Apr 11, Xi'an, China, Beilin Museum (Stele Forest):
I must preface this post with an unfortunate news: because the Museum dug up a Tang dynasty taimiao/太庙 (imperial ancestral shrine) within the Museum area itself while renovating, all of the actual steles have been moved in order to begin excavation, and all we saw were ink rubbings of the steles. I will provide some pics I found online of the actual steles where possible.
Jingjiao Stele/大秦景教流行中国碑:
First up is one of the most famous steles of the Beilin Museum, known in the West as the Jingjiao Stele or the Nestorian Stele. The actual name is 大秦景教流行中国碑, which translates to "Memorial of the Propagation in China of Jingjiao from Daqin". Jingjiao/景教 is the ancient Chinese name of Church of the East, and Daqin/大秦 is the ancient Chinese name for Eastern Roman Empire. The stele was first erected in 781 AD (Tang dynasty, during reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang).
This stele is not only valuable because of what it records, but also because it has Syriac on it too:
According to Wikipedia this is what the Syriac text on the bottom says:
"In the year of the Greeks one thousand and ninety-two, the Lord Yazedbuzid, Priest and Vicar-episcopal of Cumdan the royal city, son of the enlightened Mailas, Priest of Balach a city of Turkestan, set up this tablet, whereon is inscribed the Dispensation of our Redeemer, and the preaching of the apostolic missionaries to the King of China. ["The Priest Lingpau", in Chinese] "Adam the Deacon, son of Yazedbuzid, vicar-episcopal. The Lord Sergius, Priest and Vicar-episcopal. Sabar Jesus, Priest. Gabriel, Priest, Archdeacon, and Ecclesiarch of Cumdan and Sarag."
Here's the full view of the actual stele and the full text:
Letter about a Stomachache/肚痛帖:
This is my personal favorite, by famous Tang dynasty calligrapher Zhang Xu/张旭 (685 ? - 759 ?). This work is hailed as one of the greatest examples of Caoshu/Cursive Script/草书.
The actual contents are quite funny, however, and it roughly reads:
忽肚痛不可堪,
"Suddenly I have an unbearable stomachache,
不知是冷熱所致,
I don't know if it's because of the cold or the heat,
欲服大黃湯,
I wanted to drink some medicine,
冷熱俱有益。
Which should alleviate the symptoms regardless of the cause.
如何為計,
What should I do,
非臨床。"
Not near bed."
Because Zhang Xu may have been trying to hold it back while writing, you can see feel how his stomachache progressed in the way he wrote everything. Caoshu truly is an expressive script. In fact it's so expressive, the last three characters (on the very left) have become unsolved mysteries in academia. In my own translation above, I just directly translated the three characters that most academics think is on the last line.
Logograms Making up a Picture--Kuixing Pointing at the Dipper/集字魁星点斗图:
This is a very interesting stele, in that it's a carving of a painting that's made up of Chinese characters, which evolved from pictures themselves. The painting is by Ma Dezhao/马德昭, and the stele was erected between 1862 - 1874 (Qing dynasty). It depicts the Kuixing/魁星 (translated as "god of literature", but he's not the only god of literature btw) standing on the back of an Ao/鳌 (mythical turtle creature) and pointing at the character 斗, which is short for the Big Dipper.
The characters making up the god of literature reads:
“正心修身,克己複禮” (written out above in red-orange-yellow-green-cyan-blue-purple-magenta), which roughly translates to "rectify your mind, improve yourself, have self-restraint, and practice good manners".
This painting subject also has a legend behind it. One version says that when Kuixing was a human, he was a talented and learned scholar who received first place (called zhuangyuan/状元) in the imperial exams, but because his ugly appearance scared the empress, he was chased out of the palace. Out of anger at how he was treated, he threw himself into the sea and drowned. The Jade Emperor pitied him, so he gave the scholar a red brush, and made him watch over all imperial examinations. Thus Kuixing became the god of all students and aspiring scholars.
Logograms Hidden in the Picture--Bamboo Poem about Guanyu/关帝诗竹:
This stele erected by Han Zai/韩宰 in 1716 (Qing dynasty) is similar to the previous one in that it's also a picture made up of Chinese characters, but it's more hidden within the picture.
