#do not tie a big balloon to a donkey

[thatsbelievable]

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV: The Fall of the Sun

Fifty-One: Kalypso

A Stalling Resolution

             Their sneak escape, if they could call it that, was the most pathetic, obvious one in the history of stupidity. They would have had better luck transporting a stack of cymbals on top of an elephant.

           That’s exactly what Pax wanted: the cymbals specifically, but Kally assumed he would also want an elephant. Thank the gods Frank had left in a huff before Pax came up with any ideas.

           Calex’s job was to reroute Reyna so Axel could get a proper goodbye with her, then ask Chiron to use the camp phone so he could call his parents. Axel disagreed with the first part of the plan, but liked that Calex could keep an eye on Chiron while contacting his step-dad and sister. If that didn’t take enough time, Calex would ask Chiron to come with him to check up on Vinyl’s healing process from being tossed by Python.

           Merry’s job was assuring Frank wouldn’t change his mind. And keeping Frank away from Axel and Reyna. And, really, making sure Frank was the happiest Canadian he could possibly be.

           Kally was supposed to escort them until the last minute, to make sure they only left the camp and no one incited unnecessary havoc.

           Calex and Merry said their goodbyes in their recovery room.

           Calex and Axel shook hands. They agreed with Kally: when everyone was better and Calex came back from Britain, they would have to have a proper soccer match. Pax tackled Calex into a forced hug, which left Calex frantically checking all his pockets, until he withdrew his Arsenal beanie. No one knew when or how Pax had gotten that from Thalia or how he could reverse pickpocket with a gimp hand. Maybe Kally shouldn’t have been, but she felt relieved to know he could still enact that terror on the world.

           After a few threats from Lapis, Merry confirmed she’d come wherever they were hiding to help out with Hiro within the next two weeks. She would also deliver news on how Sam Datta did on his makeup final. Lastly, Merry patted Pax’s head. “Don’t go kidnapping Kallybae, now,” she teased, “I need her here, at least for a bit.”

           “No promises,” Pax said with a grin.

           Then Merry and Calex were off, leaving Kally to wonder, casually, if she really was about to be kidnapped again. The others weren’t in any shape to do a proper kidnapping, but she wasn’t in any shape to resist.

Pax was brainstorming theme music for their slow, slow walk. There was a ramp down the Big House’s porch for Chiron’s wheelchair, but the rest was a trudge through grass. Every jostle made her scared of ruining her skin grafts. Will had strictly told her to lay off her powers for a bit, but she couldn’t help investigating how bad her burns were. They were gross.

“Then we’ll have a heavy guitar riff that rolls with the motion of Axel’s wheelchair wheels. The double-bass drums would be thumping along to Lapis’ limp. All heavy metal. Then, during our trailer, the camera will pan out and words will flash!”

           Pax put his hands on his hips and said with his deepest bravado, “Hospital Heroes: coming to save your town... Eventually.” He waved a hand in front of him to simulate the length of time.

           Eventually was correct. Lapis had to push Axel in a wheelchair while Alabaster pushed Kally’s. Axel had the weird birdcage with a blanket rested in his lap. The ride was bumpy and Kally felt stupid and silly having Alabaster silently walking behind her. Claymore got the glorious job of dragging Euna behind them in a bright red wagon with a squeaky wheel. Pax—with his maimed hand and sore shoulder—skipped happily alongside the others. Without any responsibilities.

           Everyone was surprised when another wheelchair raced from the cabins to intercept theirs.

           Pax leaned close enough to Kally for her to feel wisps of his hair and whispered, “Wheelchair duels. Let’s do this! We have an injured Axel, and can probably get a trash can lid and yard stick for jousting. We’re sure to win.”

           She swatted him away with her good arm, trying to hush him, especially when she saw Miranda Gardener pushing Sherman Yang towards them.

           “Hey! Wait! I have a bone to pick with you!” Sherman shouted. For a moment, Kally froze up, thinking he was talking to her. As they got closer and blocked off their path toward Farm Road, Kally realized the child of Ares’ dark eyes were narrowed above her at Alabaster.

           Miranda looked calm and… maybe relieved when she brought Sherman to a stop.

           Their noisy caravan paused.

           “He might need to wire you a message, since Alabaster can’t really talk right now—aye! What was that one for?”

           Kally glanced back to see Lapis releasing Pax’s ear. “Lazy and out-of-date word play, Ajaxapax. I expect better.”

           Squeaks erupted behind Kally. She glanced back to see Alabaster holding up his whiteboard. They’d tied it around his neck for the sake of ease. The white matched his medical smock.

           He wrote, What?

           Although his expression was difficult to read, since he had to move his head as little as possible, Alabaster’s emerald eyes appeared annoyed. Maybe they always looked like that.[1]

           Sherman inhaled and puffed out his chest. “Thank you for shooting me in the legs four times,” he said. His tone was neutral, eyes intense.

           Lapis choked back a laugh. “Holy Hun-Batz, Ajaxapax, you said this sissy-gorged camp was only for hair braiding.”

           Kally glanced down at Sherman’s legs. From what she could see under his lap blanket, both were fully wrapped in bandages.

           Alabaster raised an eyebrow. He wrote on his white board. It was my pleasure.

           “No really,” Sherman said.

           Miranda smiled softly and set a hand on Sherman’s shoulder. “He’s not being sarcastic.”

           Sherman reached up to take her hand. “I don’t know what would have happened to Miranda, Matthias, or Stoll otherwise or… or if I would have killed Clovis. I know we fought on opposite sides of the war but… you’re alright.”

           Both of Alabaster’s eyebrows rose. He nodded his head stiffly and wrote. Alabaster looked away as he held up the white board. I’m glad you’re both okay.

           With her good arm, Kally reached back to touch Alabaster’s side. Pax had shuffled closer to lay a hand on his arm.

           Alabaster shrugged them both off.

           Sherman cleared his throat. “Yea, well, the Stolls left a surprise for you in your Paxmobile. As a heads up, that Praetor chick just showed up there to supervise Matthias and Tyson.”

           “And she was not happy about it,” Miranda added. “She came from a weird direction and looked pissed. I hope they haven’t changed their minds now that Percy is gone.”

           Kally wasn’t sure what Percy had to do with this or what Matthias and Tyson were doing by the Paxmobile. If Matthias had his way, she was sure the son of Hephaestus would be painting the van pink.

           At the mention of Reyna, Axel shuffled in his wheelchair. He sat up, and for a terrifying moment, she thought he was going to try to stand. Lapis, seeming to sense the same thing, poked him in the chest bandages. Axel collapsed back. Sweat glistened on his brow as he fought to control his breath.

           At Percy’s name, Alabaster’s expression turned to a glare.

           “This is heartwarming and all,” Dr. Claymore growled, “but, if we get one more interruption to this happy promenade, I’m going to leave this wagon stranded here.”

           “He’s just sad we didn’t attach the balloon to his wagon,” Pax explained to Sherman, holding his hands out in a what are you going to do? gesture.

           Dr. Claymore shot Alabaster a look and Kally had to wonder how much Alabaster had warned Dr. Claymore about Pax’s… Paxness. Alabaster’s shrug looked exhausted and defeated.

           “Hardly,” Dr. Claymore finally said.

           Miranda gave them a soft smile, gave Euna’s slumbering form a worried glance, and pushed Sherman back towards the cabins. He nodded stiffly in parting.

           “If Doc gets tired of pulling Euna, we could make a sleigh. Tie Axel and Kally’s wheelchairs together with Euna’s wagon at the back. Then we could lasso Mrs. O’Leary and—”

           “I swear Alabaster. I’ll shoot him before the day is over,” Dr. Claymore grumbled, dragging the red wagon ahead. Kally hadn’t noticed until now that their escape was even more obvious than she could have imagined. Everywhere Dr. Claymore pulled Euna, a trail of flowers sprouted in their wake.

           Something about seeing Dr. Claymore with a flower trail made Kally choke on a giggle.

           They made it to the Paxmobile without anymore interruptions. A few Romans and satyrs saw them while they went through the fields. One of them—Ric?—scowled and looked like he was going to approach them, but another—Erin? A newer recruit Kally remembered being nice—dragged him away. Most of the Romans were pretending not to notice the caravan.

