#maya's there but.... she's too tiny :P

[vanillamatchadove]

mostly jun7 but some stuff from my pinoy au I need to ramble abt.

[fancyfade]

Post theme going around on LoCG where people say whre they want the batfam members to end up.

I figured I'd share my post (link) here on tumblr b/c I have way more tumblr followers and post many dc thoughts here anyway

original post:

Anyway, where the Batfam members end up in a couple years in my opinion:

Bruce: I honestly think he should retire. Is this ever realistic? No, he makes too much money. But he’s got to be getting what close to 50 by now? He needs to quit before he dies RIP. I’d love to see him trying to do what he can to help the community as Bruce Wayne (which I don’t think he never does as Batman �� we see comics involving it. But like more emphasis).

Cass: I view Cass as the logical successor to Bruce. She deserves to be Batman (and wants to be and embodies his ideals very well).

Barbara: I think it’d be neat if Babs (as Oracle) kind of expanded BoP so we have different subgroups… we got a tiny bit of this might be happening at the way tail end of New Earth continuity, with babs faking her and oracle’s deaths to get the heat off and allow herself to dedicate more attention to major operations rather than being everyone’s problem solver, and her training Wendy as a protege… just pick that up. I like Wendy Harris being involved, and I think Helena is a good candidate for an op leader (more on that later)

Helena: Helena should work with a small team of Birds and take on missions that require some convincing undercover work – shout out to both her mob deconstruction plan in Simone’s BOP and her past as a Spyral agent in this continuity. The team should be flexible, but I’d like to see Steph occasionally team up with her… her forgotten-by-continuity adopted son, James, should also help on tech stuff IMO.

Damian: I like the idea of him doing Batman and Robin stuff in Gotham and more globe-trotting stuff on his own, using Maya and Suren and other friends. He also definitely will try to reform any kid/teenage supervillains he comes across, so he should probably fight mostly adults :p

Duke: I think Duke should stay as the Gotham daytime hero, in contact with the kids from We Are Robin, but… get more appearances. Him being in everyday contact with more normal people could be an important storytelling avenue.

Dick: What Dick’s currently doing is fine, no need to change. He’s already got his niche.

Tim: DC doesn’t know what to do with Tim… I think Tim should honestly go into semi-retirement, coming out for big stakes plots and to train younger heroes. In my head this would be after a 12 issue mini series where Tim contemplates how much his life has changed since he started being Robin, with his initial goal that it was going to be something he does his time in and then gets out, out of obligation, and then slowly he had no normal life to get back out to… we’d bring back Dana as a character to bounce thoughts off, as well as the YJ kids especially Cissie who has also retired as a superhero.

Jason: I think what Task Force Z was doing for Jason was perfect, I’d love to see things continue along that line where he like *wants* to do good and to not be the person he used to be, but he sometimes (often) fails… and leading around a team of other equally-or-more corrupt people is fun. That’s as heroic as I feel like Jason should get, if he’s just turned into pretty much another hero it’s like… offbrand nightwing???

[their-we-go]

exiles among you, 1113 words, rated G:

Dean steps outside. Squints out at the yard through white winter sun.

She spots Sammy a minute later. He’s sitting on a bench out front, looking tiny in one of Dean’s old button ups and a hoodie.

Dean pulls up her own hood and crunches out to meet him. She watches her boots crush into the snow as she walks. Punching her-shaped holes in that wide, white blanket.

She thinks about sneaking up quiet behind Sammy and scaring him, but thinks better of it.

He hears her coming, anyway. Looks her way for a second, then back down to his knees.

“Hey,” she says to the top of his head.

No answer.

Another bad day.

She picks his bag up off the sidewalk and shoulders it, easy. It’s feather light.

“You ready to go?”

She gets a nod this time.

They’re quiet for the first few minutes of the trek. The sidewalks are shoulder-to-shoulder at first, a mass of kids shuffling along the slush-covered streets. All chattering about their classes and their homework and their dates to the dance next week.

The crowd thins out, after a while. Kid after kid turns off onto nice, quiet side streets full of nice, quiet houses.

After fifteen minutes, it’s just the two of them crunching along the side of the road.

“Your eye is bruised, you know.”

Sam’s hand flies to his face. He prods, careful, at the soft skin under his eye.

Gotcha.

“No it’s not,” he says.

“No,” Dean agrees, “it’s not. But you were in a fight, weren’t you?”

Sam doesn’t say anything.

“Jamie Flores has a kid sister in your grade. Maya. Maybe you know her.”

Sam kicks at a chunk of salt on the sidewalk. Doesn’t say anything.

“They’re close, Jamie and her sister. They talk a whole lot.”

Still nothing.

“Me and Jamie, you know, we’re close too. She likes talking to me. Telling me things.”

Finally, Sam sighs and looks over at her.

“You two going out?” he asks.

“Might be.”

“What happened to Suzy?”

What happened to Suzy? Nothing happened to Suzy.

Suzy is great. Suzy is grand.

Suzy has a boyfriend.

“Nothin’.”

“You break up with her?”

“Yep,” Dean says, popping the p.

It’s close enough to the truth, anyway. She was sick of being jerked around. Sick of being played with.

“I liked Suzy.”

“Yeah,” Dean says. “I know.”

She lets the quiet stretch for a minute. Then she sighs.

“Why’d Maya Flores tell us she saw you fighting with an older kid at lunch?”

“Jimmy isn’t older,” Sam mutters. “He’s just big.”

“Jimmy Mitchell?”

“You know him?”

“His brother.”

He came on to her, once. She punched the guy. Suddenly, he wasn’t so crazy about her.

Go figure.

“Look, he started it.”

“He hit you?”

Sam shakes his head.

“Did he—call you something?”

She knows sometimes the other guys give him a hard time. Hassle him about the way he talks. The way he holds himself. The way he’s—soft.

She knows what they call him.

But Sam shakes his head no. Not about him.

Oh.

“Sammy, did he call me something?”

He hesitates, then nods. Doesn’t meet her eyes.

“What’d he say?”

He shakes his head. Can’t say it.

She has a pretty good idea, anyway.

They’re stopped at a stoplight. Cars whir by in both directions, wheels spinning through the slush.

Dean turns to her brother. Talks to him low under the hum of the traffic.

“Sammy, I like Jamie. You know that.”

He rolls his eyes and nods.

“And I liked Suzy. And I liked Jennifer and Holly and Martha, too.”

Martha was ages ago. The first girl she’d ever kissed. She was a good girl. Sweet.

Dean never got to tell her goodbye. Swept away to another case in another town in the middle of the night. No time for goodbyes.

So it goes.

The light turns from a hand to a man. They cross.

“I like going out with girls, Sam,” she says when reach the sidewalk. “I like wearing my hair short. And I liked being called Dean and wearing guy-clothes and my big work boots.”

“I know,” he says. His voice is quiet.

“And I know what all that makes me. I do. And I know all the ugliest names for it.” Dean stops walking. Turns to her little brother.

He cried when a bird hit the motel window last week. He made Dean bury it in the frozen garden beds while he watched. And today he punched a boy in the face for calling his sister a name.

So soft, and so fierce. So much feeling in him.

“Sammy, can I tell you a secret?”

He nods. He’s looking up at her like—

Like he wants so badly to believe that whatever she’s gonna say will make a difference. Make it easier.

Like he doesn’t quite believe that’s possible.

There’s no one else on this stretch of sidewalk. They’re alone in the silencing snow. She whispers anyway.

“I like being a dyke.”

Sam’s eyes are big. She’s never used that word with him before. She laughs, and starts them moving again.

The motel is in sight now. A strip of red in the white.

“Cross my heart, Sammy. I love it. And guys like Jimmy are always gonna find new, ugly words for what I am. But it’s like—whatever word they pick, it means the same thing. You know? They can pick the meanest, ugliest words to throw at me, but in the end, it means the same thing. The thing that I love being.” She looks over at him. “Do you get what I mean?”

“Kinda. I think.”

“Alright. So don’t go breaking your face trying to defend my honour, okay?”