It's a poem about Guanyu/关羽, the famous general during Three Kingdoms period (220 AD - 280 AD), and it reads:
不謝東君意,
I shall not be thanking the spring wind's kindness directly, ("spring wind" here refers to Cao Cao/曹操, who treated Guanyu well)
丹青獨立名。
But shall leave my name in history as an upright loyal person.
莫嫌孤葉淡,
Although the leaves may be sparse,
終久不凋零。
They will never wither and fall.
The poem was supposed written by Guanyu before he left Cao Cao to reunite with his sworn brother Liu Bei/刘备, and uses the imagery of bamboo--both in a visual sense and in a literary sense--as a metaphor for Guanyu's unwavering loyalty.
One Stroke "Longevity"/一笔“壽”:
Again by Ma Dezhao/马德昭, this time in 1870. I must say I like his ideas. This is an abstract calligraphy piece of the character for longevity/壽, written in one stroke, but is actually composed of the numbers 九十九 (99) and 二十一 (21) (read from top down). Because 99 + 21 = 120, and if anyone can live to be 120, they will have lived a long life indeed.
Pine and Red Crowned Crane/松鹤图:
By painter Zhu Jiyi/朱集义 in 1680 (Qing dynasty). Pine in traditional Chinese imagery means resilience and longevity, and red crowned crane also symbolize longevity, especially in Daoist imagery where they are the mount of choice for many immortals. Together they make up the word 松鹤延年, which means "pine and crane brings longevity".
Dongpo's Authentic Work/东坡真迹:
This is an authentic calligraphy work by Su Shi/苏轼 (1037 AD - 1101 AD), whose pen name is Dongpo/东坡. The stele was erected in 1081 AD. Here he wrote down Returning Homeward/归去来兮辞 by Tao Yuanming/陶渊明 (365 AD - 427 AD).
Xie Fangbao's Epitaph/解方保墓志:
Epitaph of Xie Fangbao/解方保, a Sui dynasty (581 AD - 618 AD) general who died in 610 AD. Ancient Chinese epitaphs have a two-piece structure, the tablet where the epitaph is engraved (right), and a protective stone covering that has the deceased's name and title engraved on top (left), surrounded by engravings of imagery that represent the universe. This epitaph is considered to be an excellent example of Sui dynasty epitaphs and calligraphy.
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Stargoth oneshot - Ice Skating
“Seriously, Deacon?” Chase grumbled. “You just had to get close to the pony at the fair.”
Deacon glared at Chase before lifting up his bandaged arm, healing from being broken by an angry miniature pony. “Hey, remember! You can’t talk! I jinxed you earlier!”
“Ya, I think that cancelled out when you yelled my name out in pain a little over three times when that pony kicked you.”
Chase sighed and shook his head. “Guess I’ll be doing the work on my own for a bit until you heal up..”
Deacon sank into his bed, grumbling under his bed.
Chase looked over at Bronze. “Keep an eye on him?”
Bronze shrugged. “Got nothing better to do.”
Chase picked up Silver and smiled at her. “Ready for this?”
She smiled and did a curtsy. “Always!”
Chase reached for a random book, merely glancing at the title before inserting the key.
When he opened his eyes, he felt like he was in Christmas Town from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
He looked at his outfit. A skin tight blue suit with a fur collar, puffballs, and a mid length cape with a snowflake theme.
“Another great outfit, Silver!” he said happily. He took a step and nearly fell. That’s when he realized he’s also wearing ice skates and he’s on a frozen pond.
“Oh shoot. I haven’t ice skated in years..” He slapped his face and shook his head. “No matter! For I am Chase Hollow, and I can do anything!”
He attempted to glide over the ice, but instead face planted. That was when he heard skrrrrch coming his way. He looked up and really wish he hadn’t.
“Buddy,” he said bluntly.
“Did you seriously choose a story like this when you don’t even know how to ice skate?” Buddy asked, raising a smug eyebrow.
“I know how to skate! Just.. rusty!” he grumbled as he struggled to get to his feet.
“Mhm..”
Chase finally managed to get to his feet and looked at Buddy.
Ugh. One of the most frustrating things about hating this absolute tool is that Chase finds him extremely hot.
He can’t help it! Goth guys have always been his type!
And with Buddy’s low cut black shirt with navy trim and a black and white cloak barely covering his shoulders to show off the fishnet undershirt he was wearing underneath.. ya, Chase felt like his heart would burst out of his chest.