           Kally wondered how this felt for the boys. She knew how much Alabaster hated the Romans and Greeks and how terrified Pax had been of them. Despite Pax’s attempts at cheeriness, Alabaster and Axel’s faces had gone red with each Roman’s glance. Even Lapis’ mood darkened. They were leaving their former enemy encampment beaten and broken, as heroes running like villains, with their only reward being a chance to flee. Even that was treated like a favor.

           This wasn’t a joyful escape towards freedom for Alabaster, Axel, and Pax. It was a walk of shame.

           With everything they’d done and how much they’d risked, her insides burned at the thought.

           Before she could say anything, they crested the hill above Farm Road.

           Luke, the automaton golden donkey that pulled their van at mythological hyperspeed, shined in the sun. He munched at a bucket that must have contained motor oil. Someone had attached a This ass welcomes you banner around Luke’s neck.

           There was a new contraption on top of the Paxmobile. It was made out of celestial bronze and looked almost like a bike rack, but the bars came down the sides of the van, more like a cage. Her throat constricted until she saw Tyson helping to move something huge off a makeshift fork-lift and onto the top of the rack.

           Although it was tightly wrapped in protective coatings, Kally caught her breath, sharp enough that her ribs hurt. It was Joey’s statue. They’d reinforced the van structure to bear the weight of the stone.

           A blond chubby boy stood beside Reyna, appearing to argue with her. When he caught sight of them, he bolted forward. Kally had a surreal sense of déjà vu as Pax broke into a run towards Matthias Sverre Hanson.

           “Ajax Pax, here to relax!” the Nordic boy called as he collided with Pax in the gentlest collide Kally had seen. Matthias carefully lifted Pax around the waist to spin him.

           Through Pax’s laughter, his voice quivered. “Dude, you gave us ramming power. Now Joey can fight, even in statue form.”

           “We figured you guys would want her, and that Hera wouldn’t want her in her temple,” Matthias said. He set Pax back on the ground. The first time she saw these two hug, Matthias had been way bigger than Pax. Pax must have gone through a growths spurt in the last few months. Matthias had struggled to move him.

           The son of Hephaestus tapped his fingers together.            “I heard you were doing everything you could to get the Zhang man to change his mind about letting you go. Without Percy around to argue for you guys, I’d be careful of that.”

           “Percy?” Kally echoed, though immediately regretted it. Without turning around, she could imagine Alabaster’s scowl and could feel some of the hatred radiating outward.

           “Yea. Something about how the gods promised Percy that they would forgive all the children that fought on the Titan’s side, and how New Rome needed to respect that promise. He said it was Pegasus dropping that the gods back out on that promise by omitting you three. He was really pissed when they found out that they banished you, Witch Boy.” Matt pointed some finger guns at Alabaster.

           Tyson hopped down from the top of the van. The vehicle made a terrifying crunching noise. “Yes! Percy made me promise his friends would get away safely! Mattie said he make sure you leave safely from here!” He patted Matthias’ arm.

The son of Hephaestus almost flopped onto the ground under the motion. “You got it!” The cyclops gave everyone a huge, happy wave before walking back towards camp.

           “Say hi to your chicken for us!” Pax called after.

           Kally desperately wanted to know how Alabaster was reacting. He’d shown nothing but contempt for Percy, someone he blamed for the murder of many of his siblings. Kally would have to ask later. Reyna was approaching their group. Miranda had been right: Reyna did look pissed.

           Her dark eyes were icy as she examined Lapis. “You weren’t part of the deal.”

           Lapis snorted and would have taken a step forward had Axel not shot a hand out to block his path. Without turning from the praetor, Lapis said, “Hey, Witch Boy, Doc, can either of you drive stick?”

           “I’m a Mist form. I could dissipate at any second,” Claymore said, without truly answering. He set the red wagon’s handlebar down. Euna mumbled and tried to roll in the wagon, only accomplishing tilting it slightly.

           Alabaster scribbled onto his board. He’s not wrong and I don’t have a license.

           “Witch Boy is too good to drive himself places. He had sexy, Hispanic chauffeurs for that,” Pax said, brushing off his shoulder, then Axel’s.

Lapis put his hands on his hips, leaning heavily on his good leg. “Ajaxapax’s hand looks like a yeti’s chew toy and Tufted Ears is about to exhaust himself from breathing too heavily in your presence.”

           “I’ll remember this next time we’re all hanging out with Sapphire,” Axel growled softly. Kally glanced over at him. Axel managed to keep his chin up, but his ears were flattened against his hairline. His face was tinted red from embarrassment. One set of claws dug into the wheelchair’s armrest while the other gripped the blanket overtop the birdcage.

           Reyna examined the birdcage in Axel’s lap, not seeming to notice his humiliation in her anger. “That wasn’t part of the deal either.”

           Kally’s skin felt cold as she realized who, not what, was probably gagged inside the birdcage.  

           Dr. Claymore cleared his throat. “As thrilled as I am at the thought of getting rid of that thing, do you really want him lounging around one of your camps? If he’s under Orpheus’ curse, you can’t kill him. You know the other children will underestimate how dangerous he is. We were doing a fine job keeping him under control before some of your people attacked one of his wards in front of him.”

           Kally held her breath. That was the most direct she’d ever heard someone be with Reyna. Though, most people she’d seen interacting with Reyna were other teenagers, not angry middle-aged men. Kally had a feeling Dr. Claymore could have been talking to the Queen of England and had the same level of reverence.

           Reyna frowned and went to open her mouth, but Matthias raised his hand and waved them. “Yea, whatever. Reyna and Axel can go argue over who gets custody of the Plague Bringer. Meanwhile, uh, Lapis, if you’re the driver, I’ll need to talk to you about some adjustments I had to make to the Paxmobile for optimal statue awesomeness. And Doctor Dude, you’re the adult, so I wanted to go over some stuff with you too. Pax, Alabaster, and Kally can check out the gift Chris, the Stoll brothers, Sherman, and Clovis left for Alabaster.”

           Lapis snorted and jammed one hand into his pocket. With the other, he hooked his fingers around the birdcage to lift Jack out of Axel’s lap. “You could have just said you wanted to give Red some time to fondle Ajaxapax and Witch Boy before they say goodbye.”

           The words resonated in Kally’s head. Say goodbye. Although she had Alabaster behind her and Pax and Axel beside her, emptiness clutched her chest. Calex would be flying home to Britain soon. Merry still didn’t know where she and her brother would end up once the courts were done sorting out their family. Even if Merry were emancipated, she would have to live in New York, at Camp Half-Blood and Kally still didn’t feel like she could live here and pretend to worship these gods. Would she have to go home to Virginia, alone, and go back to school and pretend nothing happened? With all the struggles everyone else was facing, she felt guilty feeling sorry about it, but… She had no idea where the Pax boys and Alabaster would end up. Sure, Kally needed to get home and tell Mr. Paine and her family that she was alive, but would she really be—

           “We are not going to fondle,” Kally said, belated. Her face felt like it was on fire.

           By the time the words came out of her mouth, Alabaster was already pushing her wheelchair down to the van.[2] Matthias, Lapis, Dr. Claymore, and Jack’s birdcage were strolling further down Farm Road. Well, Lapis was awkwardly hobbling. Kally remembered Pax once telling her that you needed two feet to operate a stick shift. She wondered whether or not the boys would end up stranded a mile away after Lapis’ bravado ran out.

           “You two can talk in the back of the van,” Pax called to Reyna and Axel as he hopped alongside Alabaster and Kally. “You know. If your fight needs to get private—”

           Alabaster tugged Pax forward, cutting his words off. Assuming the truce between the Romans and the Triple A Chimera really was temporary, she knew who they were hunting down with a gag and a forty hour seminar on polite conversation. And, if Frank had his way, a grizzly bear.

           The ache in Kally’s chest grew the closer they got to the van. The beat-up white vehicle shouldn’t have made her feel fuzzy on the inside, considering how many times she’d almost died since stepping into it. Now, she knew the logo Pax had painted over belonged to his father’s pharmacy company, and she better understood the nearly burned-off, bright, kindergarten-like letters:

Pax Extraction Team

Ajax, Axel, Alabaster

Discounts on Protection Today!

           They would need to paint over the scratch-out and re-add Alabaster’s name properly.

           Alongside the van, there was a red satchel that bulged awkwardly, like Santa decided to give them explosives this year. Her heart sank even further to realize Christmas must have been a few days away.

