouldn’t talk about what happened before they met. At least not now. Someday...

...

The human sat up straight, slowing his breathing, and stared off into the distance, focusing on something elsewhere...

“Grav?” the dragon asked, noticing something about Gravity’s composure was different. “Wh-What’s wrong?”

“Stay here,” the human told Newton, and immediately rushing out back into the hallway. Newton jumped out of the chair and started pacing back and forth. He didn’t like this, no no no. Something was wrong, and he wanted to stay close to someone he trusted. He hated being alone like this, and he had this awful feeling in the back of his mind gnawing on him. This wasn’t right...

Newton pitter-pattered his way out the way Gravity went and tried following his faint scent. At some point he lost the scent, and was running aimlessly around the station.

And then it hit him.

The cold... so cold. Newton started shivering. He could see his breath in front of him with every exhale. And that feeling from earlier; it was so much worse. His very scales felt prickly with fear. Newton felt something like this before, and it was a horrible experience, even if indirectly. The blue dragon heard yells from Gravity and other dragons from very far away, echoing through the halls. That’s the voice Newton was looking for!! He tried to pick a direction towards where he thought the voice came from, but the overhead lights shut off suddenly, leaving only the emergency backup lights to dimly light the room, and he stopped. 

Paralyzed...

The dragon keeled over onto the ground. He tried to move, he tried to scream, he tried to even cry, and nothing... There was a loud deafening buzzing in his ears, but it seemed to come from his own head? That kind of deafening. Newton knew something was seriously wrong, something was wrong, wrong, wrong! The dragon tried to roll over, but nO! NO! Something within him told him DON’T turn around, DON’T look. He wanted to cry...

This horrible experience seemed to never end, but suddenly he felt a sharp stinging pain in his stomach, and he was forcibly raised high onto the wall. Newton tried screaming now, but still, nothing. He was so focused on his own pain, he couldn’t pay complete attention to the thing in front of his face.

It was a... humanoid. Hard to see any definite details. It had a cloak covering most of its body. Skeletal limbs had a firm grip on a large scythe, the pointed end embedded deep in Newton’s stomach, and seemed to be attempting to pull the scythe out of Newton with some difficulty. All Newton could remember in precise detail were the three blue glowing eyes, and such a horrendous grin that smiled from ear to ear.

Newton felt like his insides were being ripped apart and pulled out of him, his consciousness fading, but the pain getting exponentially worse. He wanted this to end. He was immensely afraid of death normally, but during this one instance...

That was, until something knocked the humanoid off Newton, and he dropped to the floor. The dragon tried standing back up, but he felt so weak to completely concentrate on what was going on. He managed to get back up on his four legs, and without realizing it, his mouth began to glow. He wanted to scream, but no words came out. It wasn’t out of paralysis this time. No, this was something Newton experienced only a couple of times before, and he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. The blue dragon just realized how upset he was, and his first instinct was to react in this way.

“NEWTON!”

The dragon released his breath towards the intruder, causing a bright explosion to demolish the room and surrounding ones within a large radius. Thankfully, it wasn’t close enough to puncture any sides of the station. The blast injured Gravity, even knocking Newton backwards into another room near the escape pods. Gravity attempted to form a barrier around the explosion beforehand, but he didn’t react fast enough. Just enough to keep Newton alive, albeit severely injured.

The intruding humanoid remained floating in the air, completely unfazed by the blast. If anything, the large scythe it held vaporized in its hands. It seemed to grin, and turned its gaze directly towards Newton in the other room.

“No...” the human managed to say under his breath. The creature quickly floated towards Newton. Gravity focused in on the creature, but couldn’t hold it still. He was still recovering and regenerating the burns from the blast, and he couldn’t do this all at once. He was running out of ideas. If Newton stayed here any longer, the creature could take his life. He couldn’t hide Newton anywhere either, or fend off the creature before it got to Newton. The damned thing took a direct annihilation blast! Instead, Gravity raised his fist. He opened his palm, causing one of the escape pods near Newton to open. He hated doing this. He hated leaving Newton by himself, but he couldn’t think of any other option. At least the escape pod had a hibernation setting on it, and maybe Newton could recover, or at least hang on while Gravity dealt with this situation first.

Before the creature could get to Newton, Gravity flicked his hand, pushing Newton into the escape pod, sealing it, and sending it off, far away from the creature.

“Be safe, Newton...”

The creature gave off a piercing shriek. Gravity finished regenerating over his burns, gaining composure now that all his dragons for sure were far away from this being, he thought. When Newton went looking for him, Gravity told Tesla to gather the other dragons as fast as they could, and get them to another part of the station. They should be able to fend for themselves should this being decide to breach their current location, especially with Gravity’s prized creation, Apex, defending the other dragons.

The creature turned its piercing three-eyed gaze towards Gravity as he walked closer. Something about this creature was familiar... The otherworldly being pulled a bone-like spike from its back, tearing it off without a sign of pain on its face, not even a twitch. Another spike grew in its place almost instantly. The being held the spike outward, and it grew longer, and longer, then curved at the end until it became a sharp piece of metal attached to the bone. It was a replacement scythe, perhaps what the previous scythe came from.

Before the being could charge at Gravity with its newly forged weapon, the human raised his hand, pointing at the being, and lowering his arm down. The being felt a huge shift in acceleration on its body, and slammed down onto the ground. Appeared it can be affected by gravitation, no matter how phantom-like it appeared. “Stay down, you piece of shit...” he told the creature. Gravity threw his arms outward, where two black swords extended from his arms. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re going to regret hurting my dragons,” he growled.

The creature struggled, fighting hard against Gravity’s powers. He pointed a sword at its head. “Why did you come here? Answer me if you want a hint of mercy.”

The creature did not respond. Instead, it looked up at Gravity and opened its glowing mouth wide. No sound came out, but Gravity could hear a deafening buzzing in his head. He immediately fell to the ground next to it, and the creature was released of his gravitational grasp. The creature swung its scythe into Gravity’s chest and pinned him to the wall, just as it did with Newton. 

Gravity remembered this feeling, actually... When he was little... At night. It would come. He knew something was there. The Boogeyman, they called it, or sleep paralysis he heard once he got older. They always said the monster hid in the closet or under the bed, but no. He’d be paralyzed like this, and wouldn’t have the courage to see what was there behind him. That is, until one day his imaginary friend, his prized future creation, came and slayed the monster. How could he forget that...

Gravity attempted to move, but right. The paralysis. He felt his insides being ripped apart, and he couldn’t bring himself to think this is what Newton experienced just minutes prior. It angered him once he came to that realization. It pissed him off. Gravity managed to break free of the paralysis and shoved one of his swords into the monster’s chest. He then knocked the scythe out of the Boogeyman’s hands, raised his leg up against himself, then kicked into the creature’s head as hard as he could. The creature was sent flying backwards with the sword still embedded in its chest, falling flat on the ground with an audible clunk as the sword’s tip embedded itself into the metal floor, trapping the creature in between..

The Boogeyman tried to move, but was held in place by the sword. The sword itself was highly compressed matter, a black hole in the shape of a weapon. Spacetime curved painfully around this point, ripping any matter it came in contact with, thankfully including such a being as the Boogeyman. It didn’t hesitate though, and started to rip itself out of the sword’s place, causing a tear in its side as it slid sideways out of the weapon’s grasp. The creature raised itself back into the air, some noticeable blue glowing organs exposed and hanging out of its side with matching blood oozing out. Despite appearing organic, it certainly wasn’t...

Gravity was a little surprised at how insensitive such a creature was to itself. Not even a hesitated moment, just an immediate reflex. The creature raised its arms, showing it actually had at least two other skeletal pairs of limbs hidden under its cloak. Various other spines on its back tore off and were forged into new scythes, this time all of these floating around the Boogeyman’s form. The weapons started spinning at high speeds, then were flung towards Gravity’s direction. The weapons barely missed Gravity as he dodged. He figured now would be the time to start manipulating the local time, at least have a speed advantage over this being.

Gravity concentrated. The entire room’s minimal light source died down to a complete black as the emitted photons slowed to a pause; the minimal heat available died nearly to zero. He couldn’t see with his eyes, but he still maintained a lock onto the creature through his gravitational sensing. It was definitely massive, and it wasn’t until now that he noticed... The scythes were physically in the 3D plane. The rest of the visible humanoid just barely hovered over the surface, just enough for any available light to interact with, but not enough to be affected by anything physically, very much like a ghost. No wonder Newton’s positron breath did absolutely nothing to it.

“Fucking coward...” he muttered under his breath. He pulled the sword embedded in the ground towards his palm in a telekinetic fashion. He didn’t wait another moment, and charged at the creature, preparing to strike at its physical body...

That is... until the Boogeyman moved. Its three eyes glowed a bright ominous blue, then immediately disappeared from its previous position.

“WHAT?!”

The creature appeared behind him he sensed, but managed to strike him with a scythe in the back. He was paralyzed again. How the hell did this creature move? Gravity’s abilities were still in effect. Time was slowed to a PAUSE, so how did this creature break free from the fucking laws of time? Did it too have time manipulation abilities?

Gravity tried focusing on the creature again. If it could be flung around with gravitational manipulation, then it could be crushed. Gravity managed to break free out of the paralysis through intense focusing again, causing the creature to writhe in pain from the sudden crushing effects. Its blue eyes stopped glowing and lost contact with Gravity, and the time flowed back to normal. It fell to the ground lashing out, causing loads of glowing blue blood to scatter around the room, even on Gravity’s face and clothes when he turned around. “What the hell did you come here for? Tell me,” he ordered.

The creature continued lashing out, ignoring Gravity’s question.

Gravity hadn’t realized, but he could feel rumbling at his feet. His other dragons-- Was this creature attacking various parts of the ship while keeping him preoccupied? He hoped Apex was handling the beast from that end if that was the case...

“Tell me, or I swear I will crush you.”

No response. Instead, the creature gazed back with glowing blue eyes like before. Gravity noticed the vision around the creature was skewed and blurred, like the Boogeyman was the only thing in existence to focus on. It was doing it again, wasn’t it...?

Gravity responded by increasing the acceleration on its head, forcing its skull-like head to start cracking open, where a blue glow emanated from the cracked wound. Whatever this thing was, it certainly was proving to be a HUGE pain in the ass. It infiltrated his station, tried killing one of his dragons, tried killing him, and not even so much as a fucking explanation?

“Tell me, why did you try killing my dragon?! ANSWER ME!”

The human was so angry, he didn’t realize he applied way too much pressure on the creature’s skull. It cracked open.

The creature’s cloak vaporized, exposing its body against the faint emergency backup lights. Despite its head being cracked open, it raised itself up high, exposing even then only a tiny portion of its true body. Many more heads entered into the 3D plane beside the cracked one, surrounding it, hissing and shrieking and deformed. Multiple skeletal limbs appeared around the sides, unattached to the main body, each holding a separate scythe. On top of this, many tentacles lined with blue, unnerving eyes slithered from various parts of its grotesque body and from thin air around it.

Gravity raised a sword and pointed it towards the newly formed being. “Now do you want to answer why you’re here?” he snarled.

The Boogeyman didn’t respond again, and swung its scythes at Gravity. Gravity just barely dodged the attacks. It was time for drastic measures. The human raised arms into the air, where his swords vanished, and yelled, causing portals to form around the creature. Large swords similar to the ones Gravity wielded stabbed into the Boogeyman’s center from all angles, causing the creature to shriek and drop its scythes. The human formed a black hole between his hands, then expanded it slowly. He ran over towards the Boogeyman’s faces and smashed the deadly ball into it directly. The black hole continued to expand, twisting and bending the spacetime field around the Boogeyman.

And yet... the Boogeyman wasn’t giving up. “You motherfucker...” Gravity almost chuckled, nearly out of breath. The creature attempted to rip itself out of its prison, tearing its form apart until pieces of it were free from the black holes that swallowed up the rest of its body. “How the hell are you still alive...” the human muttered. And before his eyes, the Boogeyman attempted piecing various parts of itself together, attempting to forge a new humanoid form out of what was available. 