Whatever! The black snowflake tiara that he was wearing was lame and that’s all he decided to focus on.
“So,” Buddy started. “Where’s your little sidekick?”
“Huh?”
“You never seem to go into a story without him anymore.”
“He’s.. busy for a bit.”
“Busy? If you have the responsibility of being a key holder, you can’t afford to be busy.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Go outside and touch grass. Maybe that’ll make you less of a prick,” he said before turning and skating away.
The entire kingdom seemed to be on ice, all the villagers also wearing ice skates as they made their way around town.
Doesn’t that get exhausting, though? Chase wondered.
He looked around, wondering what he had to do to trigger the story.
That’s when he spotted it. A sign for The Royal Ice Skating Challenge.
“That seems plot important,” he murmured to himself as he skated closer to the sign to get a better look at it.
“In the Icicle Forest. Where’s that?” he thought. He looked around, hoping to find a road of some sort. But no. No land in sight. Not even a forest. Just. Ice. He felt like he was playing in a superflat Minecraft world right now.
“The prince!” Shouted one villager. “He’s here!”
Here we go… Chase thought as he mentally prepared himself to deal with another boring prince.
“Hello!” he said to the overly sparkly man (and Chase loves sparkles, but this guy was seriously overdoing it).
“Ah! Hello. You are a baker?” he asked, gesturing at what the heroine character must’ve been wearing.
“Yepppp. That’s me. Listen, I was wondering if I could join your ice skating challenge thing!”
“Oh! Why of c-!”
But he was cut off by Gothy McGothFace, who skated to the prince’s side.
“Really, sir? Are you really going to let a peasant join the challenge?”
“I.. well, why wouldn’t I, Iclyn?”
Iclyn? Chase thought. What an on the nose name. What, is my name something like Frosta?
“Frosta!” shouted a voice from behind him. “Come inside and help serve the customers!”
Chase groaned slightly and glared at ‘IcLyN’ before skating off to whoever was calling him.
“I gotta find out where that Ice Skating Competition will be..” he said quietly to himself. He saw the lady who called to him, who was shaking her head.
“Your father is getting tired of you always running off, Frosta.”
“Oh, um, sorry.. mom?” he guessed.
She sighed and ruffled his hair. “It’s all right. Just get to your station.”
He touched the spot she had ruffled, processing the motherly affection before forcing himself to snap out of it.
She’s not your real mom, Chase. He forced himself to think.
“Hey, mom. Where’s the Icicle Forest from here?”
“Now, Frosta, why would you need to know that?”
“Uh. Some competition.”
“The Royal Ice Skating Competition? Frosta, honey, why would you want to do that? You know there’s no possible way you can win.”
“What?! But mom-!” Chase had heard those words too many times. ‘Chase, you are never going to be a singer. Give up.’ The only person who believed in him 100% was.. his mom.
“No, mom. I will win! And I’ll prove it to you when I bring home the trophy.”
“Trophy? The prize is a tiara.”
“Um.. I’ll bring home the tiara!”
She sucked in her lips for a moment, furrowing her eyebrows before sighing. “But Frosta. Your skating is.. mediocre at best.”
Even though he wasn’t really Frosta and this wasn’t really his mom, he had to admit, that stung.
“Yknow what? I don’t need you! I’ll find the forest on my own!”
He turned and bolted out the door. He tried to slow down when he panicked at his speed, but had too much momentum and slammed into another house.
“Ow..”
“Ohhh,” said that annoyingly familiar voice. “That’s gotta sting.”
“You’re not as cool as you think you are.”
Buddy arched an eyebrow. “Pun not intended, I should hope?”
“No, pun absolutely intended. I’m no coward.”
“I..” he shook his head and pinched his brow. “Nevermind.”
Chase got back to his feet and brushed off his clothes, even if there was no dust to brush off.
“I just need to find where the Icicle Forest is and I’m all set.”
“Mhm. Well, good luck with that.”
“Hey, hey, hey!! Do you know where it is?”
He tilted his head and arched his eyebrow. “Why, I don’t know. Do I? I don’t have the Helper Key.”
“Ughhhh…”
He watched as Buddy skated off into the distance. He looked around the town for some sort of map.
“Do you know where I can find a map to the Icicle Forest?” he asked one villager.
“Oh Frosta, why would you need to get there?”