           Alabaster stopped her wheelchair alongside the van. All she could do was look at the red satchel to ignore Axel and Reyna’s voices as they disappeared inside the back doors, and ignore how warm her eyes were beginning to feel. If she wasn’t careful with the teary-eyed thing, she would end up looking like a puffer fish had rolled all over her face, and she really didn’t want that to be the last impression Alabaster and Pax had of her before… before…

           How long would it be before she saw them again?

           Kally swallowed and went to open her mouth.

           Pax held a finger up to her lips. Really, he put a hand up to her face since he couldn’t curl the other three fingers back. He gave her that devilish smirk and winked his hazel eye.

           With his functional hand, he pointed to the cracked passenger window of the van.

           Alabaster rolled his eyes and leaned against the side. Although he tried to look nonchalant, Kally could tell he was either resting from being out of bed too soon or getting closer to the window to listen to the conversation inside.

           Kally knew she shouldn’t. Part of her insides squirmed to think of Axel and Reyna finding them eavesdropping and what the two powerhouses would do, even with Axel in a wheelchair. Hades, Axel would probably offer for Reyna to throw him and the wheelchair as violent ammo.

           But, Reyna’s voice came through the cracked window so clearly, and Kally really wanted a distraction.            

           “—pretending not to realize it, but it’s only a matter of time before some of my enemies in the senate start asking about why my father’s ghost was haunting me. They’ll use it to get me exiled or worse.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to resign due to a suspicion. Your soldiers love you.”

A sigh. The van shifted weight as, Kally guessed, Reyna sat down somewhere. “That might change once everyone hears the Triple A Chimera escaped from the custody of two praetors. One of us will have to take the fall, and I won’t let it be Frank.”

“I won’t—” Axel cut off abruptly. He swallowed audibly before his voice came out much gentler, almost fragile. “You know, if something happens, there’s this small group of friends of mine that are thinking about starting a camp. We’re kinda rag-tag right now, but there’s a position open for a weapons instructor.”

           Alabaster rolled his eyes, not pleased with that prospect. His hands clenched into fists. Instead of continuing to listen, he knelt down beside the Santa bag and dared to blindly open something from the Stoll brothers. Kally or Pax should have warned him what the Stoll brothers were like, but the singing satyr butt balloon was probably as much warning as Alabaster needed.

           Pax, meanwhile, pouted. “That sounds a disappointing amount like they’re not going to make out. I heard Axel got the title of Cat Breath while they were in Xibalba. Imagine Reyna’s reaction if she smelled the Fancy Feast on him.”

           Maybe she should have been more indignant on Axel’s behalf, but she was too excited about something he had said. “You’re still going to make the third camp?” she asked, trying to keep her hope from making the question too high-pitched. She’d been scared to ask about it, especially around the Romans and Greeks.

           “We’re still going to make the third camp,” Pax said. “You can’t get rid of us that easily. Like I told Axel, I’m like a parasite. Besides, you owe me too many drachma and Reese’s Sticks for me to just leave, Cyclops.”

           Alabaster made a startled noise and Kally guessed it didn’t have to do with her debt.

           As he stood up, he pulled the Cloven Terror helm from the red satchel. The Stygian iron enlaced in the ram’s head seemed to radiate darkness. Those eyes looked so hollow without the familiar green glow. Creepy as the helm was, Kally wanted to touch it, to see if its cold, taunting voice would greet her. For a startling moment, Kally wanted to wear it.

           When Kally shook off the feeling, she found Alabaster’s emerald eyes examining her. With that look of understanding, Kally knew she had shared something with Alabaster that he’d never shared with anyone else.

           Pax jumped gleefully and scurried to investigate everything else in the bag. Within a second, he recoiled from the next helm.

           The Leonis Caput helm, the Silver Tongued Snake helm, Axel’s Nemean lion pelt, Alabaster’s spell elements, and the pieces of Pax’s utility belt were all inside as well.  There was also a note that Alabaster snatched from Pax so Kally could read it aloud. “Please don’t use these to kill us. Love, the Stoll Brothers.”

           Pax mimed wiping a tear from his eye. “Weapons of murder. Such a sweet peace gesture. I wonder if we can recruit the Stolls to join our future pranking squad. I mean, camp.”

           With how much the Romans feared these, Kally was genuinely impressed that the children of Hermes had stolen them back. She considered all the people and items now expected to fit into the Paxmobile: Dr. Claymore, Euna, Joey on the roof, Lapis, a half-paralyzed Hiro, Alabaster, Pax, Axel, Backbiter, this satchel with the three darker alter egos of the boys.

           “Do you guys have somewhere to go? While you’re—um—we’re planning out the next camp?” She had no idea how that was going to work. This was too big a group to live out of the Paxmobile like the boys had been doing when she met them, let alone take a few hour drive without Clamore shooting Pax. If the Romans really did decide to hunt after the Triple A Chimera, they couldn’t go back to Alabaster’s ruined house. The Romans knew its location and Kally assumed his HOA wouldn’t appreciate the pieces of dragon strew across the lawn.

           “After we drop by the hospital for Hiro, I have an idea.” Pax gave her his devilish smirk. “I don’t really plan but—”

           Pax stopped talking. His mouth opened for a second as his eyes went wide. Then, they narrowed and his smirk took on a different quality that Kally wasn’t sure she liked. “I do plan. I am the schemiest of anti-hero schemers that has ever schemed. I do have a plan. And, it starts with this.”

           Kally flinched when Pax leaned directly to her eye level, his face close enough to smell his chocolaty scent.

           Kally glanced at Alabaster, panicked. This was Pax, right? Pax who never planned and was proud of it? If Pax could turn into other people to cause mischief, could Atë or Eris? Kally had no weapons on her. She didn’t know if she had the strength to conjure another sun javelin and would definitely melt off her skin graft if she tried.

           Alabaster’s eyes also went wide. One of his hands had hesitantly strayed into the red satchel.

           “Kalypso Kassand, I, Ajax Pax, hereby absolve you of any oath you have to me on the River Styx. You no longer need to keep my secrets under threat of an eternally damned soul, just under the threat of this sad panda face.” He reached to touch her chin. Without the ligaments to control his fingers, his caress was rougher than usual.    

           Kally had seen Pax’s puppy pout at least a hundred times over the last few months. This time, it felt different. The cute, happy innocence didn’t extend to his eyes.

           Kally couldn’t focus on that with what he said. Her mouth fell open. The tears she’d been trying to fight back threatened to surface. All this time, she couldn’t freely talk to Merry or anyone about everything. She didn’t always know what Pax considered a secret and had to wait for his permission to tell people things, things that could have probably saved lives. The freedom, something she just accepted she’d lost forever, made her heart thud.

           “Thank you,” she said. Kally choked back the tears. Her face would be lobster colored in no time. If she let herself cry, the ache in her ribs said it would hurt a lot. “However, since you tricked me into it in the first place, I want you to call off our drachma/Reese’s debt off.”

           Pax’s pout morphed into a smile. “You’re wising up, Cyclops. How about we cut it in half?”

           “Down by a quarter,” Kally said.

           “Deal. Alabaster, what’s a quarter of a lot?” Pax asked.

           Alabaster scribbled on his board. For a moment, Kally wondered if he actually remembered her debt and was doing the math. Then Alabaster flipped his board, revealing that he’d taken the time to draw a middle finger instead of just flicking Pax off with his hand.

           “Aw, Alabaster, the time you took to draw that shows that you care,” Pax said.

           Kally could hear the back door of the van open, letting Reyna hop out and adjust her braid in a way that made Pax do a giddy My brother got to make out and is probably unconscious because of it dance. By now, Lapis, Claymore, and Matthias were walking back towards them with the birdcage. The ache in Kally’s chest increased; their time was almost out.

           Kally felt stupid asking when she would see them again. Plus, she didn’t need to leave that to their hands. As Merry and Atë had pointed out, Kally wasn’t a doormat anymore.

           “You guys are Catholic, right?” she blurted.

           Alabaster went to write on his whiteboard.

           Pax swiped his marker.

           Alabaster scowled.

           “As Catholic as a Mayan-Greek demigod can be,” Pax said. Although Pax had answered for all of them, Kally had a guess as to how the god-hating child of Hecate might feel. That would need to be a discussion for a different day.

           “Come over to my parents’ house for Christmas,” Kally said. Her face felt like it would melt off if it got any hotter, but she didn’t care. She was taking a stand here.

           Pax’s expression softened. The darkness melted from his eyes so he could relax into a much more genuine Pax puppy face. “So we can scare your racist brother again? Kally, that’s the best holiday gift you could have given me.”