The human flicked his wrist at the creature, causing it to be pinned against the wall while it continued fusing itself together. He snapped his fingers, causing the large sword portals and the massive black hole at their center to vanish, and forced his swords to form back in his hands. He jolted straight at the Boogeyman’s writhing body and stabbed at it many times. “Die die dIE DIE DIE!” he yelled with each stab, letting his emotions get to him over how much pain and damage this thing caused, how much more it could have caused had he not stepped in, and the fact it didn’t bother answering why it came. It just reacted. He was so sure it enjoyed causing pain earlier, but he couldn’t tell. He didn’t care. He just wanted the fucking thing to die.

The Boogeyman eventually lost the ability to regenerate itself. It gave off one last and louder shriek, a disturbing one at that... This shriek almost sounded like a child screaming in pain, until the shriek was drowned out. It foamed at the mouth and throughout its wounds, choking on its screams and the bubbling fluid. Gravity took a few steps back, a little disturbed about what was happening in front of him. The creature’s body eventually fell to the floor and violently twitched a few times before becoming lifeless. The blue glow throughout its body dimmed. The foam receded back into its body, and the body cracked into a pile of dust.

Gravity fell to his knees, finally considering just how much energy he put into this battle, and how much he let his emotions get to him. He normally kept calm, but something was unusually different about these kinds of fights. He felt scared. He felt like he was powerless against these kinds of things, like he wasn’t in control, despite obviously killing the damned thing.

The very air was still freezing, but eventually it would gradually rise back to room temperature. He stayed down for a couple of minutes to gain his breath. Gravity almost wanted to cry to himself, but then slowly stood back up and pushed through the feeling. There were other things to do, and he couldn’t show weakness at times like these, not even to himself. He’d have to check on his other dragons, assess the damages, and get Newton back.

He rushed over to the escape pod area, fiddled with the mechanisms and attempted to track Newton’s pod’s location.

Location cannot be determined... Rescanning...

Shit...

[dreamsofanenigma]

C H. 1 - Strangerville Ties.

Week 2, Thursday. 4pm.

Over the next week Holly went about her usual day, mostly filled with random chores, menial tasks, and occasionally helping Vlad with the upkeep it took for an old mansion such as this to remain intact. Her only down time is at night, whilst uploading content on Simstagram in the vein hope that followers will provide feedback, but she isn’t going to let that stop her. If she weren't being paid a tidy little sum she would certainly be after more 'exciting' work.

Phew, that's done. Now the laundry. For two people who rarely seemed to wear more than one outfit, they sure have a lot of clothes. Clothes that were probably relevant a decade ago, but who am I to judge?

Holly trekked down into the basement, a faint glow emitting from the candle-lit lamp below brought an uneasy chill down her spine. Having only been there once it was so dark that she immediately ran back upstairs, nearly out of breath, and suggested at least fifty more candles be added to Vlad the next day. She remembered how he grinned at the slight fear in her voice when she confessed to having a ‘thing’ about the pitch darkness of the basement. His long silver hair fluttered about his face as he agreed to add a few candles for her precious Mortal eyes, on one condition...

"And what's that? I'm not getting paid for overtime, Mr. Straud." Holly teased, she wondered how they felt about humor. It was always so quiet and drafty around the house that you can hear a pin drop. When Vlad isn’t playing his sorrowful Pipe Organ, she liked cranking her music up when they turned in for the day.

"We're having our annual Masquerade Ball this Saturday, though not many Sims seem to arrive anymore, we still manage to keep appearances.” He added dryly. It was enough being dragged into these idiotic events, he isn’t sure if the proceeds even go to their selected charity. “I would like you to attend."

"And Victoria?"

"Despite her commanding presence, Victoria does not have complete run of the house," Vlad crossed his arms, a slight frown crept its way onto his face. "Do not tell her I said that."

"Your secret is safe,” Holly couldn’t tell if he was more annoyed by her questioning or Victoria’s demeanor. “I'm sorry but I hardly have anything formal, much less for a Ball."

"No matter, I am sure what you pick will be pleasing to the eye. I expect to see you at five." Vlad gave a playful wink and disappeared in a swirl of smoke without waiting for a confirmation.

Leaving Holly to wonder what she could possibly wear to a Ball...and if that wink has any significance at all, or if was it simply her imagination.

Either way the next two days are going to be worrisome, she thought as she made her way to the washing machine. It was newer than most of the items in the home, and Holly had a feeling it’s something they wanted to try rather than use - especially when considering the clothes line is located on the top floor balcony.

"What an odd place to stick a washing machine... I should buy them one of those wash tubs. That will be right up their alley." Holly thought aloud, she was deciding between light and heavy when a purple mist drifting from the other side of the room caught her eye.

Curious, she made her way towards the strange smog and saw three coffins. Only one appeared more ancient and elaborately designed than the rest. Slowly she moved closer, nearly touching the edge of the top, but instead stopped at a blank epigraph plastered on the bottom.

Hmm, this is probably Vlad's coffin. I remember someone saying he was a 'Grand Master' Vampire, which likely means he’s seriously powerful. Maybe I should put something here....

Here lies Mr. Mysterious. Calm and courageous but never nefarious.

She laughed to herself, thinking of his bewildered expression when he awoke to find it. As she waited for the laundry to finish her mind wandered back to the night before, to the way Vlad's eyes appeared to gleam when he invited her to the party. She was two weeks in and hadn't made a single friend in Forgotten Hollow, this could be her chance to make some connections and new friends. Perhaps Victoria will lend her a dress if she asked nicely? Or at the very least she can help Holly find the right one.

"Is someone slacking in their duties?" Came a mocking tone from nowhere and causing Holly to jump out of her skin. Is she ever going to not react to them popping in out of nowhere? It left her feeling so ridiculous.

"Victoria! No, I was just taking a break, and waiting for the laundry, of course. How are you? I’ve already dusted and taken care of the bathrooms. There was a slight leak on the second floor, but it’s repaired. You look great. Stunning as usual, actually." Holly tried to sound appreciative but ended up scrambling over her words, for some reason she felt an inexplicable need to explain herself whenever Victoria was around.

"Pray tell, why are you acting jovial when you are so clearly distressed?" Victoria said calmly, using the nicest tone possible. In truth, she was becoming a little annoyed by Vlad’s recent fraternizing with Holly. She is the help after all.

"Oh, I... Well, I heard the Ball is Saturday and -"

"Vladislaus told you?" Victoria chuckled. Was that all? Some idiotic Ball to appease the masses? The poor girl is afraid of her own shadow, much less ready to be surrounded by children of the night hidden underneath masks. She vaguely pondered what Vlad even sees in Holly. "I believe we can ruffle something up. I'll have you fitted tomorrow."

"That's nice of you, really, but I can buy -"

"Nonsense. You need to save every hard earned penny," Victoria cocked a brow, lips pursed, and shook her head in a perplexing manner. "Especially with that figure."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, dear. I am sure all the young girls are jealous of someone in your profession. Now, I have a few things we need in preparation for the event. that can only be picked up in Strangerville. Normally I handle the shopping, but we have a council meeting to attend this evening. The Ball will be the most discussed party in town, and Vlad is counting on me to give it a special touch."

Victoria continued to prattle off her list of essential items, for the party and a little renovation that she made Holly swear not to tell anyone about considering it’s a surprise for Vlad. Holly promised to get every item on the list while simultaneously juggling the fresh clothes out the machine and calculating directions on her phone. By the time she thought to ask in which store is she supposed to find the supplies, Victoria was long gone.

Holly blew a strand of hair out of her vision, the empty house creaked and groaned as another storm rages over Forgotten Hollow, murky silhouettes danced outside the upstairs window as limbs fell brokenly overhead. She'd heard the rumors around town that very odd events were taking place in Strangerville. Something about a plane crash and exotic looking plants, though Holly had written this off as hearsay.

Guess it's time to find out.

[moczothe1st]

Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 22:  The Last King of Jerkland

Part 21

Hey all! Welcome back to another exciting week of Fire Emblem IV, where we once again ignore the actual evil empire to go rough up another, smaller empire, basically because they’re louder and more annoying and invading is the only way to make them stop bitching for five minutes.  You might not think this is a priority, but you don’t have Lewyn’s strong tactical mind.  A new chapter, so let’s get right on into it.

As their headquarters, uncertain of how to next act. Beyond Meath and the engulfing maw of its peaks lies the dracoknights’ kingdom, Thracia.

(“He also just betrayed Arvis last week by letting Blume die so he could invade the north, but we’re going to pretend that didn’t happen, shut up.”)

Thracia is the only state anywhere in Jugdral regarded as an ‘ally’ by the Grannvale Empire.

(Guess which two of these quirky minibosses will not be important. Hint: it will be the two who we’ve killed before only they had different names and maybe slightly different hair colors.)

Travant has fortified his kingdom for one final, full-scale showdown with the liberators. And Thracia’s people hardly offer Seliph an eager welcome; fearing Seliph as a conqueror, they flock in droves to take up arms themselves.  How could any justice lie in this conflict? For whose sake is this war being fought?

(… For Leif, mostly?)

For the first time, these questions now shake Seliph and his army’s resolve…

(Except, again, for Leif. He’s pretty down with this whole situation.)

Travant, Eeeeew: I’ve no interest in any more excuses! Don’t you dare belittle me, Altena. You are a warrior beyond compare, and you and Arion embody my will beyond these walls. I expect no less than for you to do your duty! And what do I find instead? You’ve ignored my orders, left an entire platoon to the slaughter, and strolled home as if nothing ever happened! I’ve never been more disappointed in you.

Altena: I’m sorry, Father, but at least let me explain! I could never agree with such tactics, which enrich only us at the expense of everyone else! How could you ever expect the proud Thracian people to accept prosperity built on the bones of others? Please, Father, rethink your ways!  

Arion: Enough, Altena. There’s no place here for such meddling. Still your tongue and obey Father! Father, bear in mind Altena is still young and unseasoned. I suspect she merely found the last battle too overwhelming a prospect. Please forgive her, even just this once.

Travant: You know, Arion? If you’d just hold back on the coddling, perhaps Altena wouldn’t be so stubborn! … Look, Altena. I’ll give you one last chance. Take a dracoknight platoon and retake Meath. If you slip again, then daughter be damned, I will accept no excuses! Understood?

Altena: Yes, Father…

Travant: Phew, family resemblance indeed… it’s plainly obvious that she loathes me.

Arion: Father, you have to remember that she’s still a child. Like all children, she has yet to realize that her thoughtless words have real effects.  

(I forgot what a giant enabler Arion is.  You could try standing up to someone, sometime, pretty boy.)

Travant: Hmph, I suppose… I’m off to Kapathogia. I hear Hannibal’s found himself some funny ideas about my plans. And so it falls to me to ensure he loses them before somebody gets hurt…

(*sigh* You’re going to kidnap a baby again, huh.)

Arion: I’ve never seen Father so fearful… what could possibly have happened…?

(He’s realized he’s a shitty general and started a fight he can’t win? Because I am… I am just going to wreck him. Nothing personal. … It’s a little personal.)

Travant: Your armored knights will join her at once!

Hannibal: Your Majesty, I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it again. There is no use fighting this war! We must arrange a truce with the liberators if we wish to recover the strength to endure! Bowing to the Empire was a despicable choice to start, one which left us serving our citizens to the true enemy on a gilded platter.

Travant: I did not ask for your opinion! The rebels have slaughtered my soldiers and stolen our territory. The hour is far too late for a truce!

Hannibal: I thought as much… very well. I suppose I have no choice.

Travant: What’s this, Hannibal? Do I hear traitorous rumblings coming from that mouth of yours?

(… No?)

Hannibal: Come now, your Majesty! Never would a warrior such as I consider turning my cloak. Traitor, indeed!

Travant: Really, now… then I trust you won’t object to a test of your warrior’s loyalty. Until the war reaches a victorious end, Hannibal, I’ll be taking care of your son.

(Called it!)

Hannibal: I beg your pardon, your Majesty?! Do you truly have so little faith in me?!

Travant: You have nothing to worry about, Hannibal. If you don’t intend to betray me, then I don’t intend to so much as scratch the boy.

Hannibal: …

Travant: Men! Bring me Hannibal’s son!

(Okay, not a baby, but it’s the thought that counts.)