“Because I’m joining the competition.”
“Silly girl. You know you won’t win.”
That was basically every conversation he had when he asked for help.
People seriously treat me, er, her, pretty shitty.
He groaned and leaned against a building wall, sitting on the freezing ground. Just when he was about to give up hope, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Sweetie.”
He turned to the voice and saw a little old lady standing over him.
“Oh, uh-“
She sighed. “Your mother told me about your plan.”
He gave her a suspicious look. “You going to try and talk me out of it?”
She chuckled and shook her head. “No, no. I think it’s a great idea. But you should practice on your figure skating a bit more.”
He felt like letting out a long groan. “But the competition-!”
“Is tomorrow. You can spend all day and night practicing. Listen to grandma.”
“I… right. Sorry.. grandma.”
She helped him up and he looked around anxiously. “Where do I practice?”
“Anywhere, sweetie. The world is your rink.”
He thought about that for a moment. He was starting to realize how badly his ankles were hurting from skating this entire time. Geez, that hurts.. But he forced himself to ignore it.
He went to find a clear area, which wasn’t too hard. (Seriously, this place is so empty, it’s almost eerie)
He closed his eyes and tried to remember any figure skating he may have seen. But the only form of figure skating he’s ever seen was from Yuri On Ice.
He tried to lift his leg up as high as he could, but he felt like his back was going to snap.
He heard a laugh behind him and he whipped his head around, expecting to see that annoying fucker, but instead he saw the prince from earlier.
“You are.. quite bad,” he said, laughing.
Chase crossed his arms and glared at him. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically.
“No, I mean it in a playful way. Say, would you like some help?”
He gave him a confused look. “Why would you help me?”
“In all honesty.. I would rather have anyone win but Iclyn.”
“Really? Why?”
“She said is she wins she will make me her husband. I.. would rather not have that.”
“Oh. Oh! So, like, team up to make sure she loses?”
“That is what I was hoping for,” he said, nodding.
“Well, that benefits me too. So I’m in!”
Him and the prince shook hands.
The rest of that day, the prince helped Chase on forms and jumps and all that other stuff. He had to admit, this was probably the best prince he’s met, even if he was overly sparkly.
But Chase couldn’t help the feeling that someone was watching them. But everytime he looked around, he didn’t see anyone.
They practiced until it was pitch black outside, the moonlight reflecting on the ice, casting a faint silver glow.
“You’re amazing, Frosta,” the prince said. “I know you’ll do great tomorrow.”
Chase smiled at the praise. After a whole day of people beating him down, the compliments really helped lift his spirits.
“Thanks. I should be heading home now. To rest.”
“Yes. Have a good rest of your night.”
Chase waved goodbye as he skated off, smiling. That was actually really fun.
As he approached his house, he felt a figure loom over him.
He turned and just as he did, Buddy pinned him to the wall.
“What were you doing?”
“Hey! Let me go! I was just practicing my skating!”
“With the prince?”
“Ya! What, is that not part of the story?!”
“It.. is. But you were really enjoying yourself out there.”
“Ya, I wa- Wait. Were you spying on us?!”
“Of course I was. Nothing goes unseen,” he hissed.
“Ugh, you’re such a creep!” he exclaimed before shoving him away.
“Ugh. Whatever. I don’t care, anyways!”
He watched as Buddy skated away. Chase clenched his fists and huffed.
But you do care.. he thought.
Inside the house was a hard wood floor. Where they got the wood to even build these places was beyond Chase’s knowledge, but he didn’t thinking about it as he collapsed onto the floor, his feet and ankles swollen and sore.
So tired…
Before he even knew it, he found himself passed out on the floor, snoring away.
By the morning, he was woken up to a gentle shaking. He slowly opened his eyes and found the old lady from earlier waking him up.
“Frosta. Wake up. You need to prepare for the challenge.”
“Ughhh…” he sat up and rubbed his eyes, feeling like absolute shit. His feet were still sore and his knees were shaky.
He sat up and rubbed his ankles and calves in an attempt to soothe the absolute pain, and to apologize to them for the fact that he’s about to put them through more torture.
He stood up reluctantly and the old lady handed him a slate of ice.
“It’s a map to the Icicle Forest. Stay safe, Frosta. I believe in you!”
He smiled at the encouragement. “Thanks. I’ll, uh.. I’ll see you when I win!”