           The last time she was home, Axel had terrified John, her brother, and his drunk friends with a trick of the Mist. Had that really been the last time anyone from her family had seen her? She was terrified for the inevitable “I told you so”s about getting into a white van with two random guys and disappearing for a few months.

           Even Alabaster seemed to calm at her proposition. Either that or the exhaustion was getting to him. She wouldn’t know until he finished erasing and rewriting whatever he was doing on his board.

           “There’s a really tough conversation I need to have with my mom about my real dad,” Kally said, trying to keep her voice even. “And it would be nice to have back up in case she gets too mad to talk to me during the holidays.

           After rewriting one more thing, Alabaster finally held up his board.

           We’ll be there.[3]

           Kally’s heart skipped a few beats.

           Lapis, Matthias, and Claymore walked back over with the birdcage. Matthias and Reyna stood on either side of Kally’s wheelchair as the boys put the red satchel into the back of the van. Fortunately, Euna woke up enough to groggily stumble out of the red wagon.

           Euna paused, glancing at her sister’s statue attached to the top of the van. She reached up and touched Joey’s stone foot. Also fortunate, she didn’t seem to notice Lapis, who carefully avoided that, “damn, psychotic grass hippie.”

           Kally wanted to give Euna a hug or to ask her what happened when she disappeared down to Tartarus. She wanted to tell Euna that Calex had demanded she give him a phone ring as soon as she was feeling up to talking, and that Thalia said she’d hunt Euna down to slap her for the “flower cocooning.” Whatever that was.

           But, Euna’s dark eyes were so glassy, Kally wasn’t sure if Euna even knew she was awake. The eerie glow to Euna’s skin, made her look surreal and Kally was suddenly nervous to approach her friend. She wondered if Euna was aware enough to tell her father about what had happened to Joey.

           Not that the Pax boys, Alabaster, and Claymore wouldn’t keep her safe, but they weren’t the most comforting.

           Before Euna could disappear into the van, Kally said, as loud as she could with the ache in her chest, “Euna! Let’s get milkshakes sometime soon!”

           Despite everything they’d been through, Kally knew uncomfortably little about Euna except that she liked food. Kally hoped that would be enough.

           Euna’s distant gaze found hers. She gave Kally a thumbs up. “I like milkshakes.” Then she slipped into the van with Backbiter in sword form.

           Lapis hopped into the driver’s seat and put Jack’s birdcage in the passenger seat. Axel made Matthias roll Kally closer so he could give her the gentlest hug from where he was propped inside. The glance he shared with Reyna made Kally wonder exactly how their conversation had ended.

Alabaster reverted Claymore to a Mist card to conserve on car space, and to prevent him from shooting Pax. Alabaster squeezed Kally’s hand.

Then, Alabaster and Pax were hopping into the van.

           Pax paused in the doorway with the doors almost shut. Baller, his crazy weasel, scampered up his clothing to rest on Pax’s shoulder. He gave her a devilish smile and winked his yellow eye. “Just remember kids,” he said to Reyna, Matthias, and Kally. His gaze lingered on Kally. Reyna sighed in annoyance and Kally, similarly, had to wonder if Pax had rehearsed whatever he was able to say.

           He sucked in a deep breath. “The moral of the story is: if you’re cute enough or pathetic enough, you can get away with anything. The system is broken and villains get to walk free.”

           With those uplifting words, Pax shut the doors.

           Reyna walked behind Kally. Kally’s throat constricted, wondering if it would be worse to have Reyna—someone who still terrified her—or Matthias—someone known for pranking—push her back to the Big House.

Reyna made the decision when she rested her hands on Kally’s wheelchair. Kally wanted to watch the van drive away, if nothing else than to make sure Joey’s statue wouldn’t flip off. The older girl didn’t seem interested in such sentimentality.

           “Wait,” Matthias said when Reyna went to wheel her.

           They paused and looked at the Paxmobile.  

           The Paxmobile made a few revving noises.

Then made a pathetic puffing noise.

           Luke the donkey snorted once, seeming unimpressed with the van’s epic failure.

           Another rev.

           “Hansen?” Reyna asked.

           Matthias grinned. “Oh, I disconnected the battery to fuck with them. I’ll give it three more tries before Axel—”

           “HANSEN!” Axel roared from the inside. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY VAN!?”

           “And with that, I’ve made Axel angry enough that he’ll allow Pax to come back and prank me.” He withdrew a wrench from his pocket and walked towards the Paxmobile. Matthias cheered, “Now we’ll have to see them again.”        

Kally grinned. Even without Matthias’ disconnect and the promise of a chaotic, crowded Christmas, she was sure they would.

 ***

Okay! So I’m going to refrain from a long-winded, soppy author’s note until the second epilogue is out. For now: thank you guys for reading! T.T You’ve all been so nice and supportive, especially those of you leaving such encouraging comments and asks! I really hope you enjoyed!!! Stay tuned next week for Epilogue Part I.

I can’t believe this whole thing will be out and done at the beginning of August O.o T.T

 ***

  Bonus:

           Leo was definitely digging Brooklyn House’s set up, with the giant albino alligator, Sadie’s annoyed boyfriend, and Sadie’s panicking older brother. It was nice knowing Calypso was at camp, helping Chiron in the healing center and that he’d never need to see that creep, Pax, again. He just wanted time to figure stuff out, between Calypso’ trickery and how Pax had messed with his head. However, as he helped craft a massive carrier for all the healing vials Jazz, Brooklyn House version of a child of Apollo, had made for them, he couldn’t fight off the nagging feeling that he’d forgotten something else.

           On the plasma TV hanging above a fireplace that was large enough to park a car inside, he caught the words of a local news anchor.

           “—unsure if this is a runaway Christmas float, or a well crafted-prank drone—”

           Leo almost dropped his contraption. “Uh, Lady Sadie?”

           “Yes Commander Valdez?”

           “Uh, we may have left a homicidal, flying metal dragon loose in New York City.”

           “You left a what?!” Carter almost screamed from another room.

           “Nothing brother dear!” Sadie called sweetly.

 ***

Footnotes:

[1] Mel betanotes, “Maybe it’s Maybelline.”

[2] So, in the first rendition of this, I put, “Alabaster was already pushing her down to the van.” And I realized that wording might be a bit forward/unbalanced considering how much of an audience they have and how he can’t move his mouth.

[3] No, the epilogue is not a Christmas special. XD that was Mel’s first guess.

[beep-beep-kneecaps]

Clowncore is my favorite aesthetic!! What do you think of it? 💖💖

Hello!

I think clowncore is a lot of fun, I am a big fan of bright colors and fun looks and that is clowncore, I love how creative it is and how you can make awesome accessories out of anything. It really brings out the creative side of people and seems really inclusive as well, it always makes me happy :)

It is an aesthetic I am sorely lacking in but here's a few pictures of things in my room

Little yellow ceramic balloon animal, donkey thing (my mom calls it a piñata) with a rainbow bow tie, little rubber duck I put a bow tie on, and this green alien my sister won me at a fair with a rainbow star necklace my friends little sister gave me. I have a few other things but these are my favorites and the closest I could get to clowncore and tumblr has an image limit

I wanted to do a hair thing for this but I am bad at taking pictures of the top of my head so it's blurry and a bit cut off in the front but I'll add it anyway and also explain somewhat: I have an undercut so there's only so much hair to work with, I put my hair in pigtails with different colored bright ties, and a zigzag part (I don't think enough people do zigzag parts they're fun and a simple way to spice up your hair) I added a bunch of different clippies half my bangs fell out but I left it because I feel like the asymmetry adds to the fun (you can't see them in the picture though) I used bright primary colors. I used a few clips that I had from an old suzuya juuzou cosplay and his vibes are similar to clowncore, I also put a dinosaur clip I made and a bow clip as well. It's a bit of a mess cause it was rushed but I did have a lot of fun

Thank you for asking!! I had a lot of fun with this and I hope you enjoyed :)

[thefeedpost]

26 Adorable Baby Shower Games To Get Everyone Excited About Your Bundle Of Joy

If you are throwing a baby shower for your best friend, your daughter, or yourself then you want it to be perfect. Even though you are going to spend a lot of time planning the food spread and the color scheme, you cannot forget about baby shower games!

Creative Baby Shower Games

1. Don’t Say Baby. As your guests walk inside, hand them a pin to place on their shirt and tell them they are not allowed to say the word ‘baby.’ If they break the rule then another player is allowed to take their pin from them. The player with the most pins at the end of the party wins a prize!