“I wasn’t trying to—He just said it so mean .” His voice goes small. “They always—they always say it so mean.”

Dean knows what he’s saying. Knows all about how words become a kind of violence.

“Yeah,” she says, “I know.”

They’re quiet.

Almost at their room, now. The sky is almost dark.

“How’d you—” Sam starts, then stops. “How do you do that? Start liking…”

He trails off. Stares up at her, eyes big and sad and hopeful.

Dean thinks about it. Sighs.

“In my experience? You lie. You tell yourself that you love it. You tell yourself it doesn’t matter what they call you. Tell yourself you don’t care.” She unclips the key from her waist and clicks open the door.

They step into the warm.

“And when does it become true?”

“In my experience?” He nods. Dean makes herself smile. “I’ll let you know when I get there.”

dean and sam, headed home from school in the snow

(a scene from my butch dyke dean and gay sam fic, exiles among you)

[hippo-pot]

I think the more you learn about prisons the more you recognize that there simply is not a humane way to hold anyone anywhere against their will. If it was humane then people would be able to escape. And escape is counter to the state’s purpose in imprisoning people. So you can’t have a humane prison.

Best example I can think of is how pregnant people are treated in prison. There is a law against shackling someone while they’re giving birth. (The fact that there needs to be a law for this...) But you shackle them on their way to the hospital. You shackle them again as soon as the baby comes out. Oh, it’s hard to hold your baby? Too bad, we’re worried you’ll escape even though you’ve just gone through one of the most bodily exhausting processes on Earth.

Maya Schenwar reports that her sister didn’t even get to choose the circumstances by which she gave birth. Again, because of a so-called ‘escape risk,’ they picked a day to induce her labor, without telling her the date beforehand so she couldn’t make escape plans. There’s a Beyond Prisons episode here that describes this story, with a full transcript: https://www.beyond-prisons.com/home/mothering-under-surveillance-feat-maya-schenwar

If pregnant people in prison were given more humane treatment, then maybe, I don’t know, one in a million pregnant inmates could escape during their hospital trip to give birth? But that’s not a risk that can be accepted. So we have to traumatize them instead. It’s evil.

Out of curiosity, I checked how many prison escapees there are per year. In 2019 there were apparently 2231, which is about 1 in 1000 (about 2 million people are imprisoned in the US). So it’s not like there’s a one-to-one ratio between humane treatment and escapes. But there are some apparent patterns at least in the history of Texas prisons that go as follows: 1) truly vile conditions 2) reform which makes things a tiny bit better 3) escapes, mutinies, etc go up (because the inmates are less exhausted? Less scared? Unclear), 4) public/political concern leading back to 1).

For example, Governor Dan Moody took office in Texas in 1927 and implemented many reforms - work days were limited to 10 hours (keep in mind that this is forced labor a.k.a. slavery), steps were taken toward prison democracy including an inmate-led Prison Welfare League, and personnel began to be terminated for things like beating up an inmate contrary to law. Sounds like things changed for the better, *but were still truly awful*, right? The result was an all-time record: fully 17% of Texas’s prison population escaped in 1928. (Good for them, imo.) Source: Texas Tough by Robert Perkinson, p. 197-201

There are probably a million other ways to frame the need for prison abolition. The escapes vs. humane treatment paradox isn’t even half of the reason why I’m so sure a good future cannot involve prisons. But these historical patterns are so striking

[montmartre-parapluie]

Maya, 1700s Mode: Remodel of a Felicity “Meet” Gown!

Hello again! We only have one dress to look at on the historical-mini-gown extravaganza today - but this was a really interesting one for me!

Now, back when I first discovered what I’d missed out on as a British child with American Girl, my absolute first love was Felicity and her original Rose Garden ‘Meet’ dress. You know, this one:

Seriously, 8 year old would have sold her kidneys, baby sister, and possibly her SOUL for Felicity and all her historical goodies. That was just how little M-P rolled. And that chintz is a lovely 18th century print! But I was just a few years too late to that party.

But then my mum caught the AG bug and started collecting. In her wanderings, she found a reasonably priced Felicity clothes bundle! The seller photo was fuzzy, but worth a punt - she bid, and won it...

Only then we found out the dresses in it were... messy . Some just needed a wash, but there was an ugly brown stain across the back of the ‘meet’ dress that hadn’t shown up in the Ebay pictures- and all the washing and careful treatment in the world wasn’t going to make it salvageable for any AG doll! 

But I’d coveted the lovely look of that gown and that fabric for YEARS. I couldn’t just let her throw the meet dress away...What to do?

But then I looked at the  smaller, slimmer frame of my A Girl for All Time dolls... and my brain went “zing”!

If it’s too damaged for Felicity - how about reworking it for someone else? There was enough fabric in there if I was careful and did some piecing....

 This was before the AGAT company released Elinor the historical redhead, so alas, there was no pseudo-Felicity. 

(Sorry Elinor, you’d have been almost perfect as a Felicity!)

But I’d recently bought Maya, and I wasn’t really feeling her dungarees much... 

Historical makeover for you, my girl!

So, well.... THIS happened...

I had enough in the meet dress that I got bold enough to play around, and made Felicity’s dress into an honest-to-goodness open robe for Maya, in the style of Felicity’s Christmas Dress!  (you may notice she’s “borrowed” Felicity’s lappet nightcap for this photoshoot)

I’m not going to lie - this was hard; harder even than making actual stuff for me, because I got so nervous about making mistakes with the tiny amount of fabric I had. There wasn’t extra if I cut it wrong! But luckily for me it worked out. And I had the bonus “historical” experience of having to rework an existing item of clothing without wasting fabric, something many seamstresses in the past had to do with what was available in their closets!

 I had to piece the bottom petticoat beneath - that’s mostly plain white cotton with a tiny strip of the “Meet” fabric sewn in to make it look like a full underskirt.  I made a stiff stomacher for her out of cardboard (full disclosure: I cut a triangle out of a kleenex box! ) and covered it with a scrap of the fabric, giving it a little centre bow out of rose pink silk for compliment the flower print in her frock. 

I took in the sleeves and saved the little strips of fabric I took out of them to make the robings (the green ribbon-edged pieces on the sides of the gown bodice) They went very nicely together. There’s some hidden snaps under the robings for getting in/out of the gown, and it suited Maya like a dream!  

It also, weirdly, gave me the confidence for doing it large scale with my green robe anglaise. I’d long wanted to improve it, but I didn’t have the confidence to start. Practicing on a smaller model showed me I could do it if I was careful and planned it out. 

And, just for fun - Maya looks to be having no end of fun taking tea with Matilda and Beatrice (another doll I should introduce sometime...)

[urbiggestdaydream]

fear street: a review

happy spooky seasons babes!!! for every week in october, i'll be posting reviews on spooky movies and tv shows inspired by this Instagram post https://www.instagram.com/p/CUN2Xeth3N4/?utm_medium=copy_link attached in case you want any ideas for a spooky night in. this first review will be on the netflix original movie, fear street. one of my best friends is OBSESSED with this trilogy so it's dedicated to her. i told her someday i would watch it and today is the day :) 

fear street is a trilogy set around 1994, 1978, and 1666 respectively. for the sake of the review, i will be watching the first one. it runs for an hour and 47 mins and is rated r. the first opening line states, “it started as a prank and ended in murder” already intriguing. it sets the stage of a rebellious teenage age that could end in an accidentally murder or an supernatural circumstances that leads to murder. either one sounds good. i’m getting a little ahead of myself. the general plot is about a group of teens from the town of shadyville that try to rectify the brutal killings that plague their town. for more insight, keep on reading. it will contain major spoilers so you have been warned. 