He put on the ice skates and followed the map. There was nothing out in this field. The most interesting thing he’s managed to spot it is that there is an ocean. But no landmarks, which was weird.
Until he saw it in the distance.
A forest made of ice spikes jutting upwards, and instead of grass, there was huge, random patches of snow.
He entered the strange biome and looked around but seeing nothing specifically. But this place did cast some weird shadows.
“Now where in the forest is this competition..?”
He felt like he was wandering for hours. And then he looked up at the sky and realized he hadbeen wandering for hours.
“NOOO! Where AM I?!”
“Lost?” a voice purred behind him.
He turned and internally groaned. “Buddy.”
“Heh. Of course you would manage to get lost so easily.”
“Oh ya? And what are you doing here?”
“You were taking so long to arrive. I got curious. The competition starts in an hour, yknow?”
“Ya, I know,” he hissed. “Just lead me to there! Don’t you want to get this story over with too?”
Buddy thought for a moment. “I dunno. The ending to this story is rather unappealing to me.”
“What? You lose? That happens to you in every story.”
“It’s not just that I lose. There’s some more to it.”
“Huh?”
“Nevermind,” he said, shaking his head. “Forget about it.”
Chase watches as Buddy seemed to glide over the ice like it was nothing. Like he was almost weightless.
“Cmon. Just lead the way, please.”
He narrows his eyes before shaking his head and sighing. “Fine. Follow me..”
Chase jumped a little, which nearly cost him his balance as he followed him.
“Man, this place is a lot colder than the village.”
“Yes, well, with an outfit like your’s, it’s no surprise you’re getting so cold so easily.”
“Hey! Your’s isn’t any better!”
“Well, I’m naturally cold, so I have nothing to worry about.”
“Tsk. Prick..” Chase grumbled.
He attempted to just ignore the cold, but the deeper and deeper they went in, the colder it got. Even Buddy seemed affected by it, as he was inching bit by bit closer to Chase, shivering slightly.
“Thought you were naturally cold, Mr. Emo Snowman,” Chase said sarcastically.
“Shut up. We’re almost there.”
“Geez, why did they pick the coldest area for this stupid contest? This is some bull!”
“Whining will get you no where.”
“Oh, it’ll get me somewhere, all right. It’ll get me right on your nerves.. I-I’m getting on your nerves, is what I’m trying to say.”
“Ughhh! You are so stupid..”
Chase glared at him and shoved him into the snow. “I don’t need your sour attitude! Or your insults!”
“Why you little-!”
But before Buddy had a chance to get up and shove him back, there was a loud sound of skates cutting along ice.
“You two!” said a man in knightly clothes. “Are you here for the skating contest?”
“Ummm… yes,” Chase said, quickly fixing his hair. “Yes we are!”
“Well, hurry along! It starts soon!”
Chase scrambled to follow after him, Buddy doing the same thing, shooting cold glares in Chase’s direction.
They reached an opening in the ‘forest’. Fairylights hug from icicle to icicle, illuminating the area with a glow bouncing off the ice.
Chase spotted the prince off in the distance and he smiled widely and waved over to him, Buddy glaring daggers into him and smacking Chase’s hand down.
“Ah-? Hey!”
But Buddy just rolled his eyes and skated away, as if he wasn’t being infuriating on purpose.
Chase went up to the prince.
“Are you ready, Frosta?”
“Born ready!”
“Thank you for working so hard on this. Truly. I am so scared I’d have to marry Iclyn.”
“Yaaa.. say, what is so bad about her, anyways?”
“She’s so possessive and clingy, despite the fact that we’re not even together. She’s aggressive to anyone who shows any interest in me. It’s all so annoying.”
“I see..” Weird. Buddy is also kinda like that..
He looked out at the opening, fresh ice, skaters preparing for their own routines.
“Are you ready, Frosta?”
“Ya!”
“Are you pumped?!”
“Ya!!”
He looked out at the opening again and saw Buddy going out. He’s about to do his routine.
I’m actually kind of curious..
He decided to watch intensely. And.. perhaps he felt himself getting a little too immersed in the dance as he watch Buddy dip low to the ice, spinning around as his dark hair flowed in the wind, sweat flying from his face and his sharp blue eyes hard with focusing.
And.. ya, he never got so excited by a figure skating leaping, but somehow Buddy managed to absolutely grab his full attention.