Travant: Remember, Hannibal. You have nothing to worry about, so long as you behave yourself. As soon as this war is won, you’ll get him back. I admit I don’t understand, though… the boy isn’t even your real son. How could he have such sway over you?

(FOOOOOOOOOOORESHADOWING)

Hannibal: Cairpre has brought much joy into my life. A true family transcends simple blood…

Travant: Ohohohoho! Could it be? Does Thracia’s great statesman have a soft spot for children? Now, then. Thracia depends on you, Hannibal!

(What a dick!)

(Nobody likes a suck-up, Distler.)

Distler the Suck-up: Rest assured, milord. Luthecia is an impregnable wall! I’ve seen to it myself.

Travant: I’ll hold you to your word. Now, I’ve reason to doubt the loyalty of Hannibal at Kapathogia. I’ve taken his son hostage, just in case, and I’m leaving him to your custody.

Distler the Suck-up: Yes, sir! I’ll not let him out of my sight! But should Hannibal turn his cloak-

Travant: Then kill the son. Don’t be lulled into offering even a child any mercy.

Distler: Understood, milord.

Travant: Good. In that case, I think I’ll leave the defense of Grutia to your hands. Try not to get too cocky with the rebels, Bishop. They’re of a treacherous sort.  

(“Also, that kettle is black.  Hm…. When did I become a pot? This must be Altena’s fault.”)

(“That’s because it is meaningless. Unfortunately, it seems someone on the writing staff really digs their Thracian Peninsula D&D game setting and managed to worm it into the story here. And that, Seliph, is why you always hire an editor.”)

Lewyn: The point of a battle comes from how you conduct yourself in it, Seliph.

(That doesn’t even make sense!)

Lewyn: And we hardly have much choice at this point!

(… okay that’s a better reason.)

Seliph: But what of that dracoknight who was watching us from the Manster peaks? I’ve seldom seen such a sad look in anybody’s eyes… how could I fight somebody like her…?

(Well, I mean, not to spoil you or anything, but…)

Lewyn: That’s enough, Seliph! This is war! If you can’t handle it, then leave! Run home to Tirnanog!

(… Where the fuck did that come from?!)

Seliph: Lewyn…

Oifey: I beg your pardon, Lord Lewyn?! His Majesty is tired and stressed! Such harsh words are uncalled for.

Lewyn: Look, I know. But everyone else is just as stressed, yet they all know we can’t afford to stop. With the resurrection of Loptyr on the horizon, it’s crucial we get to Grannvale and stop the world falling to ruin while we still can.  

Seliph: Thank you, Oifey… but Lewyn speaks the truth.  An inevitable battle lies ahead, and if we see in it naught but futility, then my duty is to carve my own purpose into it. I’ll never again flinch or turn away!

(Seliph could see her eyes, apparently, so if Leif missed her entirely he’s got a lot to learn about being a chosen prince with bad hair.)

Leif: Oh, the woman? I saw her. I don’t believe it’s every day that you encounter a female dracoknight, is it? Was there something amiss about her?

Finn: It was her weapon… she was wielding Gae Bolg, Leonster’s holy lance. And I sensed an aura cloaking her… the holy aura of Nova, like your father.

Leif: What? What are you saying, Finn?!

Finn: There is only one explanation, my lord. Your sister, Altena, must not have died in the Thracian ambush seventeen years ago.  Nor was Gae Bolg lost.

Leif: Altena?! She’s… she’s still alive?! Then what in the blazes was she doing commanding a Thracian army?

(… Duh, dude.)

Finn: I’d surmise that Travant took her back to Thracia as a child, and raised her as his own.

Leif: Huh… who knew a man as cold as Travant could do something so humane?

(… Leif, for fuck’s sake, try to keep up here.)

Finn: It isn’t so simple, milord. Altena is the inheritor of your father’s holy lineage from the goddess Nova. As such, unlike you, she is capable of wielding the Gae Bolg. Power is the only reason a man like Travant would ever be so kind to his enemy’s child.  

Leif: So he’s tricked my sister just so he can use her as a weapon! Travant… what a disgusting man… … I want to help her, Finn. If we can make her see the truth, I know we can work together to avenge our parents.

Finn: My lord, I believe you’re the only one who could possibly convince her now. Even after all these years, my lord, you are still her brother. I’m certain she will open her heart to you if you try.  Please, my lord. Please save Lady Altena…

Whoo! And that’s a hell of an infodump, but time to start the map.  First, of course, it’s time to ignore the enemy for five hours while we engage in gladiatorial combat for blood money.  This time, though, I’m going to do things a liiiiittle differently. It will be pricey, but anyone… let’s who is level 15 or lower, and who has access to a solid 40K gold, will be shelling out the money to buy the Paragon Band before their run and then sell it when they’re done.  This is expensive, seriously expensive, but it will double everyone’s arena EXP gains and should shoot all our levels quite a bit. And we have cash to spare, so why not?  Catch you on the flip side!

Seliph: Seven wins, gained two levels: +3 HP, +1 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Magic, +1 Luck, +1 Defense

Julia: Seven wins, gained one level: +1 HP, +1 Strength, +1 Resistance

Shanan: Seven wins, gained two levels: +3 HP, +2 Skill, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Resistance

Oifey: Six wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +1 Strength, +1 Luck

Ulster: Seven wins, gained five levels: +5 HP, +5 Skill, +3 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Luck, +2 Defense

Larcei: Seven wins, gained five levels: +6 HP, +3 Skill, +1 Strength, +2 Speed, +3 Luck, +2 Defense

Lester: Seven wins, gained four levels: +4 HP, +2 Skill, +1 Strength, +3 Speed, +1 Magic, +2 Luck, +2 Defense

Dermott: Seven wins, gained four levels: +4 HP, +3 Skill, +2 Speed, +3 Luck, +2 Defense

Nanna: Seven wins, gained three levels: +3 HP, +2 Speed, +1 Magic!!!!!!, +1 Luck, +1 Defense, +1 Resistance

Fee: Seven wins, gained five levels: +5 HP, +2 Skill, +1 Strength, +2 Speed, +3 Magic, +3 Luck, +2 Defense, +3 Resistance

Ced: Seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +1 Skill, +2 Magic, +1 Luck, +1 Defense

Arthur: Seven wins, gained five levels: +8 HP, +1 Skill, +3 Magic, +2 Luck, +3 Defense, +3 Resistance

Tinni: Seven wins, gained five levels: +5 HP, +1 Skill, +4 Magic, +4 Luck, +1 Resistance

Patty: Seven wins, gained two levels: +3 HP, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Luck, +1 Resistance

Faval: Seven wins, gained two levels: +3 HP, +2 Speed, +2 Luck, +1 Defense

Leif: Seven wins, gained five levels: +7 HP, +1 Skill, +1 Strength, +3 Speed, +2 Luck, +1 Defense

Johan: Six wins, gained levels: +2 HP, +1 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Defense

Finn: Six wins, gained one level: +1 HP, +1 Skill, +1 Resistance

Ares: Seven wins, gained four levels: +4 HP, +2 Speed, +1 Magic, +2 Luck, +2 Resistance

Not bad, though it’s hard not to be a little sad at the people starting to fall behind; anyone who isn’t a kid and doesn’t have a holy weapon is going to start finding it harder to get all seven wins from now on.  Johan, Finn, and Oifey just couldn’t pull through no matter how much I screwed around with the RNG… er… I mean… no matter how… fair I was.  On the bright side, though, we do get four brand new promotions!

Larcei, Fee, Arthur, Tinni, and Dermott are also on the verge, having all hit level 19.  So basically, it’s hard to look at this as anything but a major win.  Go go combat potential! And we will need it, since shit’s about to get fucked.  

Here’s the chapter map; we start in the northeast corner, and Hannibal and Altena’s units will start moving toward us immediately.  Altena, obviously, we can just talk to with Leif, that’s no biggie. But to recruit Hannibal (of course he’s recruitable, why would you even question that) we need to go save his son from Distler in Luthecia castle. The issue comes from the fact that Hannibal and his own castle are between us and there, and he’s of course hostile.  Which means we need to get Seliph and presumably some other units for backup past Hannibal, without killing the dumb bastard, save Cairpre, and get him back to talk some sense into his dad. Again, without killing him. There’s a trick to it, but it’s not guaranteed to work. In general the whole thing is a pain in the ass and frankly it might be better for everyone’s sanity to just kill Hannibal, but that just ain’t how I roll. Let’s do this shit!  

First, though, Faval and Patty have a chat.    

(I feel like I have to mention she literally used her ability to steal money as the reason Seliph should keep her around.)

Faval: Ugh. Look, I don’t care if you’re just stealing from the enemy. I don’t like you stealing at all!  Knock if off, okay?

Patty: What, do you think I like doing this? That I steal for the fun of it?! This army needs to eat, y’know, and we need gold for that! We don’t have all that many options here!  

Faval: Yeah, but haven’t you heard what people are saying about you? I’ve caught people mocking you, like being a thief’s a walking punch line… “What else can ya expect from a pirate’s brat? Like mother, like child,” they kept saying. Of course, I wiped the floor them…

Patty: It doesn’t matter what people think, Faval!  Let them say whatever they want. Doesn’t change a thing about Mom… and it doesn’t change that she was heir of Ullur the Crusader! I was in tears when Lewyn told me about her… I’ve never been so happy!

Faval: Yeah, me too… y’know, we haven’t exactly had the easiest lives… poor orphans and all that. I never even dreamed our mother could actually be a noblewoman!  I don’t suppose you remember anything about her, Patty?

Patty: Nope, not a thing. You?

Faval: Yeah, but… only a little. She was a kind and beautiful woman…

(“And she constantly smelled of the blood of her many, many victims.”)

Patty: So is she… do you think Mom’s dead?

Faval: I can’t say for sure… but as soon as the war’s done with, Patty, we’re gonna go look for her. We’ll find our mother… Bridget… and even though we don’t know his name, maybe we’ll find our father too.

Patty gains +1 Luck from this conversation, and that must be the tipping point because canonically Bridget did survive and they eventually find her. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s canon.  Look up Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 for details, but I wouldn’t recommend actually playing it.  

Now, the majority of the army deploys in standard horde formation and getting ready to stab the crap out of every Thracian, but Fee is going to run off on her own.  See, all the map’s villages are directly to the west of the starting castle, across a mountain range, and she’s the only one who can reach it in time to kill the bandits before any of them get destroyed.

Only the one with the axe off to the side will destroy any villages, so we have time, but I don’t want to lose a single one.  Some of them have items, if I remember right, and even if they don’t I just blew like a billion gold on making everyone super buff.  End turn!

Hannibal: Wait. For the time being we should remain on the defensive. I’d prefer to avoid any  needless skirmishes with the enemy.

Lieutenant Palette-Swap: But sir, what about…

Hannibal: … My son. I know, but… for now, I would rather hold back and let the battle unfold, first. My apologies, Kanatz, but I’d like you to take charge of defending the castle.

Kanatz: As you will, sir!

Okay, I guess only Altena moves toward you on turn one. I coulda sworn they both did, but whatcha gonna do? Second verse, same as the first; no enemies are in range, so I move up toward Hannibal’s line and have Fee continue making a beeline straight west across the mountains.  Unfortunately, all of hannibal’s units are armor knights, meaning you have to get right up in their noses before they can move far enough to attack you.  I suspect next turn will look much the same as this one.  End!

Cairpre: Papa doesn’t want to fight! He’s out there risking his life all because of me…

(Cairpre has a distinct, deep misunderstanding of what a hostage is, I think.)

Distler: Silence, boy! If Thracia’s legendary Shield refuses to ply his warrior’s craft of his own will, then we’ll force him to by any means necessary!

Cairpre: Oh, papa… sorry…

Cairpre might be a bit of a loser.  Off to the southeast, Altena’s unit moves up again; they’ll be attacking us next turn, and will be intercepted by Tinni, Arthur, Julia, Leif, Nanna, and Faval. The rest of the team moves forward, pausing in the edge of Hannibal’s unit’s movement range on the forest tiles for extra sweet, sweet defense.   Oh, and Fee continues her field trip, of course. End turn, and let’s do this!