SPOILER the movie begins with heather (maya hawke, a queen) who is working at a book store. a relatable girl with her “not like other girls” personality, she exchanges teasing banter with her friend, ryan who works near her. as the mall begins to close (named shadyside mall which serves as a foreshadow), she encounters the killer wearing a halloween skeleton mask. they wrestle around for a little bit and she is then killed afterwards. just when i started to like her. before her death, she unveils the killer and it is revealed as her friend ryan who she was just conversing with. 

the opening scene provides an inner look into shadyside and its reputation for being a murderous town. we are then told that this is a common thing. it has a neighboring town called sunnyvale. like the name suggests, it is the complete opposite. it is safe, wealthy and comfortable. it had a record breaking year of no violence as opposed to shadyside which is cursed with murders. it is dubbed “killer capital usa”. i wonder if this is used as a social commentary on how certain towns cannot be saved and are riddled with crime. but that is a discussion for another day. we are also given motifs of a witch being executed. could this be an illusion to events to come? 

we are met with a new protagonist named deena. deena is going through a breakup with someone named sam. she is heartbroken and resentful as sam is the reason she left band. we meet her friends, simon and kate, who are there to support her throughout the whole process and with that they discuss the current standing of their town with the recent murder of heather. a possible reason for the killings is considered: shadyside creates murders. certain people lose their breaking point and take it out on unsuspecting victims. it makes people go insane.

a town left in shambles once again. a candlelit vigil is held for the victims of the mall massacre hosted in sunnyvale. it is clear that the neighboring towns have animosity towards each other. it is giving pawnee vs. eagleton (shout out to parks and rec). with the rising tensions between them, a fight ensues with the two football teams. it is also revealed that the reason for sam and deena’s breakup is sam moving to sunnyvale. deena is displeased at her decision and i would be too but at the same time, i don’t blame sam. i would have left too if my life would be in danger just by being there. but that’s besides the point. enraged, everyone goes back to their respective homes with a few football players plus sam tormenting the shadyside team. several hyped up chants later, the shadyside team retaliate by throwing a cooler directed at the car. the car begins to swerve and hits a tree harming the people inside. grasping at life, sam begins to see visions which could be due to the accident, but it is assumed as the witch. 

now at home, deena sees the killer at her home and he also comes after kate. due to the events prior, they believe it is peter (one of the football players) and they visit the hospital where sam is held. deena goes on a rampage telling sam to control her psychotic boyfriend. however, peter was in the hospital the whole time and is killed right in front of their eyes thus disproving the theory. good riddance to him. they run away from him and getting away safely but like heather, they unveil him and it is revealed as the same person as before: ryan torres. they go to the police but they are disregarded because ryan was killed by sheriff goode when he killed heather. they decide to take this into their own hands. outside the station, simon encounters this girl that tries to kill him. josh, (deena’s brother) who has done research on the various shadyside killers, identifies the girl who tried to kill simon as ruby lane. the weird part is that ruby’s killings were over 30 years ago. the witch from the opening scenes, sarah fier, was executed in the 1600s (when the first shadyside killing was reported). these massacres are somehow all connected to her and it could be how normal people are suddenly becoming murderers because she is seeking revenge by inhibiting unsuspecting bodies. sam is her next victim as the killers are attracted to her blood and she is seeing the visions. they make a plan to kill kate to wane away the bad spirits and bring her back to life with an epipen. it works in the end, but simon and kate are eliminated in the process by the demons. 

the remaining survivors (deena, kate, and josh) go to the police and talk about their experiences. because they aren’t willing to give up information (which i don’t know the reason; i might have overlooked it), the murders are planted on the now deceased kate and simon. (a mild rant). what is bothering me about deena is that she didn’t properly mourn her friends killed in the crossfire. she’s so selfishly in love with kate that she completely disregarded her friends death. life just seems to be all good for her as if nothing happened because she got back together with sam. freaking josh seemed to care more than she did. he stood up for them in his online chat but deena? where’s the energy. she seemed to care a tiny bit with the police officer (because as she claimed drug use is a perfect example to blame since the two sold drugs) but not enough to clear the air about the murders. idk that just rubbed me the wrong way. 

deena and sam are back together and living their best life good for them (i’m so petty lmao) deena gets a call from c berman (the sole survivor of one of the past massacres). she tells her its a little too late for the phone call because they could have used her advice when they still were fighting the demons. berman tells her that it never goes away and sarah always comes back. we see sarah etching sam’s name under ryan torres on a gravestone. sam is now possessed with sarah’s spirit and attacks deena. she ties up sam and tells josh that she isn’t acting like herself and they need to save her. to be continued. END SPOILER. 

final thoughts: i like this. i get why this is popular.  i’m usually not the biggest horror movie fan because they are always so typical and kinda corny. however, something about this feels fresh and new. the idea of a possessed witch is nothing new but i don’t think i have heard about a witch seeking revenge on her execution by passing on her witchcraft for generations. a woman’s scorn. plus we got some teenage drama mixed into it to add more dimension. i like knowing that the story continues on because i like the direction this is going. dare i say it i would put it up with scream as part of my favorites in the horror movie genre. someday i will watch the next two. i definitely recommend this movie for horror movie fans. i will give it a 8/10. 

[voids-colourful-creations]

“Idly, Franziska noticed how their steps perfectly aligned with each other. That shouldn’t have made her heart flutter the way it did.“

Words: 1457 Rating: G Warnings: None Pairing: Franziska von Karma / Maya Fey Summary: Franziska is leaving the courtroom when Maya catches her attention. It's really a waste of her time to chat with her like this, but she just can't help herself.

Franziska sighed, stepping out of the lobby and heading towards the stairs. She had planned to leave the courtroom as soon as the case was over to prepare for the next, but instead paused, a glimpse of dark hair catching her eye.

Perhaps the hair shouldn’t be what caught her attention, what with the person it was attached to calling her name and sprinting at her as fast as someone wearing platform sandals could.

“Hey!” Maya called, waving an arm back and forth as she darted forward to meet Franziska’s slowing strides.

She finally caught up and matched pace, breathing heavily with a smile. Idly, Franziska noticed how their steps perfectly aligned with each other. That shouldn’t have made her heart flutter the way it did.

“Maya Fey.” Franziska didn’t quite make eye contact, but acknowledged her presence regardless.

“Hi Franziska!” Maya chirped, and yes, that was a good way to describe her, Franziska thought.  She reminded Franziska of a songbird. Carefree, curious, mischievous, yet elegant somehow… beautiful, even.

“So, you just left a trial?” Maya asked, leaning forward and tilting her head, her feet swinging out in front of her as she walked along.

Franziska nodded.

“Obviously.”

Maya tilted her head back, looking up at the courtroom’s ceiling.

“Nice, nice. How do you think it went?”

Franziska took a quick glance at the ceiling to see what was so interesting. Nothing really, but maybe Maya saw something she didn’t.

“I won, naturally,” Franziska responded. Something about her own voice seemed wrong to her.

“Congrats!” Maya cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

“It was an open and shut case. I’m not even sure why they wanted to call me in for it anyway…”

Maya tilted her head again.

“I mean maybe, but it’s still impressive! It must be hard doing so many trials after all!” She laughed to herself as she looked off. “Nick only takes like, five cases in a year and he’s still going gray over it! It’s kinda incredible you can do so much at once, haha!”

Franziska scoffed.

“Well, I am much more competent than that fool.”

She took a moment to think, wondering if the walk out of the courtroom had always been this long. Part of her wished it was longer, which she hastily buried.

Her tongue hesitated on her lips before she spoke again.

“Speaking of… that fool… where is he? I was under the impression you always stuck fairly close to him.”

Maya raised an eyebrow.

“Hm? Oh, Nick? Nah, he’s not here today, he’s back at the office, at least I think… He might have left for lunch?”

Now it was Franziska’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Really? What are you doing here if not to accompany him?”

Maya laughed.

“You know I have a life outside of Nick, right?”

Heat rose to Franziska’s cheeks.

“I-I knew that, naturally! I’ve simply never seen you without him not also being close by.”

Maya raised a finger to her lips.

“Hmm… I guess that’s true! It’s not like you really see us outside of investigations or trials. That’s kind of disappointing to be honest…”

“Disappointing?”

Maya sighed.

“Well… you know! Mr. Edgeworth and Nick are rivals and they hang out sometimes, and Nick texts him a lot, at least I think that’s Edgeworth, he always gets all flustered and defensive whenever I ask, but I don’t know who else he’d be texting and he gets this dumb smile on his face and-“ Maya cuts herself off. “Nick is gonna kill me if he finds out I told you any of this.”