2. Dirty Diapers. Buy a pack of diapers and place some melted chocolate across them so it looks like baby poop! Then have your guests lick it off and guess which type of candy belongs to each diaper.

3. Guess The Baby Food. Grab a few jars of baby food and rip off the labels. Then have your guests guess what ingredients are contained inside each jar.

4. My Water Broke. Buy little plastic babies and place them in an ice tray so they are trapped in the ice. Then hand out the ice cubes to each guest. The first one who has their ice melt and a baby pop out is the winner!

5. Guess The Baby Game. When you send out invitations, ask everyone to bring a photograph of themselves as a child. During the party you can pass the photos around and see who can guess which photograph belongs to which person.

6. Name That Baby Tune. Play some children’s music and see who is the first to guess what each song is called.

7. The Price Is Right, Baby Shower Edition. Put together a group of items that a baby would need and have guests guess the retail price of each item.

8. One-of-a-Kind Baby Shower Onesies. Buy a bunch of white onesies for the future baby and place markers beside them so the guests can decorate them. At the end of the party, everyone can vote on their favorite!

9. Do You Know What It Is? Fill a bag with random baby-related items. Pass it around and have guests guess what each item is without removing it from the bag or looking down at it, only by touching.

10. The Baby Name Game. Give each guest a piece of paper and see who can write down the most baby names in the shortest amount of time. Give bonus points to whoever includes the name of the future baby!

11. Baby Sketch Artists. You should pass around paper plates and ask all of your guests to draw a picture of what they think the baby will look like. Then have a contest to pick the best drawing.

12. Oh Baby, A Playlist! Ask your guests to write down as many songs as they can think of with the word ‘baby’ in the title. You could also do this with television shows or movies.

Baby Shower Games Based Around The Parents

13. Mommy and Daddy’s Secrets. This game is all about the parents. Ask your guests to answer questions that the mommy and daddy answered ahead of time to see who gets the most correct. You can ask questions like: What do the parents hope their baby grows up to be or What happened the night they conceived this baby?

14. How Old Was She? Have the mommy print out pictures of herself from different years of her life. Then put the photos on display and have everyone guess how old she was during all those different moments.

15. Mom Or Dad? Print out questions on a sheet of paper and have guests answer either ‘mom’ or ‘dad.’ The questions can be something like who is more excited about the baby or who is going to change the most diapers? 

16. Place The Baby On The Mommy. Print out a poster of the mother-to-be with her pregnant belly showing and a miniature poster of the ultrasound. Then play pin the tail on the donkey except this time you should have your guests place the ultrasound in the belly.

17. How Big is Baby? Pass around yarn and a pair of scissors. Have each guest cut a piece of yarn they believe will fit around the mommy’s belly. The closest to the correct size wins a prize!

Physically Active Baby Shower Games

18. Find The Socks! Dump a pair of unmatched baby socks onto the floor and see who can match the most pairs in the shortest amount of time.

19. Drink Up, Baby. Fill a bunch of baby bottles with alcohol (or juice for younger children). Then see who can chug their bottle the quickest.

20. Diaper Derby. Separate your guests into groups and give them a roll of toilet paper. Then have them wrap someone up in a makeshift diaper. The first one to finish wins!

21. Pass The Pacifier. Separate into two lines of two teams and have everyone place a straw in their mouth. Then give the person at the end of the line a pacifier to stick on their straw. The winning team has to pass the pacifier from person to person without using their hands.

22. Bobbing for Nipples. You have probably went bobbing for apples before. This is exactly the same except with bottle nipples. Place them in a tub of water and have guests pick them out with their teeth.

23. Blind Diaper Change. Get a bunch of baby dolls and put diapers on them. Then blindfold your guests and see who can remove the diaper and apply a new one in the shortest amount of time.

24. Yum, Applesauce! Separate everyone into pairs and hand them a jar of applesauce. Blindfold them both and have them spoon feed applesauce to the other person.

25. Pass The Dirty Diaper. This game is exactly like Hot Potato except you are using diapers instead. Play some music, pass the diaper around, and whoever is holding it when the music stop is out.

26. We’re Having A Baby. Hand out deflated balloons. Tell everyone to fill their balloon up with air, tie it, and place it beneath their shirt like they are pregnant. The first one finished wins.

Read more: thoughtcatalog.com

The post 26 Adorable Baby Shower Games To Get Everyone Excited About Your Bundle Of Joy appeared first on TheFeedPost.

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[christhehoff]

Direct Hit?

Nintendo Direct 9/13/17 Thoughts & Notes

The latest Nintendo Direct has come and gone, and it delivered pretty much what I expected, if not slightly more. Given the timing of the presentation, this was Nintendo's best opportunity to push its fall and holiday lineup, and it did just that with new information on Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and a smattering of others. Anyone expecting big reveals set themselves up for disappointment; this was about selling the games hitting in the remainder of 2017 first and foremost. That's not to say there weren't surprises; not only were new first-party games announced, but so were third-party titles, new hardware variations, and even an unexpected blast from Nintendo's past. Here are the top 15 notable moments as far as I was concerned.

1. Super Mario Odyssey The more I see of this game, the better it looks. Nintendo has obviously been holding back information on this game since E3, showing only a handful of environments, enemies, and abilities, but the curtains opened a whole lot more during this Nintendo Direct. Sure, we expected Mario standbys like an ice world, a water world, and a jungle world, but it's nice to see them with our own eyes. As with previous looks at this game, the new footage displayed a world bursting with imagination and unparalleled creativity: running on water, controlling an adorable flying dinosaur, racing against Koopas, and engaging in a 2D Donkey Kong homage. The classic outfits tug at my Nintendo nostalgia, and the photo mode opens up a lot of fun creative possibilities. The best part is I think we've still only scratched the surface of this game. Well, the best part for some might be topless Mario's nipples, but I guess that's a personal preference. The Switch bundle that includes red Joy-Cons and a Mario carrying case is pretty snazzy too.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 The new footage of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 really emphasized just how vast and beautiful the world is. The living, breathing environments, built on the backs of massive creatures, look absolutely stunning and, like in previous Xenoblade games, simply beg to be explored. The Nintendo Direct presentation - evidently narrated by a bored, genteel British grandfather - was absolutely ridiculous and probably didn't garner many new fans, but it didn't negate my enthusiasm for this anime-influenced RPG. The special edition - including a music CD and a 220-page artbook - is somewhat tempting too, but maybe not for $100.

3. Project Octopath Traveler Even though it's not set for release until next year, Nintendo put a heavy emphasis on the ludicrously named Project Octopath Traveler for Switch. I know it's supposed to be a temporary name, but hopefully it finds a better one sooner rather than later. More exciting than the presentation was the release of the playable demo, which lets you sample the game as two of the eight protagonists, Olberic the warrior and Primrose the dancer, each with unique special skills. The inclusion of eight protagonists gives the game a Saga Frontier feel, while the retro graphics feel like a throwback to 16-bit Final Fantasy games. This one has a lot of promise.

4. Nintendo Arcade Archives This came out of nowhere. Hamster, the company responsible for publishing a ridiculous number of Neo•Geo games on Switch, will now be delivering Nintendo's classic arcade lineup in pixel-perfect form to a console for the first time ever. Nintendo should have tried something like this with arcade Virtual Console on Wii, but it didn't; now, at long last, the original versions of these seemingly lost arcade games will finally be playable once again. While the differences between the arcade and NES versions of these games aren't huge, they're a captivating piece of Nintendo history, and hardcore fans will love picking up on the subtle differences in games like Mario Bros, Vs Balloon Fight, Vs. Ice Climber, Vs. Pinball, and Vs. Clu Clu Land. For me, it's all about Vs. Super Mario Bros and Punch-Out!!, but if the price is comparable to past Arcade Archive offerings ($8 or so), I'll probably buy the whole lot.

5. Doom & Wolfenstein II I'm not a big FPS fan, so these aren't games I'll likely buy personally, but I love the fact that the Switch is diversifying its lineup and seeing more support from Bethesda in the form of these popular shooters. Hopefully other publishers will do the same.

6. Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon I loved Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, and I want to say the same about Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, but the latest footage shown of these games didn't really inspire. Whereas Sun and Moon were exciting and refreshing, it looks like Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are going to retreat an awful lot of the same territory. The Pikachu Park and new beach areas look nifty, as do the new Ultra Beasts, but I was hoping for a lot more.