Hm. Not great. Tinni, you could stand to dodge. And two of the wyverns went off after Finn, because he was on the edge of their range and I didn’t notice. Buuuut, I think we got this. First step, I think, is to wipe out Altena’s unit so Leif can reach her.

Awesome!  Now Leif can reach Altena, and…

*twitch*  Welp, mountains fucked that one up! Hopefully Altena won’t shank someone to death or try to fight someone who’s invincible.

Okay, I may have to reset this, but for now let’s play as though it’s not a horrible issue.  Western front, rock out.  

That was not as many kills as I’d been hoping for!  This… is going to hurt. But on the plus side, I was already half-planning to reset, so… end turn.

…. Shit. Ares, please go easy on him?  Hannibal, please use Pavise! Twice, possibly!

FUCK YOU, you stupid old bastard.  Ulster should definitely have died in over the course of this encounter. Did you see how low his health got?! He should not have survived what he did here!  And yet, he did. Everything was going not merely fine but miraculously fine. And then this jackass, who I must note had a very solid chance to survive this battle thanks to his broken obnoxious special ability, runs up to commit suicide and just leaves the Pavise behind on the kitchen table, I guess.  

I should leave him dead. I should leave him dead.  

…

*sigh*

Reset.  

To the east, the people who did their fucking jobs last time repeat a smashing victory, with one difference: I don’t fuck up my movement and can get Leif close enough to chat with his sister.    

(*snerk*  “Waaaaaaait!” What a drama-prince.)  

Leif: I… I am Leif, of House Leonster.

Altena: Oh, I see… the famous Prince Leif, is it? In case it wasn’t obvious… and evidently, it wasn’t… I am Altena, daughter of Travant.

(Altena’s snark game is on-point, damn. Though I guess it’s easy to be snarky when your enemy appears to have an unkempt porcupine on his head.)

Leif: Listen to me, Altena! Your true parents are Prince Quan and Princess Ethlyn, whom Travant slew seventeen years ago. You vanished in Travant’s attack, and so too did Gae Bolg, the sacred earth lance of Leonster… the very lance resting in your hand as we speak! Only a true heir of House Leonster can wield Gae Bolg.  

Altena: What are you talking about?! Are you seriously trying to claim my true father is my king’s arch-enemy?!  That could never be… it mustn’t…

Leif: Look into my eyes.  If anything can prove the truth of my words to you, it will be my eyes. Please, sister…

Altena: Fine… What is this…?!  I know you’re lying, but… but I can’t bring myself to doubt you anymore…

(This would stretch belief quite a bit, if it wasn’t established by earlier interactions that Crusader heirs with similar bloodlines actually can instinctively sense each other. So it only looks like Leif has brainwashed her with his hypno-eyes.)  

Leif: Altena…

Altena: Wait!  I… I must speak with Father. I need to confirm this…

(Bad, bad plan, honey.)

Altena: Or was my father really Prince Quan?!

Travant: Feh… I see you’ve found out at last. Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before this day came. It’s true. Quan did indeed sire you, but what difference does that make? It doesn’t change that it was I who raised you.

(“Am I not the one who has stomped all over your spirit and morals since you were a little girl? Am I not the one who screams at you to slaughter children and the elderly while your heart rots and dies, sick with the weight of your sins? If that’s not fatherhood, what is?”)

Altena: So you… you murdered my parents?  Father…

Travant: Heh…. I suppose I did.  Quan and Ethlyn died at my hand. Do you take issue with that? War is Hell, Altena. War claims lives. Worrying now won’t change a thing.

(What a dick!)

Altena: Gah… how dare you?! How dare you mislead me all these years, Fath… no, Travant! 

Arion: I cannot allow this. If you dare to turn on Father, you’ll have to contend with me first!

Altena: W-wait! I can’t fight you, Arion! I could never-

Arion: It’s too late for you to stand down now. Farewell!

Altena: Nnnngh… Arion…

Travant: … You didn’t just kill her, did you, Arion? You know, you didn’t need to go quite so far…

(Now is when you decide to be a parent?!  What a dick!)

Travant: Eh, no matter. I’m going to join the fray, Arion. I suppose there’s little choice now. You’re in charge of defending the castle.

Arion: Understood, Father.

Travant: I’ll entrust this spear to you… and with it, the future of Thracia.  

Arion: Hold a moment, Father… this is Gungnir! What is the meaning of this? How do you intend to fight without it? Unless… Father, you can’t be-

Travant: I am. Frankly, Arion, I’ve had enough. Thracia is yours to do with as you see fit. But we don’t need to be hated by their kind…

Arion: Are you seriously suggesting I should seek a truce, Father?! No! Never! To comply with the rebels now would be unthinkable!

Travant: As I said, Thracia is yours. Do as you see fit. All I ask is that you find a way to liberate our people from their suffering. Farewell, Arion.

Arion: … Father…

Yeah, that just happened, and… I kind of hate it.  I’m going to be honest, and also going to go off on a little rant again, because this moment always makes me kind of angry.  It feels like Travant and Arion swapped personalities for this conversation. See, the thing is, like basically all FE characters, Travant is an archetype; in particular, he is the ‘Michalis.’  A smug, ambitious jackass, almost always a wyvern rider, who really thinks he is the main antagonist but who is generally more of a speed-bump you run down on your way to the real threat. And the thing that defines Michalis types is that they generally aren’t sympathetic in any way. They’re bastards and you enjoy the moment you riddle them with arrows.  

Now, there’s nothing wrong with subverting archetypes.  If they want to play around and make a character who looks like a Michalis but is actually sympathetic deep down, more power to you! But there is a different between a character being sympathetic, and the game telling us a character is sympathetic.  Because King Travant has been a giant bastard in every moment of his appearance in the entire game, a smug ambitious ass who has murdered and betrayed his way through every scene he was in, while looking down on basically everyone around him and showing zero care for any of the many, many of his own men he’s gotten killed.  Beyond occasional lip-service to ‘saving Thracia’, he’s shown nothing but bottomless ambition and a willingness to kill anyone who gets in the way of it.  And now, all of a sudden, he’s decided to nobly die in battle and leave Thracia in better hands?  This is like Sigurd revealing in chapter six that he was actually working for Manfroy all along.  It’s just such a sudden, random, and extreme shift in personality, blatantly for the purpose of building up sympathy where there just ain’t none to be found.  I generally really like the writing of this game but… wow. The Thracia arc is a hamfisted mess.  

Sorry. Angry writer moment. Back to exciting war.

A bit anticlimactic, huh? Still, we crushed the outer edges of Hannibal’s army, and nobody is in his range so there’s no chance of a rampant suicide again.  We shoooould be able to crush his entire army in one go on our next turn. Meanwhile, Fee is in the range of the bandits over in the village section, so I thiiink they’ll be attacking her? Unless they don’t move, I can’t remember. Let’s see!

Hannibal: Move in on the invaders! We’ll let them proceed no further!

… You’ve been doing that…

Okay, not bad! Now, Travant is moving up and there’s not much time to prep for that, so I’m going to try to kill Hannibal’s whole army in one go. This will be… a pain, frankly.  But if we can do that, Hannibal will go briefly non-hostile as he runs to his castle to get reinforcements. If that happens, you can surround and trap him, since he won’t attack anyone who doesn’t attack him first. Let’s… see how this goes.

…. Almost.  I really hope that was enough to trigger Hannibal to retreat. Run away, you old bastard.  End… end turn.

Yessssssss.  Hannibal didn’t attack, he’s running back to Kapothagia to get reinforcements, and he’s old and cannot run fast.  Once our turn starts, we’re clear to surround him, and send Seliph running straight past him to the next castle.  

Meanwhile, Fee…

My God she is a tank.  How does this keep happening?  Pegasus Knights are supposed to be squishy.

Our turn starts, and I ‘recruit Hannibal.’  

He still has two soldiers alive, but one is a bow user that I can also trap so Patty might eat him, and the other is a healer with no weapon that Patty will also eat. She needs money and experience, is my point. Patty?  

Good girl! Now, Travant’s unit will be hitting us next turn, and he’s a dick, so I’m sending a few units back that way to help out.  Dermott, Lester, and Finn should be able to handle it in combination with the killers who are already there.

So here’s the King Douche himself, finally out and killable, but he’s not gonna make it easy on us. He’s a Dragonmaster, the promoted class of dracoknight, and comes with a Silver Lance and Power Ring to play off his already extremely high strength stat. All his relevant stats are pretty solid except resistance, and he comes with two skills that can make him a pain; Nihil, which nullifies all combat abilities (Luna, Astra, etc.) and in addition removes his natural weakness to arrows as a flying unit.  On top of that, he has Vantage, so once his health goes down a far enough he’ll always get the first strike. Pursuit too, but he’s not terribly fast, so it’s not as big an issue as it could be.  Most of the people who will be fighting him here can outrun him. In addition he has no way to fight at range and his Resistance isn’t great, so mages are his kryptonite in a big way. He’s dangerous, but not beyond belief.

I’mma try to have Leif kill him. You know why.

All right, the turn is mostly set, other than Fee finally getting close enough to save that poor burning village. Go, girl!

I love her so much.  End turn!

Why do people even try to fight Fee.  

…. Well, I’d like to thank Nanna for scaring the shit out of me, and like to thank every Thracian for being a dick. EVERY ONE.  

Okay. Okay. Our turn. To start off? Let’s kill some frickin’ wyverns.    

Ooooh, not great. There’s still several wyverns left, and nobody else can attack.  If the two wyverns and Travant all go for one person, they could kill them. If ooooooooonly there was some way to stooooooooooop him from LANA GO

Clerics, motherfucker. And that’s that! Travant’s group is basically done for; the two small fries will take their potshots, but the king himself is dead in the water.  Boy, that sure was a treacherous and underhanded thing of me to do, paralyzing him from half a mile away with magic. He couldn’t defend himself at all. UWEE HEE HEE HEE HEE.

And now, Fee.

Go Fee! Start flying home to promote, honey, you earned it. Patty continues plinking away at an armor knight while the cleric heals it from a distance, you know the deal; and because I’m not an idiot, I run Dermott back to our main castle and have him stand inside, because wyverns have a huge damn movement range and we’re fighting rather close to it.  End turn.

*smile*

Now then, let’s mop up.

(Syyyyympathetic Anti-Villain~)

Travant: What a pathetic fool that Blume was… how could he fail to kill a runt like you?

(SYYYYYYYYYMPATHETIC ANTI-VILLAIN, SUCH A TRAGIC GUUUUUUUUUUY~)

Leif: We meet at last, Travant… I’ve… I’ve await this day for so long. This is what kept me alive all this time… I’ve lived for this alone… to choke the life from you with my bare hands!

(… Damn, go Leif.)

Travant the Sympathetic Anti-Villain: Heh… as foolish as your father. And unlike him, you can’t even wield Gae Bolg against me! You don’t stand a chance! Now hold still! It’s time you learned the last agonies your parents felt at my hands!

Shame you can’t fight, huh dude.

Travant the Tragic Patriot: Ha! How laughable! A common soldier like you could never even scratch me! I take it you’re ready to die, then?

… No, I don’t know how he dodges while asleep. Same way he talks, I guess. Life is a complicated thing. Anyway, Travant is beaten, so with Leif waiting there to kill him slowly, I start splitting the army up. Those who can promote start heading home, while the others head west to help out Seliph as he moves on to besiege a castle by himself.  He doesn’t really need help, but they’re gonna need to go there eventually anyway. The enemy can no longer move at all; all our turns will be consecutive until we finish up Hannibal’s castle and/or kill Travant. This update is already too long and Patty is just gonna be plinking away forever, so let’s stick to the highlights of the combat:  

Nice!  And of course, now story happens.

Arion: My apologies, Altena. I had to give Father a convincing show, to ensure your survival. I had no choice but to deal such a powerful blow.

Altena: Don’t worry, Arion. But where is Fath… King Travant now?

Arion: … You won’t see him again. Father has died in battle.

Altena: He has…?  How did it happen?

Arion: You’d be better off not knowing. Father’s heart was an enigma at the best of times…

Altena: … Arion. What do you think I should do now?  

Arion: Join prince Leif, your true brother. I’m certain he is still waiting for you.

Altena: Then what will you-

Arion: Altena. This is my fate. There’s no helping it.