Franziska made a mental note of Maya’s ramblings before speaking again.

“Well, if he does I suppose I would just have to find him guilty on your behalf.”

Maya smiled teasingly, her eyes shimmering with playful malice.

“Wow, you would do that for me? I guess you really do have a heart!”

Franziska spluttered some excuse out, but it was clear Maya wasn’t listening.

They continued walking a few more steps before Franziska spoke again.

“So, if not to watch Phoenix Wright, why did you sit in a trial?”

“Well I-“ Maya began before backtracking, “Wait, hold on a minute! How did you know I sat in a trial? I could’ve just been here for a book or something! How do you know I don’t just really like the food here?”

Franziska couldn’t help but let a smile sneak onto her face.

“You have some court confetti caught in your hair.”

Sure enough, the tiny multi colored scraps of paper clung to the thick, dark strands of Maya’s hair. The light caught onto the tips of the confetti as she stepped into and out of the reach of streams of light that flowed through the court house’s windows.

Maya laughed, reaching up to grab one off her head.

“So I do!”

She held the light blue piece of paper up to the light, squinting to look at it as if it were something much more valuable. She laughed once more, trailing off into a contented sigh.

“Yeah, I came to watch your trial, actually! Surprise! Bet you didn’t see me up there.”

The rhythmic clicking of Franziska’s heels halted as she stopped momentarily, stunned.

Maya stopped too, a few steps ahead, and turned to look back at Franziska.

“What? You okay?”

Franziska shook her head and kept walking, speeding up to meet Maya.

“I’m fine.”

Their steps matched. Again.

Franziska didn’t even take the time to regain her mental composure before she began to question Maya.

“Why on earth did you come to watch me? Are you trying to find flaws in my work to hold against me? It won’t work, my case was flawless-“

Maya interrupted, waving her hands about as she spoke.

“No, no, no!! Hang on a second, whoa, no! I didn’t come to like… sabotage you or something! That would be so weird! And mean too, who would do that?”

Franziska could think of a few people, but she kept her mouth shut.

“And I came to watch you because I wanted to? I mean anyone can just walk in and I hadn’t seen you in a while. Plus I didn’t have a way to contact you so…”

The gears in Franziska's brain turned at lightning speeds trying to comprehend the sheer madness behind Maya’s actions. Consistently, she got stuck on one thing.

Maya wanted to see me?

Franziska sighed, hoping it masked the whirlwind of broken logic and emotion swirling around in her mind as she spoke.

“Well, next time you want to contact me you don’t have to attend a trial. Just call me.”

Maya pouted.

“Well this was more fun! Plus, like I said before, I don’t have your number or anything…”

Impulsively, Franziska pulled a business card and pen out of her jacket pocket. Scribbling as best as she could while walking, she wrote down the digits of her cell’s number in admittedly still very neat handwriting and then shoved the paper in Maya’s direction before she had the sense to abandon the entire idea.

“There. Now you do.”

Maya oooh’d at the card, tilting it back and forth to see the shimmer of the ink, still wet.

“Did you just give me your cell phone number?”

Franziska coughed into her hand.

“The number that’s written is often busy and hardly ever checked. If you need me in an emergency, the number I’ve written will be more effective.”

Maya smirked.

“Looks like you should update your business cards then.”

Franziska refused to let her face or voice betray emotion.

“Looks like I should.”

As she spoke, the pair finally reached the doors to the courthouse entrance, swinging out to a single ray of setting sunlight shimmering through the clouds. Despite the gray skies, the world seemed to be cast in a warm, comforting light.

A car was waiting at the curb, and Franziska knew it was for her. The thought shouldn’t have made her feel as disappointed as it did.

“Well, looks like this is where we part!” Maya commented. “See you later!”

Franziska nodded, “Goodbye,” and walked towards the street.

She had only gotten one foot into the car when she heard Maya call out to her, one final time.

“Hey Franziska! You should know, there’s some confetti stuck in your hair too!”

Her voice carried, a bubbly sound, and when it reached Franziska’s ear she got the distinct feeling she would find herself playing it over again in her mind.

She didn’t respond and closed the door.

As the car began to rumble down the road, Franziska reached up to touch her hair, and found herself pulling out a violet scrap of paper.

She smiled.

“So there is.”

[The End]

[happyweddingblogs]

150 Best Engagement Quotes By Famous Personalities and Celebrities

Source: Happy Wedding App

You might need engagement quotes to beautify your Facebook and Insta posts; here, I am sharing with you 150+ timeless Engagement quotes given by famous personalities and celebrities. Take a look……

“Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.” ― Daniel H. Pink.

“I have an engagement ring, which is my favorite accessory.” — Jules Asner.

“I love you for all that you are, all that you have been, and all you’re yet to be.” — Unknown.

“When you have been just told that the girl you love is definitely betrothed to another, you begin to understand how Anarchists must feel when the bomb goes off too soon.” ― P.G. Wodehouse.

“I couldn’t have dreamed you into existence because I didn’t even know I needed you. You must have been sent to me.” ― Kamand Kojouri.

“…learning always occurs in a context of taking action, and they value engagement and experience as the most effective strategies for deep learning.” ― Richard DuFour.

To speak frankly, I am not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.” ― Oscar Wilde.

“I married a man who was as much a part of me as my own soul.” ― C.J. English.

“Between a man and his wife nothing ought to rule but love.” — William Penn

“Marriage is not kick-boxing, it’s salsa dancing.” ― Amit Kalantri.

“There are many blanks left in the weeks of courtship, which a loving faith fills with happy assurance.” ― George Eliot.

“It is wrong to think of marriage as hyped bondage. You can marry and still be happy. Everything rests on who you are married to. Marriage is a beautiful thing.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson.

“Student engagement is a product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing.” ― Elizabeth F. Barkley.

“And try not to make a habit of getting engaged in the first place, Vivie. It can lead to marriage if you’re not careful.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert.

“Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.” — Unknown.

“The success of love is in the loving; it is not in the result of loving.” – Mother Teresa.

“Give a man the finger; he’ll put a wedding ring on it!” ― Ljupka Cvetanova.

“My acronym for full-on engagement: ROAR, Return on Attendee Relevance” ― Andrea Driessen

“The highest happiness on earth is marriage.” — William Lyon Phelps.

“They had exchanged vows and tokens, sealed their rich compact, solemnized, so far as breathed words and murmured sounds and lighted eyes and clasped hands could do it, their agreement to belong only, and to belong tremendously, to each other.” ― Henry James.

“Love is not in the ring. Love is in the heart.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson.

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” — Nora Ephron.

“You Need To Gauge, To Engage.” ― Syed Sharukh

“Doubt thou the stars are fire; doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.” — William Shakespeare.

Related:  List of ideas for your Engagement party

“When you found someone you really loved, everything fitted.” ― Melissa Hill.

“It is sometimes essential for a husband and a wife to quarrel—they get to know each other better.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

“I’ve found someone who refuses to let me be anything but myself.” ― Hayley Paige.

“We start a relationship with someone not only because of how great they are but how great they make us feel. And because they have granted us this extraordinary gift—a chance to experience Love, joy, compassion, and security —it is our exclusive privilege to make them feel wonderful about themselves, especially during days when they, themselves, don’t feel so wonderful.” ― Kamand Kojouri.

“Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always.” — Dante Alighieri.

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness and call it Love—true Love.” — Robert Fulghum.

“Many people spend more time in planning the wedding than they do in planning the marriage.” — Zig Ziglar.

“I won’t give my heart to another girl until God shows me it’s my wife.” ― Eric Ludy

“The reason why women think men should spend a lot of money on an engagement ring is because women are the ones who get to clean up all the poop (stains and toilet bowl swirls included) that is provided by every family member living in the house until they die.” ― Heather Chapple.

“Engagement can be a commitment to love or a declaration of war. One must enter every battle without hesitation, willing to fully engage the enemy until death does you apart.” ― Emily Thorne.