7. New Nintendo 2DS XL Hardware On the other hand, the Poké Ball Edition New Nintendo 2DS XL (coming Nov. 3) looks amazing. I have to believe this will be one of Nintendo's most in-demand hardware variations yet. And the new white-and-orange New 2DS XL (coming Oct. 6) looks perfect for fall as well.

8. Kirby: Star Allies It's bright, it's colorful, and it's full of multiplayer action and crazy copy abilities - it's definitely a new Kirby game. We still don't know much about this previously untitled Kirby game that was revealed back at E3, but it's sure to be a blast when it hits in spring 2018.

9. Mario Party: The Top 100 With a November 10 release date - less than two months away - this one came out of nowhere as a surprise announcement. But is Mario Party out of ideas? This 3DS release curates the best 100 minigames from past Mario Party titles and compiles them into one game. Mario Party games have a reputation for being very similar, but in this case it literally reuses the ideas from the past. Hopefully it has compelling boards to tie it all together.

10. Kirby: Battle Royale Taking a break from the usual Kirby formula, this is a four-player Kirby fighting game for 3DS. There's a single-player mode, of course, and several types of competitive play, but it's kind of a bummer that there's no stereoscopic 3D.

11. Dragon Quest Builders Essentially combining elements of Dragon Quest with Minecraft, this one was released on other platforms some time ago, but I'm glad to see that it's coming to Switch in North America.

12. Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition It's hard to believe there wasn't a 3DS version of Minecraft until now. This game probably would have had more impact if it were released a year or two ago, but better late than never, I guess! The digital version is already available for download, and a physical version will be coming down the road.

13. Snipperclips Plus The original Snipperclips was a tad too frustrating for my tastes - perhaps I needed better co-op partners - but it's nice to see it returning with an expansion, and with a physical release. You can grab the full package at retail for $30, or if you already own the original digitally, you can add on 30 new stages and other features for just $10.

14. The Alliance Alive Other than the fact that it's a traditional fantasy RPG featuring nine protagonists, and that the story focuses on humanity rising up against demon conquerors, little has been said about this one. But Atlus rarely steers us wrong with role-playing releases, and one of the writers of the early Suikoden games is involved, so I'm definitely interested.

15. Amiibo Release Dates If there’s one thing I love, it’s amiibo. And I can't wait for the latest releases, all of which now have release dates. Koopa and Gooma hit Oct. 6 (the same day as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions); Chrom and Tiki hit Oct. 20 (the same day as Fire Emblem Warriors); and the Champions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Mipha, Revali, Daruk, and Urbosa) hit on Nov. 10. Who knows? Maybe the second batch of BOTW DLC will hit around that time too. Of course, the Mario, Peach, and Bowser amiibo hit alongside Super Mario Odyssey on Oct. 27.

[valkirsif]

Unthiunkable CH 36/???

Finally after surgery im have time for check and post.. sorry for long wait :)

Word 3100

Warning nothing just love and fun

" Poppy wake up !!" Rice was shaking her cheerfully, " Come on, sleeping beauty, we are almost there, Gian and the others are waiting for us!"

"Rice please ... " Y / N was trying to wake up she was no longer used to her friend who tortured her, Thomas was much more delicate, ".. I 'm awake ... I'm a harasser" she laughed trying to hit him with the pillow,

"Too slow beauty" laughed the man before attacking her, Niko laughed leaning against the door watching the two who were fighting,

"Ok ok I get up, what ways Rice" Y / N was out of breath, "Can I have a coffee please"

"I have already ordered breakfast for everyone so when we load the others we all eat together" Marco said, "Maybe it's better if you get dressed we won't be just us remember ?!"

"Yeah," the woman replied, throwing her costume on and the sarong sent a message to Thomas and joined the others on the deck while the yacht docked, the rest of the family was on the pier staring at the arriving ferry, they had looked at the boat in passing. paying attention to the occupants,

"HEY EARTH WHICH YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL ??" they shouted in chorus, the group turned around trying to understand where they were calling from and in the end they understood

"WHAT DIAMINE ..." Franc exclaimed in amazement, " Poppy is your man's paw I presume" he laughed approaching the others, there were kisses and hugs and the family got together again,

"Let's move on to the presentations," said Jack, "They are Antonella and Sara my best friends, but she is Stefania Franc's little sister " there were handshakes and presentations,

"Where is he?" Sara asked bluntly staring at Y / N, the woman looked at her smiling,

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but he's in LA at the studios, " he replied, " It's in full swing and can't move,"

"Sara what did we say?" Franc said seriously, "No questions or other fan amenities these days"

" But ... I didn't do anything!" the girl complained

"Quiet Franc , I too would have asked immediately" laughed Y / N, "He wouldn't have come in order not to create havoc, I was afraid to create enough of it," she said to Sara who continued to stare at her as if she were an alien, "What do you say let's go up and let's go for a ride? Breakfast is almost ready ",

the group made themselves comfortable and, after setting sail, two waiters served breakfast.

Once offshore they dropped anchor, the day was sultry and sunny in the water it was fine, Sara and the other girls went around Y / N and despite having been warned they asked her questions in bursts, the woman laughed answering even if she felt uncomfortable did not want to disappoint their expectations,

"Miss sorry" one of the guys on board called her , "Mister Hiddleston on video call, I pass her in the sitting room", Y / N nodded and went to the smiling room,

"My love hello" he said happy as soon as he saw the man on the video, "Heaven how beautiful you are with the stage costume .. it's not that you can take him home, right?" she asked mischievously,

"Hello Darling, you're the usual naughty cat" laughed the man, "I'm on a break, why don't you close the door," she said, Y / N smiled and turning to close the door and curtains saw that the others had followed and squeaked excitedly,

"I can't my king .. " she said sighing, "... I'm not alone"

"Are the others there?" asked the man, the woman shook her head

"They are the bridesmaids," he replied, moving to show him, "Stefania, Antonella and Sara"

"Nice girls," said Tom. "Darling, did the spouses like the gift?", The girls hadn't moved an inch, they continued to chuckle,

"I haven't told him anything yet, if you have a second I'll call them," Y / N replied shaking his head, " Stefy call your brother and Jack please?"

"Sure," he replied continuing to stare at Tom on the screen, two minutes later the whole family was in front of the screen,

"Hey Tom good morning" they greeted, "Dude this boat is fantastic!" said Robby the others nodded,

"I'm glad you're having a good time" he laughed, "I know that Y / N has already given you the gift but I wanted to participate .. "

the spouses looked at each other before staring at Y / N who shook his innocent head,

"Don't look at me I don't center," he said, raising his hands,

".. he told me that you invested everything for the ceremony, I thought that a cruise was perfect for the honeymoon" concluded the innocent man, they were all speechless, "Now I have to run away, Darling I'll call you as soon as I finish "And disappeared leaving the group still stunned," Poppy I don't think I understand, "said Jack,

"This boat is yours for 20 days" replied the woman, "Thomas has prepared a dream itinerary around the islands"

"Are you joking?" Franc asked , "We can't accept ... "

"Don't tell me, call him back and tell him, I gave it up" he laughed "You first say thank you and enjoy it .. so .. who wants to get drunk ??", they spent the day drinking and laughing anchored in an atoll before heading to the hotel where manicures and hairdressers were waiting for them to arrange the girls for the wedding.

The big day had come, Y / N and the others moved about the room agitated trying to get ready laughing happily, Marco came in to leave the formal clothes,

"Good morning girls here are the clothes" he laughed before going out to get ready, Antonella looked at the name tags and passed the clothes on to the others,

"The flowers are missing, I hope they haven't forgotten them," he said, looking around to find them,

"Quiet Anto, Jack made them keep cool in the warehouse," Liliana replied as she helped Sara tie the ribbons on her back,

"Y / N can you help me please?" Antonella asked, the woman nodded and began to pull the laces of the corset and fastening the ribbons of the dress,

"Done, these clothes are gorgeous," Y / N said, turning in turn to tie everything up,

"They are perfect!" Sara replied, "Fortunately they decided to have us put on a light corset otherwise you would have seen only Anto's breast" she laughed followed by the others,

" Stefy me a picture please, I promised Thomas to show him the dress," said Y / N passing the phone, fecequalche shot even asieme the other sending the message and stood beside the other to finish the trick, there was a knock at the door

"Are you ready?" Rice asked carrying the flowers, "You're beautiful" she whispered to Y / N, fastening the last button of her dress, the woman smiled

"Are the bride and groom ready?" Franc's sister asked , Rice nodded

" Lucifer you look great with that suit" said Y / N arranging the flower in his buttonhole, the man gave her his arm and they started with the others towards the staircase that led to the chapel to gather and climb to the top of the hill,

"We are all here?" asked a more than nervous Franc waiting for the groom, the others nodded laughing, "Jack ran away night time with the yacht?" Roby asked jokingly

"He's coming quietly," Niko replied , a moment later Jack left the hotel and took his companion under his arm, they climbed on the back of two donkeys, they lined up and began to climb towards the chapel.