Altena: No! You can call for a truce, Arion! Now that Travant is dead, there’s nothing to stop you from seeking peace! And I… I could never fight you!

(Oh god dammit, this isn’t a brotherly ‘I can’t fight you,’ is it.)

Arion: I wish I could, and I would were it not for Father’s final words to me…

(…………….. HE LITERALLY TOLD YOU TO JUST DO WHATEVER YOU WANTED, ASSHOLE.)

Arion: Please, Altena… Go!  However, be prepared. Our next meeting will be on the battlefield, and I will not stay my hand!

Altena: Oh… Arion…

(King Arion of Thracia: What a dick!)

And with that, Altena starts flying toward our army to sign up.  Since there’s nothing else to do but let Patty continue plinkin’ away, I think we’ll call it a week here. Seliph, do the honors!

Seliph: Who are you? What’s the matter?

Cairpre: I’m Cairpre… I’m General Hannibal’s son. And… wait… aren’t you Lord Seliph, the Liberator!?

Seliph: Indeed I am. If I may ask, Cairpre, why would Thracia imprison one of their own generals’ sons?

(“Because apparently being king of this shitty country instantly turns you into a rampaging douche.”)

Cairpre: King Travant took me hostage. Papa didn’t want to fight your army, so the king threatened my life to force him to fight… please, sir! Please take me to Papa! If he knows I’m safe, then he won’t have to keep fighting! Please, we’ve gotta save him!

Seliph: I see…. Don’t worry. I promise we’ll find him. Move out, everyone! I pray we’ll still be in time to save General Hannibal!

Spoiler for next week’s update: we will.  See you then, when we promote like seven dudes, recruit an old idiot and a young awesome princess, and just generally rock out all over whatever is left of Thracia. Go team!

Total Resets: 26. Not sure I should count this since it was Hannibal killing himself on the worst possible target in his range, not anything I did, but I’ve always has a masochistic streak.

Part 23

[meandmyechoes]

So I think I’ve done more Chinese writing than I’ve had in the past five years during last month. It was... exhausting, but I also enjoy spinning it a little rewriting the novel in a different language. 

Now I’m actually writing a full length prose, one can finally see the trauma left by my middle school teacher. There’s like, at least 30% idioms in my chapters. I just, I’ve been conditioned into stuffing as much idioms as I can UNDER JUST A YEAR, and there’s no turning back. I mean, yes, idioms are excellent to convey ideas concisely, but they could be pretentious if overflown; especially when you write in a language that leans towards colloquialism as Cantonese. I just know a lot of idioms and sometimes it’s difficult not to use these minimalist words? I know where the line lies though. It’d be good to sum up an event, but re-consider if they are superfluous adjectives. 

Well, getting into this mess did inspired me to write two poems and a drawing, so I guess it has some benefits in the end?

Onward, I do miss writing English fiction so bad. I wrote a few essays in the meantime, but the last time I wrote a story was what? last summer? I should just sit down and write it like I’m doing now. I’ve been watching a ton of panels & interviews stuff, digging up the gems of Star Wars weekends. It’s hilarious and I want to make a non-show TCW resources masterpost later on. But just combing through that comics list is quite a work, and I have to sort out the download links. yeah. 

But like, I meant to talk a little about lunar new year in the diary post. And I actually have something never fully plumbed in my draft regarding some... rumour that I’ve now forgotten. Well, I want to say that it’s been a hectic month. I barely know what I did since the year started. Life’s still shit, but it’s very oblivious, you know. I don’t need to go into details here, it won’t change anything overnight. Just so if anyone’s reading, I’m of sound health, just moody. 

Let’s talk about something I haven’t even discussed inside my own head. So the past month, we’ve basically been helping my gramps move and renovating our own house as well. Very often we worked very late and it completely drained me. But I know Mom is working a lot harder than I am and I want to do my best to lessen her worries. In principle, I would gladly help out but it’s this, tcwaw, the translation, and the deadline of making a cny outfit, and mom breathing down my neck to exercise with the fam, plus having my hair cut in three years rather unwillingly, on top of my terrible self-maintenance (and that ever-lasting shadow of my college). phew, it’s a lot. and I got really, really depressed because I couldn’t finish tcwaw. I feel like, I’m betraying a pact or something okay. I know I took this too seriously and well, any day is tcw appreciation day here. but I tried really hard to make something and I really wanted to complete the challenge, to do this together. So at least, I’m letting myself down. and then there’s the fact that the first post didn’t garner as much notes as I wanted... but all of them are quality responses so thank you... (brb crying again)

Next, I’ve bitched about this many, many times but the negativity of the Forum! Like, pal and i are trying very hard to sway it back into some positive discussion and actual content with the translation, but these men are even bitchier than i am when it’s about the sequels. Like, I don’t expect a comment, it’d be a blessing if someone even clicked readmore. I’m doing it more out of my own interest but damn those manbabies! I understand the internal misogyny in Cantonese swears. Yet, it is the user that chose to aim that tool at a very public platform to express their anger. I just, expect, humans to be better-versed? The worst one of them is a father to a little girl! I’m not saying you can’t complain, I’m saying make it count. 

THE (COMPLETE LACK OF) READING COMPREHENSION ON THAT SITE. okay, let’s go all out bitch. Like, I would expect my partner to be a little better at this, like he reads, right? but no. not only did he misinterpret a singular question on the forum that effectively brought my intention to raise discussion to a full stop, he often mistranslate lines, and just, he’s just a stereotypical straight guy with a stereotypical view on “women + star wars”. It’s wearing me out and I don’t really find anything to learn from that guy. But I also pity him and it’s just bad practice for me to ghost people and cut off another unnecessary backdoor. It’s like he doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about Star Wars, and his contribution to the local fanbase is objectively admirable. This guy still thinks I’m a fellow dudebro, who might be a little obsessed. He has stepped on my toes before (and our circadian rhythm is just, opposite) and well, I learnt to be patient and ask for clarification before giving the other person a lecture. So I guess I could milk some benefits out of this relationship. It will fade eventually anyway. (For the record, I do not think this is deception. My gender is simply unnecessary professionally.)

And you know what’s really funny, to this day, I haven’t revealed I am a girl either on the forum or privately. But I’ve implied so before. I said, young girls like action figures too but unfortunately *I* personally don’t find them pretty-looking enough to buy as a child. I didn’t want to give it out then and still don’t now, but I thought that was quite easy a hint to read? (Because if I’m not a girl, my personal experience carries no weight, and so the only logical conclusion for the relevance and necessary inclusion of that example, is that I’m a girl) (and this is discounting all the Gina mess before. They are quite reasonable with that. but wonder why no one ever brought up her transphobia?) 

I don’t know, sometimes just reading them joke about how women don’t understand star wars, do i laugh or shake my head? Like, of course they won’t talk to you if you don’t contribute to the fandom. Why would anyone choose a whining fanboy over a creative writer? Like, do I charge in and say haha fool’s on you, I’ve been a girl all along and you guys are liking my meta posts like leeches. That’s ridiculous. Like, I wouldn’t mind influencing and slipping awareness on feminist issues in Star Wars, but also what am i to condition these strangers on the Internet? I know I have a saviour complex but I should hold them to the same standard as myself, as a responsible adult, right? I just wanna charge in and write about what it really means to read Star Wars through a feminist lens, and how the “representation” they thought was doing right and where it’s not enough, but I know it will fall on deaf ears. and I just wanna swing a bat and ask them to celebrate Star Wars instead. Otherwise the rational action is leaving that space for good, I’m just too busy. alas, alas.

update: [22/2/21]

last weekend they’ve come to talk/joke about how they’ve never meet a female star wars fan. Given, I haven’t in real life either. It was already a less-than popular hobby than most. But it’s the tone they talk about, without ever realizing there is/could be an ”undercover” agent. It’s an unnecessary complicated way of thinking, but I’m amused, laughing at their oblivious shamelessness. When I wrote this I didn’t know the discussion would turn that way, and what a coincidence. I couldn’t keep it much longer and dm mr. partner. we briefly talked about my concern but the topic was quickly changed into a general grievance about the lack of intelligent communication across local forum boards. I felt better after this, but I wonder if I should still strive to bring content towards it. It’s going to be a wasteful investment, but I do want to write some Ahsoka metas possibly, even if it’s just fact files on her inspiration and how tcw came to be. But I’ll have to evaluate if it’s that important I’ll be dropping off every other WIP for. (It’s not, but no sow no reap)

[olicitysecretsanta]

Better with you

Dear Emma @bitchwhwifi

I wish you and your family a beautiful holiday season. May it be filled with love, laughter and peace.

Leona @lgtwinkie99

Chapter 1

“Cooper, I just got your text. What do you mean with you think we are done?”

“Lissy..”

“You know I don’t like it when you call me that.”

“Lissy calm down. You knew that this was going to happen at some point in our relationship. I mean I think we have really exhausted our relationship.”

“So you wake up one morning and decide this doesn’t work for you anymore and that the past three years meant nothing?”

“They meant something Lissy. I mean the sex isn’t bad but I think our relationship has become predictable and I want excitement. I can’t be in a relationship like this for the rest of my life. I will die of boredom.”

“And you couldn’t have spoken to me about all of this? Instead you break up with me over a text message?”

“Lissy you can’t change even if you want to. Look at it this way, we are still young and can still move on.”

“Cooper I know our relationship wasn’t perfect but I thought we were committed to each other. I never expected this from you. You are so not who I thought you were. It just goes to show, you think you know someone. But let this boring person not hold you up Cooper Seldon. I for one will not lose tears over this relationship. I am thankful this has happened now rather than later. I suppose you just did me a huge favour. I am finally free from someone who couldn’t appreciate me, who didn’t value me and who doesn’t see me as enough. Bye Cooper.”

Felicity hangs up and gives a frustrated shout!

“Urgh!!!”

To think I have been so patient with him, putting up with all his dishonesty and constantly insulting my character, just never being enough for him.

30 minutes later while preparing supper

*knock on the door*

Felicity goes to open the door and finds her best friend John Diggle on her doorstep.

“Diggle! You are back!”

“Woman come here and give me a hug.”

Diggle grabs Felicity into a bear hug.

“I swear it feels like you have gotten smaller since the last time I saw you.” Diggle moves back from Felicity to get a better look at her.

“Has it really been six months?”

“It has been way too long! But I am here now so what have you been up to shorty?”

“Nope! There is no way I am telling you about my boring life first. Tell me what has the past 6 months been like?”

“I always tell you it is what you make of it Lis. If I could understand half of the things you do, I would probably be very enthusiastic about your job.”

Felicity rolls her eyes at Diggle.

“Okay if you say so. Can I dish for you?” Diggle follows Felicity to the kitchen.

“Always a yes! Ooh this looks yummy!”

Diggle looks at the feast Felicity has prepared for them. Whenever he comes back home from one of his long expeditions he can be sure that he will find something special prepared for him by Felicity.

“I missed your cooking! I wish I could pack up all this food and take it with me when I am on those long trips. Oliver really saves our butts when we are out there.  I don’t know how that guy makes a meal out of nothing but he does. But this shorty beats his hands down! Just don’t tell him I said that.”

“I am happy you are enjoying it. So tell me what you guys have been up to these past few months.”

“It has been a crazy couple of months. I was finished with my first 26 day expedition to the Three Peaks of Nepal and just got back to base when we received news that there was a landslide on one of the tours and Oliver and I literally only had time to pack a new bag and equipment before we were flown out to Cho Oyu. It was one exhausting trip. Tony, one of the guides, was seriously injured and we had to airlift him out. The guy was in bad shape, still in recovery. Bill is also off sick so that leaves us seriously understaffed. Oliver and I were booked back to back. We were so relieved when we were shipped out. It can get rough out there.”

“But you still love what you are doing?” Felicity rests her chin on her hands, so relaxed now that Diggle is back.

“Crazy enough? I wouldn’t change one thing about it.”

“I am really really happy for you Diggle.”

“So where is Cooper? Is he working late again?”

“Mmm Cooper isn’t coming anymore. We broke up.”

“You did? Wait a minute. Who did the breaking up Lis?”

Felicity looks down at her hands and starts fidgeting with her fingers.

“He did, over text.”