“My forever.” ― Unknown

“To keep the fire burning brightly, there’s one easy rule: Keep the two logs together, near enough to keep each other warm and far enough apart—about a finger’s breadth—for breathing room. Good fire, good marriage, same rule.” — Marnie Reed Crowel

“Once you’ve found the right person, you just know.” ― Sophie Turner.

“A perfect couple shares their failures, mistakes and their successes equally and deals with them all as a team.” ― Ricardo Derose.

“How could I say no?” ― Unknown.

“Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.” — Barnett R. Brickner.

“Calm down, it isn’t a ring,” I laughed, and he pushed the box across the table to me, and I blushed and opened it.” ― Mercy Cortez.

“We’re engaged to be engaged, aren’t we?” ― E.D. Baker

“You don’t marry someone you can live with-you marry the person you cannot live without.” — Unknown.

“Marriage is not the beginning of the journey, nor the end – it is the journey.” ― Carew Papritz.

“He’s just the best person I’ve ever met in my whole life.” ― Jennifer Lawrence.

“His proposal was dedicated to his love for me and the future he wanted to build together.” ― Rachel Lindsay.

“My Constant.” ― Unknown

“He got down on one knee, and he’s like, ‘I forgot everything I’m supposed to say, but you’re my best friend.'” ― Hilary Duff.

“It was so sweet.” ― Hilary Duff.

Also See: 110 Most Romantic Wedding Couple Quotes

“Well, he is the best man I’ve ever met. He’s just everything to me.” ― Unknown.

“Here’s to a lifetime of friendship, purpose & unconditional love.” ― Bindi Irwin.

“I asked my best friend a question… and he said yes.” ― Unknown.

“We have the greatest pre-nuptial agreement in the world. It’s called Love.” — Gene Perret.

“Wherever you are, is my home, my only home.” — Jane Eyre.

“Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.” — Simone Signoret

“She said yes. Locking it down.” ― Alex Rodriguez.

“When he asked, I could not say NO.” ― Unknown.

“Engagement marks the end of a whirlwind romance and beginning of an eternal love story.” — Unknown.

“True love stories never have endings.” — Richard Bach.

“Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.” — Robert Browning.

“Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” — Franklin P. Jones.

“The countdown begins.” ― Unknown.

“We are not perfect; we learn from our mistakes. And as long as it takes, I will prove my Love to you.”— Sara Bareilles.

“It’s time to make things official.” ― Unknown.

“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” — Helen Keller.

“Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite.” ― Unknown.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; But it is the journey that matters, in the end.” — Ernest Hemingway.

“Every day is an engagement day for us.” ― Unknown.

“The secret of a happy marriage remains… a secret.” — Henny Youngman.

“25 days to go.” ― Unknown.

“I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul.” —Charles Dickens.

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes.

“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.” — Maya Angelou.

“You are my heart, my life, my one and only thought.” – Arthur Conan Doyle.

“And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you, and I’d choose you.” —Kiersten White.

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” — Aristotle.

“Love one another, and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.” — Micheal Leunig.

“It’s not your perfectness that I fell in Love with. It was your flaws that brought me in.” — Unknown.

“All commands from your lips are sweet, I say, and now have you not said the sweetest of all? Marry you!” — Byron Caldwell Smith.

“My whole heart for my whole life.” — French Proverb

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” — Emily Bronte.

“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.” — Albert Einstein.

“A marriage is like a long trip in a tiny rowboat; if one passenger starts to rock the boat, the other has to steady it; otherwise they will go to the bottom together.” — David Reuben.

“And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you, and I’d choose you.” — Kiersten White.

“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” – Ruth Bell Graham.

Related: 65+ Beautiful Wedding Album Quotes

“Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each includes the other, each is enriched by the other.” — Felix Adler.

“It is sometimes essential for a husband and a wife to quarrel—they get to know each other better.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.

“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they really are.” — Will Ferrell.

“Love is the longing for the half of ourselves we have lost.” — Milan Kundera.

“The disgusting way an engagement is regarded public property; all these older women smirking…but my point is their whole attitude is wrong— an engagement, horrid word in the first place, is a private affair and should be regarded as such.” — Daniel Day-Lewis.

“If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married.” — Katharine Hepburn.

“It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” — Rita Rudner

“We may have started as individuals, but now we are as one.” — Bryon Pulsifer.

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.” – A.A. Milne.

“Today, engagement parties still allow both families to meet each other if they haven’t done so before. Even if both sets of parents have met, it’s nice for siblings and other extended relatives to meet and mingle, so they are all acquainted with one another before the wedding.” — Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer.

“They say that marriages are made in heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.” — Clint Eastwood.

“Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.” — Barnett R. Brickner.

“Find the person who will love you because of your differences and not in spite of them, and you have found a lover for life.” — Leo Buscaglia.

“Courtship to marriage is a very witty prologue to a very dull play.” — William Congreve.

“It is the duty of the bride’s father to give a party to announce the Engagement. Apparently, this is done only after everyone knows about it.” — Spencer Tracy.

“Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight.” — Phyllis Diller.

“The best thing that the diamond ring could do; was to amicably occupy a place on the engagement finger.” — Nikhil Parekh.

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning. Your Love paints a beautiful picture of what Love really means.” — Unknown.

“You rose into my life like a promised sunrise, brightening my days with the light in your eyes. I’ve never been so strong. Now I’m where I belong.” — Maya Angelou.

“Engagement can be a commitment to love or a declaration of war. One must enter every battle without hesitation, willing to fully engage the enemy until death do you apart.” — Emily Thorne.

“It’s never out of style to have good manners. If possible, make the engagement announcement to the bride’s parents in person.” — Joyce Scardina-Becker.

“Love would never be a promise of a rose garden unless it is showered with light of faith, the water of sincerity and air of passion.” — Unknown.

“A perfect couple shares their failures, mistakes and their successes equally and deals with them all as a team.” — Ricardo Derose.

“Marriages don’t work when one partner is happy, and the other is miserable. Marriage is about both people being equally miserable.” – Forget Paris.

“In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.” — Mignon McLaughlin.

“I won’t give my heart to another girl until God shows me it’s my wife.” — Eric Ludy.

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.” — Antoine.

“You rose into my life like a promised sunrise, brightening my days with the light in your eyes. I’ve never been so strong. Now I’m where I belong.” — Maya Angelou.

“Although somewhat outdated, the use of formal announcement cards is a beautiful and elegant way to spread the word of your engagement.” — Joyce Scardina-Becker.

“Many people spend more time in planning the wedding than they do in planning the marriage.” — Zig Ziglar.

“If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.” — Michelle Hodkin.

Also See: 111 Best Wedding Anniversary Wishes for Friends

“I would rather not be engaged. When people are engaged, they begin to think of being married soon…and I should like everything to go on for a long while just as it is.” — George Eliot.

“If you tell me you love me, I might not believe you, but if you show me you do, then I will.” — Unknown

“An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she feels that may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done.” — Jane Austen.

“An engagement should come upon a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant as the case may be. It is hardly a matter she could be allowed to arrange for herself.” — Edith Evans.

“For a marriage to be a success, every woman and every man should have her and his own bathroom. The end.” — Catherine Zeta-Jones.

“Let us be together for the rest of our lives; I will assure you that, starting from this engagement.” — Unknown.

“Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is a conversation.” — Oscar Wilde.

“I choose you, and I’ll choose you. Over and over and over without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat, I’ll keep choosing you.” — Unknown.

“For it was not into my ear, you whispered but into my heart.” — Judy Garland.

“The only gift is a portion of thyself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“We may have started as individuals, but now we are as one.” — Bryon Pulsifer.

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” — Carl Jung.

“He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began.” — Leo Tolstoy.

“To love and to be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” — David Viscott.

“I promise to take care of you when you are old, but the first time you hit me with your cane, I’ll wash your dentures in toilet water.” – Unknown.

“No engagement is worth anything unless it has been broken at least once.” — Dorothy Tutin.

“There are many blanks left in the weeks of courtship, which a loving faith fills with happy assurance.” — George Eliot.

“Each time you happen to me all over again.” – Edith Wharton

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” — Ernest Hemingway.