The panorama did not do justice to that seen in the film, the sun was high and warm, the sea shone and the seagulls were heard in the distance, the olive trees decorated with flowers and balloons lined the path towards the chapel, the climb was steeper than that that they had imagined,

"Thank goodness we didn't have to put on heels," Sara said stopping for a break halfway up the hill, the bride and groom had planned a buffet to catch their breath,

"How hungry!" Y / N said taking a sandwich and some apple juice, "What a wonderful day, look at the view from the cliff", they were all fascinated by the location, the woman was thinking how much she would have liked Thomas to have been there ,

"All refreshed?" Franc asked more calmly, "Let's leave before being late"

they arrived at the arch in front of the chapel where relatives and friends were waiting for them, the family smiled stopping under the arch, Simo turned on the stereo and the music filled the air, those present made their way and the group moved into position to welcome the newlyweds who were watching without understanding what was going on, in the weeks preceding the wedding the others had often heard via skype to organize the choreography of entering the church to surprise them, Marco moved to the side being the most clumsy one he had been given the task of shooting the film, which he excelled, at the end of the "show" the spouses were in tears, bridesmaids and companions were out of breath and relatives applauded,

"Come in and be happy" said the pastor smiling from the chapel door, the organist began to play the wedding march, bridesmaids and companions lined up next to each other and, as soon as friends and relatives sat down, they entered, making their way to the couple positioning themselves on the sides once they reach the altar, fresh flowers and ribbons adorn the entire nave of the chapel,

"Dear friends, we are here on this festive morning to unite two hearts and two souls" began the shepherd, "who have decided to bind themselves in the presence of their dearest affections" he nodded towards the couple who stood up holding hands, " Because this day is dedicated to love let love speak "he said finally giving the floor to Franc ,

"Jack you are the love of my life, the half I have always been looking for, I do not swear eternal happiness but I promise to be by your side every day of my life from now on, you complete me, you make sense of every day "He said visibly excited,

" Franc you are my first thought in the morning, my perfect half, the man I want by my side for the rest of life, you will be the sun on rainy days if there ever will be" said an equally excited Jack clutching his hands of the groom not knowing how to express the love that united them,

the pastor resumed the word, "Be all witnesses of this union, I declare you husband and husband" he concluded with a smile, "You can kiss the groom" he said, the couple hugged each other lost in the eyes of the other kissing each other, Y / N and other bridesmaids were in tears of joy, everyone applauded happily and the bells began to ring, the guests came out of the chapel following the newlyweds, as soon as they got out they started in a semi circle and Sara stood in the center, Franc and Jack looked at each other not understanding that it was happening, someone turned on the music and the girl started singing, one by one the family members and the other bridesmaids joined her, it was their way to wish the couple before starting to go down to the beach to head, with a specially booked boat, to the main island where they would have lunch.

The patio of the restaurant had been decorated with flowers and lanterns and a long table meandered under the pergola, simple blue-bordered tickets marked the places with the names of the guests, the table was festively set with brightly colored plates and glasses, the buffet with the aperitifs it was arranged sideways, drinks of all colors and flavors were prepared by a group of bartenders, fresh fruit and sandwiches waiting to be tasted waiting for the newlyweds who were around to take the usual photos in the most beautiful places of the island, the guests made themselves comfortable,

" Poppy I got you a mojto, " Rice said, passing her the glass,

"Thanks darling it was really hot" replied the woman smiling, "I hope they do n't take too long with the photos, I'm hungry"

"We too" joined the others, Antonella sat down next to her, "I know we promised Franc and Jack not to bother you" she said while Stefy with her friends joined them "but we can ask you what it's like to be with him?" she asked, Y / N smiled embarrassed, she didn't know how to behave it was the first time she was in that situation,

" Well before I knew him I thought it was all beautiful and fun, a dream life in short .." he began, "..but the reality is very different, it is true he is an incredible man and what you see in the photos and videos is true, he is a true gentleman it is not a pose for the fans being with him makes me feel like the most beautiful and desired woman in the world, he is thoughtful and generous, as you have also seen, in a nutshell being with Thomas is a dream. . "He laughed dreamily," ... but the downside is that they recognize him everywhere is for what he is not here today .. "he shook his head," .. I was not prepared for all this, the fans who stop him on the street or they are waiting for him at the airport , in a week we changed house twice and took 4 different planes, now that he is going around practically I see him almost in passing at night when he comes back from the set, it is really difficult sometimes you have to love someone deeply to make a similar life, ”she concluded, the others looked at her

"Hell Y / N I thought it was more exciting to live as a VIP" Sara laughed, Stefy seemed disappointed maybe she expected more details or gossip, the woman understood curiosity

"It is extremely exciting to live with him, just ignore the paparazzi and do not panic every time you find your photos on social media or in tabloid magazines" he laughed heartily, "it's really another world, I can go on set and see him work or spend the evening with his colleagues by the pool, there are pros and cons .. for me the pros beat everything, already being able to wake up next to him every morning "he concluded hoping to have made them happy,

" Stefy said she saw him on the boat, we are very envious," said the girl's sad friends, "Isn't it possible that you can video call him for us?" they asked hopefully

"Sorry girls with the time zone at this time is on the set" replied Y / N, the group was about to ask more questions when the exhausts arrived,

"Sorry, there are so many wonderful places to take pictures that we went on," Jack said laughing, "I'd say sit down and eat," the couple took their seats at the head of the table,

"While we wait I propose a toast!" said Roby raising his glass, "To the bride and groom and love," he said aloud,

the table raised his glass shouting "AGLI SPOSI", the waiters began to bring drinks, the menu was entirely made up of fish, the banquet was opened by a series of delicious and fresh appetizers, the seafood salad disappeared in a moment and was followed by a series of hot appetizers, Y / N adored mussels with croutons and served twice in the break between courses and approached Antonella

"Shall we go change you too?" he asked, the woman nodded and followed the group, "Eating with a corset is too much for me" laughed as she helped Y / N to unfasten her dress,

"I've already been through it and I prefer to take it off too ... " he laughed

"Do you wear it often?" Stefy asked , "For me it's so uncomfortable I don't understand why wear it"

"Under a nice evening dress it takes and I personally like corsets .. you will understand it when you grow up" he laughed looking at the more adult bridesmaids accomplice, they changed and returned to the table,

"Just in time for the linguine with the lobster," said Niko, moving her chair, "afterwards call Tom he looked for you while you changed"

"Put something on my plate, I'll come right away" he laughed, picking up the phone and moving away from the noise, "My love, sorry I was with the others for changing clothes" he said happy to hear him,

"Don't worry, my queen," said Tom, "change of clothes? Do you use this in Italy? "

"Usually we wear a suit for the ceremony and a more comfortable one for the banquet and the party" he laughed

"The one for the ceremony was fine with darling , how's the celebration going?" asked curiously,

"We just sat at the table, the ceremony was beautiful, you would have liked many flowers and many songs" he smiled, "The newlyweds are radiant"

"Send me some photos I'm curious to see you with the second dress" he laughed, "We feel in the night I don't want to keep you too far from the others", they said goodbye and the woman sat down to spoil the rest of the lunch, the celebrations ended late at night, the relatives had returned to the hotel shortly after the banquet and the group was alone.

" It was a beautiful day," said Roby, stretching, "I'm exhausted."

"To whom do you say friend!" Simo replied, "How about going to bed?"

"Excellent idea, how do we settle down?" Rice asked

"Simo can come to us so you two have a spare room" Gian advised, "Is Phil all right for you?"