“He did what? I never liked that guy but now? I could choke him with my bare hands.”

“I might not stop you the way I am feeling right now.”

“When did it happen?”

“Today, just before you came actually. I should thank him for his timing because at least I don’t have to be alone. I have my best friend back.”

Diggle gets up, walks to Felicity, takes her hand and gently pulls her to her feet.

Without a word he wraps Felicity in a bear hug. Diggle’s tenderness causes Felicity to let go of her emotions and she starts to cry silent tears on her friends shoulder.

They are not sure how long they are standing there in embrace but Felicity feels lighter afterwards.

They ended up watching a marathon of their favourite movies, laughing and making silly jokes like old times until Felicity falls asleep on Diggle’s shoulder.

^^^^^^^^^^

The next morning Felicity finds herself in her bed not very unusual after a hang out with Diggle that normally lasts until she falls asleep.

Felicity cannot help but smile thinking about her closest friend. They have been best friends for the past five years and Felicity wishes that she felt more for her bestie than friendship. They actually joke about how they would make the perfect couple if only they could get to feeling more than just friendship for each other. They have been in each other’s corner through good and bad times, success and losses. One thing she could always count on over the years has been Diggle. Constant, faithful, cuddly Diggle. He always knows what to say and do to make her feel better. This morning feels a whole lot more hopeful than she could have imagined and she knows it is thanks to her bestie who is snoring on her couch. She gets up and decides to prepare breakfast  for them.

She starts breakfast and cannot help but feel relieved that she no longer has to deal with Cooper and his issues. She can now live her life the way she wants and do what she has always wanted to do. He has always laughed at her dreams and criticised her. She isn’t even sure why she has been with him this long or why she has put up with him.

The first thing that pops into Felicity’s mind is to get a Bike. Not your normal bicycle but a motorbike with roaring engine and all. Bet Cooper wouldn’t think me boring now. Last she mentioned that they could get one together he laughed at her saying that her feet won’t ever reach the pedals. How was she going to drive one? Maybe Diggle would be up to it.

Felicity carries a tray with their breakfast to the sitting room and wakes Diggle up with a chirpy, “Wakey Wakey! Breakfast is ready.”

Diggle moans and groans but moves to a sitting position and takes his breakfast from Felicity.

“You know if you weren’t such an excellent cook I would not be getting up right now. Feels like I have jetlag.”

Diggle gives a yawn and looks at his friend noticing her chirpy mood.

“And why are you sitting there like someone who won the jackpot instead of someone who just went through a break up? Even though I have to say good riddance.”

“Diggle you and I both know my relationship with Cooper wasn’t good for me. I always felt like I was being dominated, always doing what he wanted, going where he wanted to go and then he has the audacity to tell me I am boring! Phew okay let me just calm down.”

Felicity takes a breath: ‘So I was thinking, I want to get a bike.’

“A bike? You have never been the sporty type shorty but we can go get you a bicycle. I am all yours today so why not go after breakfast?”

“No not a bicycle, I want a motorbike.”

“Felicity you do know a motorbike is a motorbike? Very dangerous and very fast and can be quite expensive.”

“I have a lot in my savings at the moment and why not use it for this? Come on! For someone who is so adventurous you can be a drip.”

“Felicity you are my best friend and I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“That is why we can ask your friend Oliver to give me some lessons before I take it on the road myself. He does still have the bike shop right?”

“Yes he does.”

Diggle looks at Felicity’s determined expression and knows that this is one fight he will not win.

“Okay let me call him and see if he is available today.”

“Call him now while I clean up the dishes.”

He hasn’t seen Felicity this excited since she got her job at Queen Consolidated. Maybe this will be good for her.

“Oliver, hi man.  What are you up to today?”

“John! Miss me already? Thought you are spending the day with Felicity?”

“I am but she wants a bike?”

“Whoa from what you have told me about her, she doesn’t sound like the bike type at all.”

“She isn’t but long story short, she has made up her mind and well I need your help to get her the perfect one and then give her some lessons.”

“Sure, I can help out. I am at the shop, so you guys can come by anytime.”

“See you in an hour.”

He looks up to see Felicity looking at him like a teenage girl expectantly waiting, “And?”

“Let’s go get you a bike!”

“Yis!”

Felicity fist bumps the air and turns with a skip in her step to get ready.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chapter 2

“Oliver!”

“Hey John!” Oliver and Diggle exchange a bro hug and then he turns to Felicity.

“Hey Felicity, nice to see you again.”

Oliver cannot help but look at Felicity a bit longer than is necessary as she replies.

“Same here.”

Felicity cannot help but feel awkward, not sure if she should hug Oliver or just shake his hand, so instead she shoves her hands in her jean pocket.

“So, I hear you are shopping for a bike? Anything specific in mind?”

Both Diggle and Oliver turn to Felicity and she feels completely silly that she is so unprepared. She was in such a hurry to buy a bike that she never took the time to do her research. This is so unlike her.

“I honestly haven’t had time to think about it really”, Felicity says blushing slightly.

“That won’t be a problem. That is where my expertise comes in.” Oliver says trying to put her at ease.

“I have a few here at my shop but anything I don’t have we can order for you and get it delivered. So, looking at your build…I mean the structure of your body, I mean the shape of…sorry I am really messing this up.”

Diggle and Felicity look at each other and start bursting out with laughter.

“I have never seen you this red Oliver. Seems you had a bit of a tongue twister. This is a really nice side to you Ollie.” Diggle cannot help but enjoy seeing Oliver so uncomfortable.

“Sorry I am not used to stumbling all over myself, but you do know what I mean right?”

Felicity and Diggle clearly together in making Oliver feel uncomfortable shake their heads innocently to say no.

“What I meant to say was that we will need to find a bike suitable for your build. Because you are quite small.”

“I’m pretty strong for my 5-foot-5 average height.”

“I don’t doubt that one bit. But your bike must suit you like a glove. We want you to have the best possible experience, so we want to make sure you get the perfect one. Let me show you the ones I think might work for you.”

Diggle casually throws his arm around Felicity as they follow Oliver.

“Here we have the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. It sports a lateral aluminium frame, a different fairing designed to make it look sportier, 17-inch wheels, an adjustable rear shock absorber, adjustable brake and clutch levers, a small drive sprocket, computer-controlled timing advance, and a revised electrical system. It also has a smaller carburettor, & slightly different compression ratio, both of which were designed for quicker revving and slightly higher top end power.”

Oliver turns to look at Diggle and Felicity to see what they thought of the bike and realised he completely lost them.

“Oliver remember Felicity doesn’t know anything about bikes so can you turn it down a notch?”

“Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. What I meant was that it is small and not too heavy and would still give you enough speed to give you an adrenalin rush.”

“Okay that I can process. And this one? Really beautiful. I always thought bikes were these big ugly machines that just made a lot of noise. I know, I know. I was wrong.”

“This beauty is the Harley-Davidson Sportster XL883L. A bit pricey but worth every cent.”

“So how do you know which one is the right one?”

“It would help test driving them. That is the best way to decide. Since you have never driven one, I can take you out on the road a bit.”

“Can we go now?”

Oliver looks at Diggle as if needing permission and to see if Diggle trusts him enough to take his best friend on a bike ride.

Diggle gives Oliver a nod and a huge smile spreads across Oliver’s face.

“Okay let’s go. Let’s take the Ninja for a spin and then work our way through the list.”

Oliver hands Felicity her helmet and helps her tie the strap.

He has known of Felicity for some time and they would meet on certain occasions where Diggle would invite both, but he has never been this close to her. Being this close to her makes him notice her blue eyes and freckles across her nose. She is one beautiful woman.

Oliver clears his throat.

“Tight enough?”

Felicity nods and instead of looking dorky with the helmet on, she manages to look even more adorable.

Before Oliver can stop himself, he hears himself remark, “Really cute.”

Oliver gets on the bike and moves up to make space for Felicity.

Oliver looks ahead trying to keep busy with the gadgets on the bike to not focus on how close she is to him.

Oliver starts the bike and can feel Felicity startle when the bike comes alive.

“Sorry, it can be very noisy.”

“I will have to get used to it. Now is as good a time as any.”

“Okay you might want to put your arms around me and hold on tight.”

“I imagined you saying that under different circumstances, very platonic circumstances.

Oliver feels Felicity’s hands on his side holding on to him in a very subtle way. Until the bike pulls off and her arms go completely around his middle squeezing his lower abdomen.

Oliver turns his head and asks, “You okay?”, to which Felicity nods yes.

They pull out of the shop slowly and come to a halt when Oliver turns slightly. He was so close to her that he can see the speckles in her eyes but refused to put some distance between them.

“I will start out slowly and build up speed gradually. You can squeeze me or nudge me with your leg if I should slow down or stop. I should tell you that I have been doing this for a while and I will never be irresponsible with someone’s life. So, try to relax and enjoy the ride.”

With a nod from Felicity, Oliver turns around and starts to pull off again.

Felicity has nervousness starting in the pit of her stomach all the way down to her toes. She cannot believe she is finally doing this, she must be crazy, but she must find out if she can really do this. As they cruise along the anxiousness starts fading and gives way to an excitement that she has only felt a few times in her life. She knows she doesn’t have to hold on as tight as she is but she loves the feel of Oliver’s abs underneath her fingers. He feels so solid.

Oliver picks up the pace and starts speeding up. Felicity can’t help but let out an excited “yee-haw”!

Oliver smiles as he thinks to himself, another one bites the dust, she is hooked.

Oliver increases the speed to see how far she is willing to go when Felicity surprises him by hugging him even tighter and pressing her cheek against his back.

Fifteen minutes later Oliver pulls into the shop and finds Diggle waiting for them.

He walks toward them with a concerned expression until Felicity removes her helmet with the biggest smile he has ever seen.

“I want to do that again!”

Oliver laughs, “You either love it or you hate it.”

“That was so amazing! That was so emancipating! How fast did we go?”

“At one point 111.85 mph.”

“Really? I felt the speed, but I would never have imagined we drove that fast.”

“So you were not afraid?” Diggle asks curiously.

“Not one bit. I know you trust Oliver and if you trust him with me on a bike then he must be worth trusting.”

Oliver is completely caught off guard at Felicity’s comment and not sure of what to say. No one has ever said anything so nice about him, especially not someone who didn’t know him personally.

He clears his throat and busies himself with the pedal of the bike.

“So, I suggest we take each of these bikes on the road over the next few days and then you should be able to decide which one you like. For the next week I am available early morning and late afternoon. I am babysitting for Thea during the day. Roxy can keep me very busy and I will prefer to not bring her along with me to the shop, at least not yet.”

“How is Thea coping with being back at work? I haven’t seen her in so long.”

“I think surprisingly well. Her and Alex really have the parenting thing down. I could never imagine my younger sister as a mother, but she is doing an awesome job with Roxy. She asked me to tell you to come by for dinner tonight, she really misses you John.”

“I miss her too. I will be there.”

“Felicity why don’t you come join us?

“That would be really nice.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chapter 3

Later that afternoon Felicity finds herself unable to decide what to wear. She is normally not one to worry much about what people think but for some unexplainable reason she does wonder what Oliver thinks of her.

She finds him intriguing and exhilarating and loves how he is with her. And yes, he might have treated her like he would any other woman looking for a bike, but she would like to think that there was something between them.  For a handsomely well-built guy he has been very quirky around her making him even more attractive. He was pleasantly refreshing, unlike what she has been experiencing from the male population the past few years, Diggle obviously being an exception.

She opts for a floral tank top and a blue skirt, modest but beautiful.

Diggle picks her up at seven and they drive to Thea’s place recalling what they have been up to that day.

“Digg I am telling you that manager at the coffee shop was checking you out. Did you not notice how she completely ignored me and zoned in on your lips?”

“Felicity I never knew you to exaggerate.”

“That is true, so it must tell you that it is all true. We will have to go back there just so I can prove you wrong.”

“Doesn’t seem like I am the only one getting attention today from the opposite sex.”

Felicity gives Diggle a coy look.

“Don’t you even pretend you don’t know what I am talking about? My boy Oliver was completely tripping over himself today. Didn’t know what got into him and then I saw the way he looked at you.”