“Love is not blind—it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.” — Rabbi Julius Gordon.

“Without you, I’m nothing, with you I’m something, but together we are everything.” — Unknown.

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” — Audrey Hepburn.

“I try to remember, as I hear about friends getting engaged, that it’s not about the ring and it’s not about the wedding. It’s a grave thing, getting married. And it’s easy to get swept up in the wrong things.” — Gwyneth Paltrow.

“I feel like this is the beginning, though I’ve loved you for a million years.” — Stevie Wonder.

“What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life—to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories!” – George Eliot

“A relationship is like a house when a light bulb burns out you do not go and buy a new house, but you fix the light bulb.” — Unknown.

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.” — Antoine.

“My instinct is to keep my engagement ring. After all, I wouldn’t like to see it on the finger of a cheeky girl.” — Sian Lloyd.

“Engagement is the time when you have a clear view of how wonderful your coming life will be. So try to get the best vision of a great and wonderful future waiting for you.” — Unknown.

“Love doesn’t make the world go round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” — Franklin P. Jones.

“If I had a single flower for every time, I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden.” — Claudia Adrienne Grandi.

“All commands from your lips are sweet, I say, and now have you not said the sweetest of all? Marry you!” — Byron Caldwell Smith.

“For you see, each day I love you more, today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.” — Rosemonde Gerard.

“I love you and that’s the beginning and end of everything.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald.

“You are my answered prayer because you are more than a giver in many aspects—a giver of Love, hope, and happiness. You are a great giver in your own peerless ways.” — Unknown.

“I love you’ means that I accept you for the person that you are and that I do not wish to change you into someone else. It means that I will love you and stand by you even through the worst of times. It means loving you even when you’re in a bad mood or too tired to do the things I want to do. It means loving you when you’re down, not just when you’re fun to be with. ‘I love you’ means that I know your deepest secrets and do not judge you for them, asking in return that you do not judge me for mine. It means that I care enough to fight for what we have and that I love you enough not to let go. It means thinking of you, dreaming of you, wanting and needing you constantly, and hoping you feel the same way for me.” — Deanne Laura Gilbert.

Everyone has an addiction; mine just happens to be you.” — Unknown.

Use these beautiful Engagement quotes to write wonderful F.B. and Insta posts to announce the great news to the world.

[snow-white-shadow]

My SU 30 Days Challenge... all in the final day!

This took me so long and no one’s gonna read it anyway

1) FAVOURITE GEM

Peridot, Spinel and Pearl.

2) FAVOURITE HUMAN

If Steven doesn’t count, then Connie and Pink!Lars (is he even human anymore???)

3) AN UNDERRATED CHARACTER WHO YOU LIKE

Cat Steven. Yes, Cat Steven.

4) FAVOURITE FUSION

Excluding Garnet, who is her own complex character…

I absolutely love Obsidian! Their design is awesome, they’re badass and the fusion of the four (five) protagonist… and I loved the way they created their weapon: open mouth full of lava, insert hilt, forge HUGE sword!

5) A FUSION YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN

A LAPIDOT FUSION, GOD DAMN IT!!

6) THE CHARACTER WHO YOU FIND THE MOST RELATABLE

Peridot, because I also fangirl/get obsessed over things to the point of exasperating people. Also Pearl because I’m a a ISTJ Virgo who most likely has OCD.

7) FAVOURITE PET OR ANIMAL

Cat Steven, again (and here’s why). Sorry, Lion: I love you, but I like my feline small and stereotype-breaking

8) FAVOURITE SHIP

L A P I D O T. Also Spinearl (Spinel x Pink Pearl)

9) FAVOURITE SONG

“Other Friends”, “It’s Over, Isn’t It?” and “Here Comes a Thought”

10) FAVOURITE SEASON 1 EPISODE

Future Vision, Rose’s Scabbard and Jailbreak

11) FAVOURITE SEASON 2 EPISODE

Log Date 7 15 2 and The Answer

12) FAVOURITE SEASON 3 EPISODE

Too Short To Ride and Mr Greg

13) FAVOURITE SEASON 4 EPISODE

Last One Out Of Beach City

14) FAVOURITE SEASON 5 EPISODE

Change Your Mind, A Single Pale Rose and Can’t Go Back

15) FAVOURITE EPISODE OF SU FUTURE

In Dreams, I Am My Monster, Volleyball and Snow Day

16) A SCENE THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH

Any scene where Peridot makes or say a funny thing is a goldmine

17) A SCENE THAT MAKES YOU CRY

The ending of I Am My Monster, when Steven has a liberating cry at long last, surrounded by everyone he loves: Zach Callison’s voice acting was *chef’s kiss*

18) FAVOURITE LOCATION IN THE SHOW

Steven’s house

19) MOST MEMORABLE QUOTE

“Oh my stars, I TOUCHED [the Rejuvenator]! I could have lost all my character development!” – Peridot (SU The Movie)

I love that quote because 1) fourth wall breaking joke and 2) it makes my mom laugh so hard because it took her forever to like Peridot  - and hours of me explaining to my mom why Peridot is the most beautifully developed character in SU (you know that “Me Explaining X – My Mom” meme? That’s it, that’s me and my mom with Peridot as the topic)

20) WHO WOULD BE YOUR DIAMOND?

Blue Diamond. I just think she’s neat – and the only Diamond I don’t dislike.

21) A GEMSTONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN AS A CHARACTER

We’ve finally seen what Morganite looks like in the Steven Universe: End Of An Era artbook

22) FAVOURITE CORRUPTED GEM DESIGN

…Does Kaiju Steven count? I’m not too fond of corrupted Gems’ designs

23) AN UNASWERED QUESTION OR MYSTERY YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN ANSWERED

The fuck was in that chest inside Lion’s mane???

24) THE MOST SURPRISING PLOT TWIST

I actually joined the fandom right after Season 5 ended, so, because of Internet, I (sadly) knew more-or-less all about the biggest plot twists.

So I’m gonna say Spinel and her backstory.

25) FAVOURITE STORYBOARDER

As long as they don’t make Peridot a tiny gremlin with huge hair and Pearl’s nose too long and pointed, I don’t care much. 

But I did love the storyboard for In Dreams (so I guess Etienne Guignard and Maya Petersen – despite the latter’s… questionable attempts to first say “I love Amedot, Amedot is canon!” and then “You know what? Peridot is actually aroace” *cue fire in the fandom* - I’m still not over the “Peridot is aroace” Drama in the Peridot tag after their statement)

Note that I don’t have anything against either Amedot or aroace Peridot. It’s just the fandom’s reactions that are... wild, to say the least - and Maya couldn’t not have known that after 5 seasons and a Movie.

26) FAVOURITE ACTOR

Deedee Magno Hall for the series as a whole (she can go from maternal to hysterical to sad to singing like an angel). 

Sarah Stiles for The Movie (you can really feel the crazy, sad, toony tone in her voice and Other Friends is a BOP). 

Zach Callison for both The Movie and Future (the desperation in his voice was incredible!)

27) FAVOURITE GEM WEAPON OR POWER

Power – Shapeshifting (I’m lame and unoriginal, I know)

Gem Weapon – Uhh… Obsidian’s huge sword?

28) OVERRAL FAVOURITE SEASON

Both Future and Season 5

29) FAVOURITE PIECE OF MERCHANDISE

I love her so much!

30) FAVOURITE MEMORY OF THE SHOW OR FANDOM

Since I’ve been in the fandom for a very short time (I’ve discovered the series too late), I say everyone losing their shit at Spinel and basically adopting her.

[beevean]

逆転裁判　逆転姉妹 Part 5 (開廷 1)

This part goes from April May giving her first testimony to the end of the trial. Here’s the first part of the trial, and here’s the first part of the entire case.