"Sure no prob "

"Get married if you want to take advantage of the boat right away it's at your disposal, I just have to take the backpack" said Y / N to the couple,

"If you don't mind sleeping in a hotel, we would be pleased" Franc laughed , "Let's go get our things in the hotel and leave immediately for the honeymoon"

"We have already said goodbye to all the relatives and we are ready to sail !!" Jack said like a sea dog, everyone laughed, got up and went to the hotel chatting drunk, the girls had taken off their shoes and enjoyed the still warm sand, there were the last greetings, as far as Y / N was concerned weeks would pass before seeing them again, the family accompanied the couple to the boat, they said goodbye and went back to the rooms,

" Poppy I 'm devastated, happy but devastated I just want to sleep !!" Rice said taking off his tie,

"I don't want to take a shower, I'm sorry but I think I'll collapse with my make-up for tonight" he laughed going to bed next to his friend, they remained without saying anything before a few minutes happy to have made peace he wrote a message to Tom and fell asleep , those holidays had gone much better than the woman thought.

[operationrainfall]

At the start of this week, I didn’t expect this to be a very exciting Smashing Saturdays. Sure, it would have the usual fun stuff, but nothing truly game-breaking. But then they announced a Nintendo Direct on Thursday, and boy did it deliver! So this is a special Smashing Saturdays, and it will gloss over the cool stuff revealed in the Direct, as well as having the usual character profiles, stage bios, music and more. So let’s get started with the stuff that happened prior to Thursday’s revelations.

While I’m not great playing as either Samus, I’m quite glad Zero Suit Samus is allowed to share the spotlight with her usual armored self. She’s as deadly as she is sexy, and in the right hands she is a devastating force of nature. Few brawlers are as acrobatic, fast or cruel as ZSS, and though it was cool watching Samus alternate between both versions, I’m glad they’re separate entities now. It was a bit too powerful to have strength and speed in the same package. Having said that, I’m more than ready to get my ass kicked by her in Ultimate.

I know, I know, they told us every stage was in Ultimate, but I’m still a little surprised Living Room made the cut. Not cause I hate it. It’s an adorable little stage, with the puppies and kittens frolicking about. What’s less cute is when I get beaned by falling blocks. Those selfsame objects can make it hard to smash foes off the screen, but I guess it’s not the worst stage. That would be a tie between Pac-Man’s stage and Balloon Fight. I can take adorable animals and blocks over those chaotic stages any day.

I like to make fun of Rosalina on a pretty regular basis. I call her things like Emo Peach and mock her as being a crappy divine entity in the Mario universe. But that’s mostly cover for my respect for how overwhelming of a force she can be in Smash Bros. She plays very distinctly from Peach, and definitely requires a lot of practice to master. But once you get a handle on using the Luma, she’s actually pretty fun. Though I didn’t play her much on my 3DS, lately I’ve had some decent luck using her. So maybe I will actually enjoy using Rosalina and Luma in Ultimate.

HOLY KRAPTRAP!!!

We all learned to respect the Klaptrap in the Jungle Japes stage. There’s few things as irritating as being dragged to a watery grave by the big mouthed Kremling. And now, he’s an Assist Trophy. Though this version won’t drag you to your death, he will chomp the crap out of anyone unlucky enough to get gobbled. Now, let’s move onto a quick recap of the fun stuff from the Direct!

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The Direct started with the reveal that Ken is coming to the game as an Echo of Ryu. Not surprising, also not that exciting. But then they revealed a new playable pokémon in Incineroar. I’m quite excited for the fiery cat luchador. He looks to play completely differently from Greninja, whom I detest playing, and looks utterly fierce. The fact he confidently poses when he damages foes is just beautiful. That wasn’t all, though, as they also confirmed that the roster of the game will be 75, and that we’re getting 5 DLC sets into 2020 with a new character, stage and music. The key thing to remember is that the 75th addition to the roster won’t be available until after Ultimate releases, and that’s a pretty strange character…

I’ve been saying for a while that I expected one more weirdo character in Smash Bros. Ultimate. And frankly, neither Ken nor Incineroar qualifies. But Piranha Plant certainly does! I was initially very confused by the reveal, but I wasn’t upset after seeing PP’s moveset. It looks to be a very tricky and unique fighter, spitting poison, shooting spike balls, lunging out of his pot and even using his leaves to helicopter around. Best of all is watching it crawl around inside his pot like a goofball. It shouldn’t work, but Sakurai is great at turning strange ideas into fascinating and playable concepts. The only downside is that Piranha Plant won’t be available until a couple months after the launch of Ultimate. But, if you register your game, you’ll get Bowser’s minion for absolutely free. Not a bad offer, considering the last time Sakurai tried something similar, we only got Mewtwo. Here’s hoping PP is much more functional and fun to play as.

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Less significant, but still cool, was that the Direct showed off some new Assist Trophies. The likes of Spring Man, one of the heroines from Maiden of Black Water, and even the devious Dr. Wily made the cut. Best of all, they confirmed that there will be 59 Assist Trophies in the game. I haven’t done a count of how many were revealed yet, but that’s still a great diversity of characters.

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Lastly, the Direct touched on the hidden mode that was previously glossed over by Sakurai. It’s none other than the Adventure mode, which is apparently called World of Light. It’s less story driven than Subspace Emissary, but it still looks quite cool. Some (angelic?) force has turned all the characters in the game back into statues, and morphed the other characters from their respective series into Spirits. These Spirits then possess the captured heroes, with one exception. Kirby escapes, and sets out to free his friends and defeat the force that caused so much chaos. As for how the mode plays out, it’s much more combat oriented than what we got in the 3DS and Wii U versions, which I’m happy about. The Spirits seem to replace the Trophies from the other games, though they also have a combat utility. You can equip Primary and Secondary Spirits to your character to empower them and give them various bonuses. When you fight your friends, you’ll need to satisfy special requirements to defeat them, and then try to capture their malevolent Spirit puppeteer. It all sounds fantastic to me, and I feel I’ll spend much more time in this Adventure mode than in previous ones.

A couple more updates before we move onto our Most Wanted Brawler this week. Both are Pokémon related. First, we have a new song from the series coming to Ultimate. It’s none other than Battle! (Wild Pokémon) from Pokémon Sun and Moon. It’s composed by Hiroyuki Kawada. The song is incredibly upbeat and cheerful, so it should make for interesting background noise.

Though I already touched upon Incineroar earlier, I felt we might as well post his awesome trailer! The feline champion hits hard, and uses his iconic moves Darkest Lariat, Cross Chop and Revenge, as well as another unnamed move where he tosses foes into the ropes and pile drives them. For his Final Smash, he activates his Z-Power and takes his foes into the ring with a devastating Max Malicious Moonsault. Though I haven’t had much success with other Pokémon brawlers, I’m going to enjoy learning to master Incineroar.

Now, don’t leave yet! I still have more for you in the form of a new Most Wanted Brawler this week.

Most Wanted Brawler Dixie Kong

I’m sure some thought I would no longer do the Most Wanted Brawler segment now that the 75 player roster has been revealed. But you know what? There’s still 5 unknown DLC characters on the horizon, so hopefully I’ll manage to speculate who one of those will end up being! After all, I kind of predicted K. Rool and Ridley, so anything is possible. And since King K. Rool just made it onto the roster, why not another character from the Donkey Kong series? Though I enjoy both Donkey and Diddy Kong, Dixie is just as important to the series. After all, she headlined a couple of her own games on the SNES.

Dixie is known for her golden locks, so it stands to reason her moveset would be based around them. For her Up B Special, she would hover upwards like a simian helicopter, slashing anybody in her path, then be able to gently hover towards the ground. For her Side B, I could see her grabbing items or characters with her ponytail, then hurl them to shatter on the ground. For her Neutral B, I could see her using her own Popgun to shoot bubblegum, like in Tropical Freeze. And for her Down B, perhaps she could twirl her locks in front of her face, deflecting projectiles. As for her Final Smash, I see it taking a page from Donkey Kong Country 3, and having Dixie team up with Kiddy Kong to put the hurt on foes. He could hurl her like a cannonball, then jump up and smash down on foes’ heads, and finally both Kongs would tag team their opponent into submission. I really think Dixie Kong could make the cut as a DLC character for Ultimate, and hope I’m right. We need more a bit more gender diversity in Smash Bros., and she provides the perfect opportunity.

Thanks as always for joining us today for Smashing Saturdays! We still have a few weeks left before the release of Ultimate, and will probably conclude that week. However there’s still a chance we’ll return to cover the upcoming DLC characters, so stay tuned to oprainfall!

Smashing Saturdays! Week 72: October 29-November 3, 2018 At the start of this week, I didn't expect this to be a very exciting Smashing Saturdays.