“I will not deny that Oliver is good looking and very hot, but I am on the rebound and I don’t know what the rules are about that, but I am sure it doesn’t say that you should jump a guy the next day.”

“Who said anything about jumping him? All I am saying is don’t go drooling all over him and try to behave yourself. I know how you get around handsome guys. Look at how you jumped my bones when I got to your place last night. You should be lucky there is no Mrs Diggle, she would have been very jealous!”

Felicity laughs at their bantering and wonders if things will change when a Mrs Diggle does come along. She won’t have her bestie all to herself anymore.

“Hey where did you go to shorty?”

Diggle reaches across to take her hand and gives it a squeeze.

“Just thinking how lucky I am to have a friend like you. You have been godsend, and really so much more than a girl could ask for.”

“Hey, I will always be here for you. No matter what.”

They pull into a drive way of a quaint house, when Diggle switches off the car and turns to Felicity.

“Lis, you haven’t had the best experiences with guys, apart from me.”

Felicity playfully slaps Diggle on the shoulder.

“But Oliver is one of the good guys and you were right about me trusting him. I am not forcing you into anything, I’m just saying that you can be yourself with him.”

“Thanks Digg. I will remember that.”

^^^^^^^^^^

“John! It has been way too long! Why you and my brother enjoy these long trips away from home I will never understand.”

“Keeps us out of trouble.” Diggle gives Thea one of his famous bear hugs and then turns to introduce Felicity.

“Thea this is a very close friend of mine, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen.”

“So nice to meet you Felicity. Please feel at home and mind the obstacles. Roxy thinks the house is more hers than ours. Suppose that is how it is with children.”

“Definitely makes it homier,” Felicity remarks.

“Oliver says the same thing.”

“Gossiping about me little sis? Don’t believe anything she tells you Felicity.”

Oliver walks into the foyer with Roxy in his arms. If Felicity thought Oliver looked good before then he looks even better with a toddler in his arms. Oliver could be wearing a black bag and would still look handsome. He walks directly to her and surprises her by giving her a hug with Roxy in his arms.

In that moment Roxy takes a piece of Felicity’s hair and rubs it between her fingers and then she reaches out her arms to Felicity to take her from Oliver.

Felicity not sure how to handle the situation looks at Oliver and then Thea then back again.

When Thea smiles and says: “It’s okay, she must really like you, she normally takes time to warm up to strangers.”

Felicity reaches for her and little Roxy immediately starts playing with her hair saying “pletty”.

Felicity is completely captivated by Roxy and how warm she makes her feel, smiles and whispers, “so are you Roxy. I love your dress.”

“Let’s move to the patio, it is such beautiful night.” Thea leads the way but Oliver stays behind to wait for Felicity, still holding Roxy.

“Should I take her? She can get heavy.”

“No, I don’t mind. I always thought children didn’t like me and I think I have always been a bit scared of the tiny creatures but this…this feels so good.”

“It is pretty amazing. Roxy why don’t we show aunty Felicity your drawing?”

Roxy immediately slides down and runs toward her play area to show Felicity her drawing of a bike.

“Unc Ollie bike.”

Felicity can see that Oliver is extremely proud of her.

“Wow now this is a beautiful bike. You did a very good job Roxy. Maybe you can draw one for me?”

“A red one!”

Felicity and Oliver play with Roxy a few more minutes before moving to the patio to join the others when Thea says to Alex, “I think I have found us another babysitter babe.”

Felicity finds everyone sitting outside, Thea sitting on her husband Alex’s lap, with Diggle across from her leaving the couch open to Oliver and Felicity.

“Nice to meet you Felicity and thank you in advance for babysitting.” Alex says.

Felicity takes a seat and Oliver joins her, then Oliver remarks, “Felicity hasn’t even been here an hour and I already lost my job.”

He playfully winks at Felicity who shifts uncomfortably under the attention of everyone around her.

^^^^^^^^^^

After dinner Thea leaves to put Roxy to bed and Diggle joins Alex to see his collection of music records.

“Oh, that was subtle.” Oliver smiles sitting forward and resting his arms on his knees.

“So subtle.”

“So, Felicity have you changed your mind about the bike?”

“No not one bit. I want one now even more than before. It was the most amazing feeling to glide across the road. I wish I tried it sooner, fear can hold you back from living you know? Really living.”

“Wait until you can drive on your own. When I am on the open road it feels like I am fearless and free. Or maybe I’m just an adrenaline junky.”

“I can’t imagine you being afraid of anything. You and Diggle put your lives on the line constantly.”

“The thing about fear is that it cripples you. But yesterday you reminded me that fear is what you make of it. If you give it power it will have that over you but if you take power over it, there is just no limits to what you are able to do. I know you were not completely sure about getting on that bike, but you did, and you overcame that fear. I think that is why I do what I do. If something scares me, I get in its face and show it whose boss. Sometimes though, it is just not that easy.”

“I on the other hand have always lived it safe. There is so much that I would like to do but never do. When I was younger my mother used to say that I was a nerdy child on steroids. I would do everything and anything, not always thinking about the consequences.  And then somewhere along the way I started listening to other voices and started doubting myself.”

 “I am sorry if I am forward but does this voice belong to your ex? John told me you went through a break up not long ago. He must be a fool.”

“Thank you but why would you say that? It’s not like you know me that well.”

Oliver clears his throat realising that he might have said more than he should have.

“John talks about you a lot and I know that he thinks you are a pretty amazing person. He always says that he wants his wife to be just like you, maybe just a bit taller.”

They both smile at each other.

“John is really protective of you. When we are on those long excursions he often worries that you are not okay on your own. He is one of the good guys.”

“Yes, he is.” Felicity agrees as Diggle and Alex return, with Thea not far behind them.

“Guys I am so sorry, but I have to go, I just got a call that I have to attend to. Oliver can I ask you to take Felicity home?”

“Sure.”

Felicity gets up with a worried expression. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, don’t worry, will call you tomorrow.”

Diggle gives Felicity a hug greets the rest and leaves with Oliver, walking him out.

Alex increases the volume of the music and turns to Thea, reaches for her hand and they start swaying romantically to the music almost lost in their own world when Oliver walks in.

“Do you want me to take you home now or can we stay a bit longer?”

“No rush, I have really enjoyed your company tonight.  I mean everyone’s company.”

Felicity stumbles over her words when she realises how intimate the setting is and how awkward the moment is, until Oliver stretches out his hand to her requesting a dance with Felicity.

Without a second thought Felicity takes his hand and realises for the second time that day that she is not afraid at all about being with Oliver. He makes it so easy to be herself around him and that makes her trust him even more.

Felicity places her left hand in Oliver’s right hand while Oliver places his other hand on her lower back and draws her in gently. He makes sure to leave enough space between them, so Felicity doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

They start swaying in silence and gradually move closer to each other without realising it; felicity is close enough to Oliver to put her chin against his chest.

There is something so sure about this guy. The way he makes her feel is like heaven and Felicity can feel his strong palm splayed on her lower back, causing heat to travel all the way through her, making her blush a bit. She rests her cheek on his chest, so he wouldn’t see the effect he has on her.

Then Oliver whispers in her ear, “You smell really nice Felicity.” Oliver turns his head so slightly into her hair in a way that is so enduring that Felicity has to bite on her lower lip to keep from sighing out loud. Felicity whispers softly into his shirt, “so do you”. Then she feels the nicest sensation. A beautiful rumble, like thunder as Oliver’s laughter vibrates through his body.

Not even aware that Thea and Alex stopped dancing, Alex clears his throat, “we are heading to bed, Oliver just lock up when you guys leave, no rush. Felicity it was nice meeting you.”

Felicity can only smile at them as they leave afraid her voice will betray how much she is enjoying dancing with Oliver.

A few songs later Oliver and Felicity sit on the couch talking about anything and everything. Felicity feels like she can tell Oliver anything and almost did. The guy must think she is a nutcase, but she hasn’t had that with another man besides Diggle and it feels so good to have someone who listens to you and who is genuinely interested in what you are saying. She catches Oliver once or twice staring at her lips and she almost reaches out to give him a kiss. But her sanity prevails.

Oliver finds Felicity captivating and the more time he spends with her the more time he wants to spend with her. After midnight they realise that they should probably get going when Oliver drives Felicity to her place.

“So home sweet home.” Felicity remarks not sure if she should say goodbye and leave or stay. She really, really wants to stay with him a bit longer.

Oliver seems to also delay in saying goodbye when he eventually breaks the silence, “Do you think I can get your number? Just so we can stay in touch about the bike lessons.”

“Of course.”

They exchange numbers and before the awkward silence settles again Felicity thanks Oliver for the evening.

“I really enjoyed myself tonight. I can’t remember when last I had such a wonderful time.”

“Trust me Felicity I am not known for being talkative, but you managed to bring that out of me. Thank you. Would you want to start your lesson tomorrow or wait for Monday morning?”

“No tomorrow will be perfect.”

“Should I pick you up? It would be on my way.”

“That would be really nice Oliver. So tomorrow at 5:30am?”

“See you then.”

Felicity doesn’t sleep much that night. Thoughts of Oliver keeps floating through her mind. The way he held her, the way he looked at her, the way he made her feel. And then she chastises herself that she needs to take her time and not rush it. She is still on the rebound after all.

Not far away Oliver is lying in bed trying his best to forget about Diggle’s Felicity. Felicity who is so intoxicating, Felicity who smells so warm and inviting, and Felicity who is so honest and open. Tomorrow cannot come soon enough.

^^^^^^^^^^

The next day when Oliver stops at Felicity’s place he realises she got as little sleep as he did judging by the dark circles under her eyes, not that it made her look any less gorgeous.

“Sleep well?” Oliver asks.

“Not really, really excited about today.”

“You are going to do really well. We will take it slow and see where it takes us.”

Felicity isn’t sure if she is imagining it but seems there is a double meaning in Oliver’s statement. Slow she can do. She is just not sure for how long.

When Oliver and Felicity arrive at Oliver’s shop, he takes her immediately to the next bike on their list, the Suzuki Marauder GZ125.

“So instead of me rambling on about what this beauty can do, let’s take her for a spin and you decide.”

This time Felicity is a lot surer of herself and feels a lot more comfortable on the bike. The sun is just about to come up when Oliver pulls into an off-road diner thirty minutes out of town.

He parks the bike, takes their helmets and leads her to a bench on the outside of the restaurant.

“How did you find this place? This view is incredible!”

Oliver is staring at Felicity not even caring if she catches him. He whispers, “yes it is,” while not paying much attention to his surrounding.

“Just give it a few minutes…..Don’t miss this one Felicity.”

And just then the sun breaks through and makes its appearance for the first time that day, a brand-new day.

Felicity turns to Oliver; “Wow” is all she gets out.

“I will go get us a coffee.”

When Oliver returns he finds her right where he left her. Still staring at the sunrise.

“Seems I have some competition.”

“Cute. This is really incredible Oliver, I feel like you just shared with me your secret hiding place.”

“Something like that but I won’t exaggerate.”

“This here reminds me that I have a chance each new day to live and really live. And then I try to do exactly that. Do what makes me happy and hopefully those around me as well.”

“You make it sound so simple. I can see that by looking at your family and friends. You have a beautiful life Oliver.”

“I do. There was a time though when I didn’t appreciate it and the people in it. And then I met John at Adventure Consultants and he really became a mentor to me. I was very reckless when I started out, not my proudest moment. But since then things changed for me.

“Diggle does that to a person. When I met Diggle, I was just a crazy nerdy girl who was influenced to do some stupid things. I saw Diggle just being Diggle, so sure and strong and I wanted that, I wanted to be like that. Since then he has been such a pillar in my life. I sometimes wonder what I would have done without him. Seems we both needed him in our lives.”

“I think you would have still come out of it strong. I know beyond a doubt that you have spunk and you are determined. You would have made it just fine on your own. Diggle is a bonus.”

As if Felicity’s heart couldn’t swell more, Oliver winks at her and causes her legs to go limp.

Felicity decides to be bold and suggests breakfast and for the next couple of hours they enjoy each other’s company and the view.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chapter 4

Later that day Felicity and her girlfriend are at the movies when she gets a text from Oliver.

Hey, Felicity. Hope I’m not bothering. I was thinking about you, what are you up to?