Sorry if this post is a little longer than others, but I managed to find very interesting things :D

1) Small difference. If you keep pressing April on her first statement Edgeworth will eventually come in and say to Phoenix “Mr. Wright! I will not have you badgering my witness!”. In Japanese he’s more insulting, saying “Defense! I want you to stop this despicable/cowardly conduct!” (“弁護人！卑劣な行為はやめてもらいたい！”)

2) I vaguely referenced it in previous posts, but now I can confirm: April is more “kawaii desu ne” in the Japanese version (for example she talks in third person, elongates vowels at the end, and sometimes uses childish words), and only slightly sexual, while in the English version it’s flipped and she’s much more sexually charged - a small example is how they replaced stars ★ with *wink*. It makes sense considering the different values in the two cultures - in Japan cuteness more appealing than sexiness, and it’s the other way around in the West. The English version put a lot more jokes regarding her, for example her being called “a big far liar” and taking offense only to being called “fat”.

3) Instead of asking “which hand do I hold my knife with”, April asks which hand does she hold chopsticks in. Of course :P

4) Another small difference that I liked. In English, Phoenix says, in response to the Judge asking him to withdraw his question, “But questions are all I have!”, while in Japanese he says “This method is my weapon!”. I like both versions, the English one flows better while the Japanese one highlights how asking questions is Phoenix’s most important asset in the courtroom.

5) If you mistakenly say that April couldn’t have heard the clock from the hotel, in English Edgeworth says “Without [proof], you have nothing. You ARE nothing.” In Japanese he doesn’t insult Phoenix at all, besides calling him rookie. (I guess it’s to compensate for calling him despicable earlier)

6) When Phoenix reveals Maya’s cellphone in court, and Edgeworth gets furious and mutters that he will cut Gumshoe’s salary for his incompetence, Phoenix thinks to himself “My heart goes out to you, Edgeworth. Not.” In Japanese, he simply says “Oh dear, poor thing” (“おやおや、かわいそうに...”), which might be about Gumshoe himself? It’s another case of the English version taking an ambiguous like and translating it to paint Phoenix as more antagonistic towards Edgeworth.

7) This has just been bothering me: the last time April snaps on the stand, she says “Shut up, all of you! What gives you the right to talk to ME like that! You... you LAWYER!”. In Japanese, at the end she says “このタコがぁ！” and... for the life of me I can’t understand the meaning. Does タコ here stand for “octopus”? “Kite”? “Callus”? What slang am I missing??

8) This one threw me for a loop. The GBA version of the game lacks a lot of dialogue compared to the DS port - and therefore the English version - after you ask April if she is the killer or why did she use the wiretap.

if you choose the first option, as soon as Phoenix asks if she did it, April says that at the time of the incident she was getting room service and they can try asking the bellboy, the Judge asks for Phoenix’s next course of action, and then you have to choose whether you want to call the bellboy or keep cross-examining April.

if you choose the second option, the dialogue immediately jumps from the Judge saying “While this court does not condone the defense's tone of speech, he has a point. Well, Miss May? Do you have an explanation for the court?” to April explaining her alibi like above.

In the DS version, there are extra tidbits like April insulting Phoenix, her accidentally revealing she used the wiretap, her guessing what Phoenix was thinking about her and swearing she can prove her innocence, or her saying that she asked for iced coffee and then explaining what it is (plus a bit of a joke where Phoenix repeats in hiragana the English nouns April says in katanaka, because I guess in Japan back in 2001 iced coffee wasn’t well know yet).

This surprised me because up to this point, there haven’t been significant differences in structure! Especially not between GBA and DS! I wonder why they felt the need to do this, and how much they re-wrote the script for the DS port.

8) The infamous “Objection! That was... objectionable!” is in Japanese “Objection! I raise an objection right away!”, with the Judge replying “Objection overruled right away”. とりあえず can mean “right away”, “for the time being”, “first of all” or “at once”, and every one of these options make Edgeworth sound delightfully awkward

9) At the very end of the trial, Edgeworth, instead of saying “T-these accusations are... ludicrous!” (because Phoenix just rubbed in his face how he manipulated the bellboy’s testimony), says “I cannot believe this”, which can either mean “I cannot believe these accusations” or, as I think, “I cannot believe I’ve been upstaged by this amateur”, which would mean that at least my boy is honest with his dishonesty. He also stops calling Phoenix キミ and uses キサマ, because he hasn’t been rude enough apparently.

Enjoy you boob-bouncing nightmares.

襲う　（おそう）　to attack

��っちゃい　tiny, person with poor character

攻撃　（こうげき）　attack, assault

止め　（とどめ）　finishing blow

ぐったり　 limply, listlessly

それだけ　 no more than that. that is all

疑問　（ぎもん）　doubt, suspicion

ほぼ　almost

弟子　（でし）　pupil, apprentice

粗　（あら）　 flaw, fault, defect​

卑怯　（ひきょう）　coward

どうやら　 possibly, apparently

弱点　（じゃくてん）　weak point

何気ない　（なにげない）　 casual, unconcerned, nonchalant

逸らかす　（はぐらかす）　to dodge

探りを入れる　（さぐりをいれる）　to probe, to investigate

突っ込む　（つっこむ）　 to delve into (a matter),   to press (someone) about

きっかけ　 excuse, motive

卑劣　（ひれつ）　 mean, foul, cowardly

行為　（こうい）　act

すらっと　slender, slim

体型　（たいけい）　figure, body shape

完全に　（かんぜん）　completely, perfectly

ありえない　impossible, improbable

先ほど　（さきほど）　a short while ago

しかたない　it’s no use

反省　（はんせい）　 regret, remorse

参る　（まいる）　 to be defeated

いけない　 wrong, must not do​

とってつけたよう　 out of place, forced, faked

取り上げる　（とりあげる）　to pick up

しんみり　quiet, solemn

遂に　（ついに）　finally, at last​

尻尾を掴む　（しっぽをつかむ）　 to have something on someone, to catch someone out (lit.: to catch the tail)

教え込む　（おしえこむ）　to train to, to give an idea to

口走る　（くちばしる）　to blurt out

目くらまし　（めくらまし）　distraction​, deceptive means

却下　（きゃっか）　rejection, dismissal

意義　（いぎ）　objection

納得する　（なっとく）　to agree, to consent

新人　（しんじん）　rookie

直接関係　（ちょくせつかんけい）　direct relation

切り替える　（きりかえる）　 to change, to exchange

空っぽ　（からっぽ）　empty, hollow

嘘つき　（うそつき）　liar

楽しませる　（たのしませる）　to amuse, to delight, to entertain

抜き取る　（ぬきとる）　to pull out

何やら　（なにやら）　some kind of

見落とす　（みおとす）　to overlook, to fail to notice

ぶつぶつ　grumble, complaint, mutter

筋が通る　（すじがとおる）　to make sense

保険する　（ほけん）　to safekeep, to keep in custody

どうだっていい　 not worth worrying about, trivial​

とっとと　 at once, right away

死刑　（しけい）　death penalty

冷静　（れいせい）　 calmness, composure

マジ切れ　（まじぎれ）　being truly angry​

傑作　（けっさく）　masterpiece, funny mistake

大失敗　（だいしっぱい）　massive failure

話にならない　（はなしにならない）　 not worth considering, out of the question

ごく　quite

要求する　（ようきゅう）　to demand

気安い　（きやすい）　relaxed, familiar

話しかける　（はなしかける）　to address someone

素顔　（すがお）　real face, face with no make-up

止めを刺す　（とどめをさす）　 to finish off, to deliver the coup de grace​

無関係　（むかんけい）　unrelated

物凄い　（ものすごい）　extreme, incredible

寒い　（さむい）　 uninteresting, lame, dull

条件　（じょうけん）　condition, term

飲む　（のむ）　to accept a condition

崩す　（くずす） to destroy, to demolish

材料　（ざいりょう）　material, evidence

自動的　（じどうてき）　automatic

いかにも　indeed

招待　（しょうたい）　invitation

畏まる　（かしこまる）　to obey respectfully

きっかり　precisely, punctually

お仕舞い　（おしまい）　the end, being done for​

管理　（かんり）　management (of a business)

気取る　（きどる）　 to affect, to act like (something one isn’t)

目を付ける　（めをつける）　to have an eye on, to zero in on

念を押す　（ねんをおす）　to make sure of, to emphasize

接吻　（せっぷん）　kiss

ホの字　（ほのじ）　the L-word*

印象付ける　（いんしょうづける）　to impress someone, to leave an impression

ご苦労様　（ごくろうさま）　I appreciate your efforts

食い下がる　（くいさがる）　 to refuse to back down, to persist

時点　（じてん）　point in time

言い分　（いいぶん）　one’s point​, objection, excuse

痺れる　（しびれる）　 to become numb,  to get an electric shock, to be mesmerized

取っ捕まる　（とつかまる）　to be caught

いい気味　（いいきみ）　 serves you right, it’s what you deserve

* basically the bellboy says that April might have given him a kiss because of “the L-word”, too shy to admit he thought she fell in love with him.