After the performance, Chase looked around, seeing if there was anyone who was absolutely hypnotized by the performance. But, instead, everyone looked bored.
“It was kind of a boring performance.”
“I’ve seen those same things but done much more interestingly.”
Chase was surprised by everyone’s remarks. Was he the oddball for being so into it? Or is the people being unimpressed just part of the story?
He looked at Buddy’s face and realized..
No.
Those reactions weren’t meant to be part of the story. Buddy’s face said it all. It was a mediocre performance by professional standards.
And Chase could see that Buddy was doing everything he could to suppress the anger. Chase.. knew what that was like. He was often met with the same reactions for his singing. He hated it too.. he hated it a lot..
As the two skated past each other, Chase paused. “Your performance was very impressive, Buddy.”
Buddy paused and clenched his fists before letting out a scoff-laugh. “Yes, thank you, Frosta,” he said back, almost bitterly.
Geez.. just trying to be nice..
Chase skated toward the center and waved out to the crowd. He prepared and struck a pose. He didn’t have a lot of time to create a whole routine. Do, instead he may or may not have.. stolen his.
Yes, that’s right. He, Chase Hollow, had to steal a routine from Yuri On Ice, performing Yuri’s Eros routine. He’s not proud to admit that he’s plagiarizing.
But still. He was having so much fun performing it. He looked over at Buddy while he was performing and he noticed him staring.. really intensely, which did make Chase nervous, causing the performance to get sloppy.
But once he was done, there was an eruption of applause and cheering.
“Yes! Yes! Thank you! I know, I’m amazing!”
He skated over to Buddy, smiling proudly and smugly.
“Was that performance.. from Yuri On Ice?”
“EH-!” He froze, standing there as he processed being called out.
“Weeb…” Buddy murmured before skating off.
…. WHAT A JERK! Wait a minute…
“HOW DID YOU RECOGNIZE WHAT IT WAS FROM UNLESS YOU KNOW THE ROUTINE FROM HEART AS WELL!?” he called out.
He could’ve sworn he saw Buddy’s ears turn red, but he just ignored him.
“Frosta!” he heard a voice yell out from behind him. “The judges announced you as the winner!”
“Really? Wait, but only me and Iclyn performed, was there no one else in the competition-?” he decided to just put it at ‘nevermind’, so stories can be weirdly short and very unspecific or muddy with the details.
The prince held up a gorgeous silver tiara and placed it onto his head.
“Frosta. You are.. fantastic. I’m so proud of you!” The prince blushed slightly.
There’s the rushed romantic feelings. Chase thought.
“I hope you continue to skate!”
“Hm? Well. Thanks. I’ll… do that. But for now, I gotta go show my mom this tiara that I won. She underestimated me and I’m going to rub it in her face.”
“Ah.. well. Have fun with that, Frosta..” he said awkwardly with a crooked smile.
He waved off to the prince. The trek through the forest wasn’t nearly as awful as it was last time, actually knowing where he was supposed to go now. Though, the cold had just hit him, causing him to shiver so hard he nearly lost balance on his skates.
He saw the village in the distance and he nearly burst into tears. His legs were in so much pain and he just wanted to sit down.
As he entered the town, the villagers looked out at him and smiled at him.
“Frosta! We heard about the competition!”
“We’re so proud of you!”
“We knew you could do it!”
Eh?!? You literally had 0 faith in me winning! Don’t you lie to me!
He spotted the bakery Frosta’s mom owned.
Time to go show off my prize! Haha!
But just before he opened the door, a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him aside.
“You..” Buddy said darkly.
“Ah! Hey, what the hell-?!”
“I can’t let this final half of the story play out.”
“What are you talking about! Ugh, let me go!”
But then he noticed the look on Buddy’s face. Almost terrified.
“Buddy? Geez, why are you acting like this? Isn’t this just like every other fairytale ending? What, do I die or something?”
“No, it’s just..”
He was cut off by a blaring trumpet. They turn to see the prince and 2 knights skating into the village.
Frosta’s mom pokes her head out of the shop upon hearing the noise.
She spots Chase and gasps upon seeing the crown.
“Frosta?!”
“Oh, uh.. hey mom! TOLD YOU I’D WIN!!”
“Frosta!” called out the prince, gesturing for him to come forward.