Before Felicity can reply she receives another text from Oliver.

“And not in any creepy kind of way.

Felicity replies, I am happy to hear from you. What are you and Roxy up to?

We are cooking lunch. Would you like to come over and join us? That is if you are not busy?

I would have loved to but I am at the movies with my friend Caitlin.

Oliver asks disappointedly, Maybe next time?

Definitely.

Caitlin leans over and whispers to Felicity, “Why the big smile? Who was that?”

“Oliver, the bike guy.”

“Oh, that hottie? Some kind of friend you are. You have not taken one picture of him yet.”

“And when exactly am I supposed to do that with being on the bike with him? A selfie?”

“See now that’s my girl. You will find a way if you want to.”

“shhh and watch the movie.”

^^^^^^^^^^

Felicity is in bed still thinking about the morning ride with Oliver when she decides to text him.

Hey You, how did lunch go?

Really good, just messy. Cleaning up afterward while Roxy took a nap wasn’t as much fun.

I can imagine. So when will you give me those bike lessons?

I was thinking tomorrow actually. There is one more bike we can test drive and then you can make your choice.

Okay, now I am really nervous.

You are going to do great. We will take it slow and until you’re ready.

See you tomorrow?

^^^^^^^^^^

The next morning Felicity meets Oliver at his shop for their morning drive. This time they get on the

Harley-Davidson Sportster XL883L.

This bike feels a lot to felicity like a cruise bike, comfortable and light.

The minute she gets on she remembers Caitlin’s remark so before Oliver can start the bike she blurts out.

“Can we take a pic together? If you don’t mind. I just thought it would be a nice to have seeing as this is the day when I choose my bike. A momentous occasion and all.”

“Okay.”

Felicity takes out her phone and Oliver has to lean back so her short arms can reach in front of him.

Oliver’s smell is so intoxicating that Felicity almost drops her phone. This man is a serious hottie. She hopes everything she is feeling is not obvious to Oliver. And just before she takes the selfie she looks at him and finds him looking at her. She realises then that this is so much more than just a bike ride. She has been getting to know Oliver these past few days and she has shared a lot more about herself than she would normally after just meeting someone.

“Ready?” Oliver asks.

“So ready!”

This time feels so different to Felicity. She can feel Oliver lean into her a bit more. His abdomen doesn’t feel as tense as if he is afraid she might fall or get hurt. His body language is speaking silent messages to hers to relax. And she finds herself leaning into him a bit more. Instead of gripping his side she relaxes her hands a bit more and holds him more firmly.

“This I can get used to. Anytime, every day, if it is Oliver.” Felicity thinks to herself.

Twenty minutes later they arrive at the shop and Oliver leads Felicity inside.

“These are the three bikes we rode, and I would highly recommend any of them. The choice however is up to you.”

Felicity looks from one bike to the other and can’t seem to decide. They all felt incredible to her but when it comes to what is important in terms of technicality, she is still clueless.

“I have enjoyed each of them and would love all three but can only afford one. You know a lot more about bikes than I do Oliver. Why don’t you choose one for me?”

Oliver stunned at Felicity’s request, shakes his head.

“No, I can’t possibly. I mean this is a lot of money we are talking about. I can only advise.”

“That is why I trust you to make the decision for me. You would know what is best. So, is that a yes?”

As unsure as Oliver is he says yes.

“Okay so that is sorted. When can I come and get it?”

“Give it three days. I will call you when it arrives.”

The next three days Oliver and Felicity don’t see each other. Felicity misses Oliver a lot and realises she has never missed Cooper this much. They have been speaking over text a lot, but she has only known Oliver for a week.  How can you miss someone so much? She finds herself daydreaming about him and cannot wait to see him again. She doesn’t want to come across as a love sick teenager but she really wants to see him again.

Just then Oliver calls her, for the first time in three days.

“Just checking if you have changed your mind because there is no going back now.”

“Hell no. I don’t know how I am going to sleep tonight.”

“I have to say the past three days have been very quiet for me. I missed your company.”

“Me to, made me realise how much fun we have been having.”

“Your bike arrived late this afternoon so how about coming over tomorrow morning at 8?”

“Don’t you have to babysit?”

“No, I am available. They decided to put Roxy into a day - care, or let me say Roxy has decided it was time to go to a day-care.”

Felicity laughs remembering how tenacious the little girl was on her last visit.

“Then I will see you tomorrow, but can we make it at 7? I will bring coffee?”

“In that case I can’t refuse you.”

“I would love it if you don’t,” Felicity thinks to herself.

“Okay till tomorrow.”

The next day felicity arrives at seven in the morning with coffee as promised.

Oliver greets her and without thinking takes her hand and leads her inside to a bike covered under a cloth.

“Seeing as this huge decision was left up to me, I decided to get you the Suzuki Marauder GZ125 but I had some extra work done on it. I hope you like it but no pressure.”

“Felicity please brace yourself for your first wheels.”

Oliver pulls off the cloth and Felicity cannot believe her eyes.

In front of her is a much more beautiful version of the Suzuki Marauder they rode earlier on.

“I thought of getting it sprayed a light purple metallic colour. I thought the colour would look great against you. Also, it is light and agile and it is long and low to provide you with a spacious seating position. This and the deeply padded and well contoured saddle ensure a comfortable ride for you and your passenger, especially on the long road.”

“Wow Oliver.” Felicity throws herself into Oliver’s arms.

“This is way better than I could have chosen for myself. I love it! Thank you so much.”

Oliver wraps his arms around Felicity and loves her smell. He has gotten used to having her smell on him long after she has left and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Neither of them break the contact when Felicity decides to not be inappropriate and instead says,

“you are a really good hugger Oliver, Diggle has some serious competition.”

Oliver cannot help but feel so good at her remark. She likes his hugs!

“You should definitely tell John that.”

“I have something else for you.”

Oliver leaves the room leaving Felicity to get onto her new bike.

When Oliver walks in he carries a leather jacket with “SMOAK” embroided on the back.

Felicity who is overwhelmed cannot help it when a tear escapes. And before she can wipe it away Oliver raises his hand and does it for her.

“I hope it doesn’t look that bad or do you have a thing against leather?” Oliver says trying to make her smile.

“No, it’s not that. This is so much more than I could have asked for. You haven’t known me for long, but you have made so much effort with me and now the bike and the jacket. It’s just more than I expected. You believe in me. You don’t even know if I will get this bike thing right or not but you supported me and got me this unbelievable bike. You must believe in me.”

Oliver raises his palm to Felicity’s cheek.

“Why wouldn’t I? You are determined, and you are not alone. You can do anything.”

“Thank you, Oliver.”

 Felicity cannot help but close her eyes trying to savour Oliver’s palm against her cheek.

“Are you ready to take your bike on the road? Get that jacket on Smoak.”

Oliver pushes the bike outside and parks it for Felicity.

Oliver tries not to stare at Felicity, but she looks so hot with the leather jacket. It is a sin for a woman to look this good. Today he will work up the guts to ask her on a real date.

The leather feel gives Felicity the confidence and when she gets onto the bike, she feels invincible.

“I am going to sit behind you and then guide your hands and then we will see if we can pull off slowly.”

“You will be with me the whole time right?”

“I will be right here with you. Trust yourself, you’ve got this.”

 “Ooh this is heavier than I thought it would be.”

Oliver moves in behind Felicity and for the first time feels her small frame and realises as spunky as Felicity is she is also fragile and small and he instinctively wants to protect her and keep her safe. Suppose that is too late with him teaching her how to ride a bike.

“Nah you’ve got this.” Felicity cannot focus on anything but Oliver’s hands on her waist. Too soon he removes it and places it on Felicity’s hands on the bar.

“So, you keep the clutch in.” Oliver says while showing Felicity.

“That’s the clutch.” Felicity echoes.

“Brake here on your right and the gears are on the left, one down,” Oliver demonstrates by pressing on the lever with his foot.

He puts his chin on her shoulder causing whatever space that was left between them to no longer exist.

“Breathe Felicity, don’t pass out now. Give a little with the clutch and let go a little over here.”

The next moment felicity let’s go too much of the clutch and pulls away causing Oliver to slip of the bike. Oliver runs after her and jumps back on while saying “a little clutch a little break”, trying to talk her through it.

“Okay, okay I can do this.” Felicity says out loud more to herself than to Oliver.

Felicity pulls off again and this time a lot smoother and Oliver slowly let’s go of the handles as Felicity moves forward.

When Felicity gets it right Oliver lets out a loud whoo behind her. She cannot help but be proud of herself.

They drive like that for another few minutes when Felicity brings the bike to a stop.

“Wow that was my first Bike ride. I drove on my own.” she jumps off the bike without putting the lever of the bike out when Oliver does it for her.

Felicity can’t contain her excitement and the minute Oliver gets off the bike she throws herself into his arms.

“Thank you. I did it Oliver.  I did it. I am brave and not scared anymore.”

Oliver looks at Felicity and completely happy for her and before he can think twice he moves in to kiss her.

The softest, most intimate kiss and without a doubt one of the best kisses she has ever had.

Oliver pulls away and Felicity wishes she could have paused the moment for so much longer.

“I’m sorry Felicity. I shouldn’t have done that. I just…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Felicity moves in and kisses him back.

This time Oliver leaves no room for regret and savours every moment. He holds her face and deepens the kiss. And then for a moment pulls away and just stares at her, smiles and kisses her again.

They are not sure how long they stand like that, but Felicity doesn’t mind one bit.

“So that happened.” Oliver says and still holding Felicity’s face. Slowly he removes his hands from her face.

“Yes, I am happy it did.”

“Me too. I have been wanting to do that for a while now,” Oliver confesses.

He takes Felicity’s hand; “would you go on a real date with me?”

“And here I thought the time I was spending with you was like a date,” Felicity says coy.

“Oh trust me if I could it would have been. But now it is voiced.”

“Will you?”

“Of course. I just have to make sure. The Cooper guy?”

“Oliver for the three days I didn’t see you I realised how much I wanted to be with you. The one person I thought about was you, not Cooper. I think that says a lot.”

Oliver cannot help smiling.

“I was hoping you would say something like that. I want to get to know you Felicity. I have always been alone on my bike rides but the past three days when I went riding alone just felt empty without you. With you it has become so much better, and I don’t want to go back to that. Would you want to see where this thing between us goes?”

 “I would like nothing more Oliver.”

6 months later

Felicity and Oliver are cruising on her bike. Felicity driving while Oliver is holding onto her waist. Not because he must but because he loves how she feels. The past six months they have been spending almost every waking moment together and he just seems to want more. He spoke with John earlier to get his permission to propose to Felicity. Diggle has been the biggest support in their relationship and it felt only right to speak to him before he pops the question to Felicity.  He is proposing to Felicity today. His family loves her, he loves her and do not want to spend another day without her being his, completely.

Felicity pulls off to what has become their spot and they get off the bike.

“Babe you are taking your bends so much smoother now, nice control.”

“What can I say? I have an amazing instructor.”

Felicity moves closer to kiss him.

“And he is handsome, and strong, and loving, and perfect.” Felicity whispers against Oliver’s lips.

“Smoak, we might get fined for public indecency.”

“Nothing about this is indecent Oliver. So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I have another excursion coming up and it will last for two months but after that I am thinking about focusing solely on the bike shop. I don’t want to be away from you longer than I must be. I am thoroughly Smoaked.”

I don’t anything else but your happiness. I know I can’t ask you to leave your job, as dangerous as it is. I know you enjoy what you do.”

“I did. What makes me happier is being with you. I want to build on our relationship because I am in it for the long haul.”

Oliver goes down on his one knee in front of Felicity and holds in his hand a beautiful ring that can only mean a proposal.

“Felicity since I met you, my life has changed for better. I know happiness now that I have never known before. I cannot even remember what my life was like before I met you. And I don’t want to imagine what it would be like without you. Felicity make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

Felicity goes down on her knees in front of Oliver and places both hands on each side of his face.

“Oliver, you have taught me to be fearless and bold. When I am with you I want to live and live large. I cannot imagine tomorrow without you. Yes Oliver, a thousand times yes.”

“One day you will kiss a man you can’t breathe without and find that breath is of little consequence.” ― Karen Marie Moning