Chase shot one final glare at Buddy before breaking away from him and heading to the prince, ready for this story to finally be over with.
“Hellllo prince,” Chase said, waving.
What happened next, he didn’t expect. The prince grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a hug.
“Woah, uh, personal space there, dude-“
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were my long lost fiancé?”
“….HUH?!”
Wait, I’m his what now!?
“Oh, uh, yknow, haha, just, I, um..”
“I can’t believe you had run away.”
“Oh, uhhhhhhhh…”
This is what I get for never reading the stories!!
“But I remember you told me we would reunite.” The prince grasped Chase’s face and pulled him into.. A KISS?!
“PLEGHHH! UGHH, DUDE! WHY?!”
“It was meant to be a.. a kiss to, yknow.. say hello again.”
“STILL! YOU DON’T JUST KISS SOMEONE WITHOUT PERMISSION! UGH! THAT WAS MY FIRST KISS!”
Behind Chase was a thudding noise.
He turns to see Buddy on his knees, sulking dramatically.
“Aw, and what’s up with you, mall goth?!?”
“The kiss was unavoidable,” he said, his voice strained.
“Hah?”
Buddy didn’t answer, instead pulling out his key.
“Hey, where are you going?!”
Buddy didn’t answer before disappearing.
I’ve never seen him react like that to.. anything!
He tightly closed his eyes to think about the matter at hand. He turned to the prince. “You!! At first I thought you were pretty bearable for a prince, but you had to ruin it with your overall lack of care for consent!”
“But, Frosta-“
“Oh, don’t FrOsTa me, you big creep!!”
Chase pulled out his key. “I think I’m done with this story, I’m going home!”
“Wait, but-!”
He didn’t hear what he had to say as he woke up in his bedroom.
“Ughhh… and here I thought that prince wasn’t too bad.”
“Oh, you’re back!” Deacon said, poking his head in. “How was it?”
“It was fine at first! But then the Prince got all grabby. And, honestly, so did Buddy.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well, Buddy grabbed me and pinned me to a wall, like, twice. And he said he didn’t want the story to be complete. Like, huh?! Since when has he never wanted to properly finish a story?!”
“Ok.. and what did the prince do?”
“Well, after that whole thing with Buddy, the prince showed up and made me kiss him!”
“Oh ya. That’s how the story ends, to seal the deal of their marriage or whatever. Wait. Buddy didn’t want the story to end.. how did he react after the prince kissed you.”
“I dunno. He was sulking I think? He disappeared before I had a chance to talk to him.”
“….Uhuh…”
“What? What is it?”
Deacon sighed and shook his head. “You are so dense…”
Divider by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more
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Timeline: Part 7 - October 2017
For earlier timeline posts: click here or here.
There are three installments of the "Meghan's PR Timeline" today, which will see us finish out 2017: October 2017, November 2017, and December 2017.
One particularly interesting observation about this period of time is that from mid-October to mid-November, there are actually whole days without a single item or piece about Meghan. It's very strange because from about the end of April 2017 to the end of September 2017, we were being bombarded DAILY by stories about Meghan.
Is the missing coverage because those pages, stories, and articles were scrubbed in 2018/2019 when Meghan's PR was cleaning up her image?
Did Meghan finally get the ring in early October and no longer needed her PR to pressure Harry and force him to propose?
Or is it the quiet before the storm (i.e., the engagement announcement)? Meghan decided to drop coverage to get more bang when the engagement was announced?
10/1/2017: Toronto Invictus Games Closing Ceremony. Meghan, Doria, Jess, and Markus arrive early and are in a box. Meghan arrives first and is caught directing photographers where to go and what angles to use. Harry arrives later. Meghan leaks that Harry and Doria met at the closing ceremony and they get along fabulously.
(For additional context timeline-wise: 10/1/17 is the Route 19 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas)
10/2/2017: Harry returns to London via Heathrow Airport and it's listed in the Court Circular. Meghan teases an engagement to E News and says that her friends have become Harry's family.
10/3/2017: Meghan merches her shoes from a September 2017 papwalk. She also tells Elle Magazine that she and Harry are unofficially engaged, and everyone knows.
10/4/2017: Meghan modernizes the monarchy if she marries Harry. Charles is in Malta.
10/5/2017: Ronan Farrow's Weinstein expose is published by The New York Times. Meghan merches her Invictus Games clothing - Opening Ceremony Outfit, Closing Ceremony Coat.
10/6/2017: Carole Middleton and Doria Ragland are the same.
10/7/2017: Charles's letter to Tony Blair about the hunting ban is published.
October 7th is the first day with no Meghan stories or Harkle coverage since early summer.
10/8/2017: Meghan has moved to London and is being driven by a royal chauffeur.
10/9/2017: Harry's ex Cressida makes the news for being connected to Harvey Weinstein. Jess Mulroney sources an "all about Meghan's bestie, Jess" story.
10/10/2017: Meghan's PR takes a dig at William and Kate, asking why they never hold hands. Kate makes her first public appearance since announcing her third pregnancy, implying that she is on the mend from HG.
10/11/2017: Meghan's 2011 film, Dysfunctional Friends, resurfaces. Her character is a photographer for male underwear models. Meghan tries to be a fashion influencer, gets linked to Julia Roberts, Naomi Watts, and Greta Lee as a major "power dresser". She also merches the nail polish she might wear for the wedding and/or the engagement announcement.
Meanwhile, Harry attends the 100 Women in Finance Gala Dinner. Kate's aide, Rebecca Deacon, receives the Royal Victorian Order. Buckingham Palace announces that Charles will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph for The Queen during the Remembrance Sunday service, and The Queen returns to London, ending her summer Balmoral haloriday.
10/12/2017: The Queen's first day back in London/work following summer holidays. Harry has #1 sexiest celebrity beard. (No, they're not talking about Meghan. They mean the actual hair on his face.)
10/13/2017: Meghan and Harry leak that they're house-hunting in the Cotswolds for a marital home and merch a few properties in the Daily Mail. Meghan also teases wedding speculation and Soho Farmhouse's newest financial report reveals that they lost $34.48 million in 2017 (hence the Harkle sponcon throughout 2018)
10/14/2017: Royals living in the US - forgotten Spencer cousins who call the American Pacific Northwest home.
10/15/2017: Meghan confirms that she is finished with Suits when Season 7 wraps in November. #MeToo movement begins and James Middleton, Donna Air split is revealed.
10/16/2017: Meghan leaks that she and Harry are already engaged but won't announce it until Suits filming has ended. Harry attends the WellChild Awards. Also, Harry tells people that he doesn't want a formal pageanty Cambridge-like wedding.
Meanwhile, Harry accompanies William and Kate to an engagement celebrating the release of Paddington 2.
10/17/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories, but Eugenie is papped in Los Angeles; William and Kate announce the baby is due in April; and Camilla gives a landmark speech on osteoporosis.
10/18/2017: Meghan leaks to the Daily Mail that she and Harry had tea with The Queen at Buckingham Palace on October 12th, and it's the first time Meghan met Her Majesty.
Note: This version of events contradicting Harry's claim in Spare that Meghan met The Queen for the first time on Sunday at the Royal Lodge while visiting the Yorks. October 12th is a Wednesday.
10/19/2017: Meghan teases Harry's proposal plan.
10/20/2017: Meghan's copycatting of Diana's outfits and behavior finally gets noticed. Meghan hints about etiquette lessons and teases the engagement.
Samantha Markle sets up a gofundme to raise money for an accessible home as her MS progresses, capitalizing on Meghan's fame.
10/21/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.
10/22/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.
10/23/2017: Harry has an away day in Lancashire.
10/24/2017: Meghan makes a dig at Kate - why she never wears red nail polish.
10/25/2017: Meghan merches her voice (perhaps this is when she starts negotiating for a Disney documentary voiceover gig...).
10/26/2017: DailyMailTV discusses Meghan's ancestry. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan leak that:
Harry has had a crush on Meghan since 2015 when he saw her on Suits and he did tell friends back then that she was his ideal woman.
KP aides have been instructed to begin wedding planning and are reviewing dates.
The Cambridges announced Kate's pregnancy early because protocol requires the wedding can't take place until after the baby is born.
10/27/2017: Channel 4 broadcasts a "10 Things About Meghan Markle" documentary.
10/28/2017: Meghan and Harry are actually related! They're distant cousins.
10/29/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.
10/30/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.
10/31/2017: Harry is in Chicago to attend the Barack Obama Foundation Summit, and Charles and Camilla are in Singapore for royal tour.
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