[zayadriancas]

Bughead, Veggie, Kevin/Moose, Clannah, Justin/Jessica, Tony/Caleb, Jaitlin, Janny, Spemma, Jellie, Imogeli, Cake, Frankston, Zasha, Mola, Shiny, Shawngela, Rucas, Charlie/Riley, Drianca & Zaya

Thank you! :)

Bughead: They’re definitely one of my favorite Riverdale Ships. I love how supportive they are of each other and I think they have the strongest connection on the show. I think Season 4 has made me love them even more. The writers I think write this ship the best because they just keep getting better. I just wish Jughead would come back to Riverdale because the Stomewall story is getting kind of boring IMO and it’s done more harm for him than good, but I’m glad him and Betty haven’t been affected by the distance. In fact I think they’ve gotten stronger. Not much else to say lol other than they’re super adorable and I love them :)

Veggie: They had great chemistry and I didn’t mind it as a temporary thing, but it was clear Veronica wasn’t as invested in the relationship. If both of them had been fine with just friends with benefits it would have been fine but it was clear Reggie wanted more than that. It sucks that it seemed to ruin their friendship since the one scene they’ve had this season was Veronica questioning Reggie on doing something (I don’t remember what exactly) in the episode we find out about his abuse. Oh they had a scene with Archie and Munroe too but they don’t really seem to be friends anymore and that’s a shame but maybe that will change.

Kevin/Moose: This was my favorite Kevin pairing and it sucks that it ended as soon as they got closer, like all of Kevin’s relationships. I didn’t like the Kevin kind of making him feel bad about not being out of the closet but i know he just felt like Moose wasn’t serious about him, he wasn’t trying to be pushy or hurtful. Anyway I wish that Moose went back to Riverdale instead of the other school, at least he had friends there that could have supported him and he wouldn’t be made to feel like he had to leave.

Clannah: I really only liked them in season 1. They had a couple cute scenes in season 2 but mostly the writing for them was really bad in s2 and I saw you said the same thing in your answer and I agree about Clay putting her on a pedestal and then acting irrationally when she didn’t live up to his “perfect” image of her. It’s what made me dislike Clay in season 2. Guys like Zach and Justin definitely were flawed but they didn’t hold Hannah to that ridiculous standard or judge her. I do sympathize with Clay having a hard time coping with her death but that still didn’t excuse his behavior.

Justin/Jessica: I feel guilty for shipping them for obvious reasons and they’re definitely problematic but it’s clear that they love each other and Justin never wanted to hurt her. He handled things awfully but it wasn’t because he was evil like Bryce. He did deserve consequences and I wouldn’t have blamed Jessica if she never forgave him but she did and since then he’s made her happy. Honestly it’s mostly season 3 that I ship them, but I didn’t dislike them before that even though I definitely acknowledged that Justin fucked up.

Tony/Caleb: They’re super cute. I don’t have many strong feelings but I’m glad Tony found someone that makes him happy and has been a good support system for him.

Jaitlin: I LOVE THEM. I really need to rewatch DJH and DH. They’re super sweet and I will never forgive the writers for what they did to them. Well actually I blame Kevin Smith more because apparently he got to help write that episode and he had a crush on Stacie, so. Anyway, I definitely believe Joey and Caitlin belonged together. They had so much history and they made each other so happy. I don’t have much else to say but they deserved their happy ending.

Janny: I really like them together. I do think they could have had better build up/development but they worked despite their differences and Jay definitely treated Manny the best out of all her boyfriends. I liked the softer side she brought out in Jay. I’m glad they were endgame :)

Spemma: Lol what’s funny is they actually could have worked if they had build up. Not as a marriage unless they had been a thing since the beginning but as a couple they wouldn’t have been terrible if it wasn’t so random and rushed. At least it’s confirmed that it was a mistake and I believe they were only still married in NC as a joke to piss us off. But yeah it was nice that they made each other happy and like if they had just hooked up in the movie as a rebound for Spinner and maybe had a friends with benefits type thing that would have made sense. Or if they started dating in season 7 or 8 and were endgame but NOT married then fine. But I’ve literally never seen a much more rushed couple on the show and that’s saying something.

Jellie: I’m assuming this is Jimmy/Ellie. They were cute but I wasn’t the biggest fan of Jimmy and I didn’t like that Ellie was rude to Hazel especially since she didn’t even like Jimmy back. I would have much rather had them get together instead of Jesse/Ellie(the inferior Jellie lol), and rather them instead of Jimash getting together again, but I didn’t really care about them either way.

Imogeli: They had great chemistry and I liked their friendship, but Eli treated Imogen awfully in the first half of season 11 and during their short lived relationship in the second half and I’m glad they realized they were better as friends. I still like them better than Eclare though lol.

Cake: They’re really cute, I didn’t ship them but I had no problem with their relationship, especially after rewatches because I didn’t really like the way Clare was written the first time I watched s11. I hate that the writers hard on for Eclare fucked up this relationship. Even though I didn’t ship them at least they were healthy and happy and Jake was actually a good guy. If they had just broken up then fine it happens but their parents clearly only got married so they couldn’t get back together, so they could go back to Eclare and nothing will convince me otherwise.

Frankston: They were really cute in season 13, but Winston became such a asshole in season 14, first with being the blackmailer (sure he said it was doing it to help Frankie but it just made things worse) and then cheating on her, and with her best friend of all people, and had no intention of telling her and made Lola feel like it was her fault. And then basically calling Frankie crazy for not trusting him right away. The Logan thing I can understand being upset but not only did Frankie not actually cheat but she was actually honest about it. But Winston said what she did was “worse”. Fuck him, it’s not like she planned on falling for Logan who just used her, she was genuinely just trying to be a good friend at first. So yeah I’m glad Frankie didn’t take him back in Next Class, he may have been nicer but she still deserves better.

Zasha: I really like them. I’m glad Zoe found someone who loves her for who she is and has her as a first choice. They’re super sweet and adorable and I’m glad they were endgame. I still wish Gracevas could have happened instead, but at least Zoe was able to find someone after that mess of a storyline.

Mola: I really like them. The only thing I don’t like is Miles cheating on Tristan, and Miles telling her to take the bus was really harsh. And not seeing him reach out after he found out she had an abortion was fucked. I don’t think he meant to hurt her though and he did apologize for how everything happened. But other than that I think Miles and Lola were actually a good match. It was just bad timing. I wish they could have at least talked once in season 4.

Shiny: I really love them. They’re super sweet and adorable together and I’m glad they were written much better in season 4 because I was disappointed how they were written in season 3. I didn’t really expect them to have sex but Tiny was super sweet. I’m glad they were endgame, sadly they probably wouldn’t have been if the show had continued, I guess that’s one good thing about it lol :P

Shawngela: They were adorable! I don’t have many thoughts (I need to rewatch BMW too lol) but I definitely think they were a great match and it’s sad they didn’t get a happy ending, I definitely think they deserved it. One thing I didn’t like though is how they repeatedly compared their relationship to Cory and Topanga, like they were their own relationship they didn’t need to be like anyone else. But other than that I did like them a lot together.

Rucas: They were my favorite GMW ship, they were super adorable and I’m mad the writers neglected their relationship when they finally got together. They wasted so much time on the “triangle” with Maya that was stupid and pointless. Like as much as I loved Rucas the show shouldn’t have revolved around all that, like BMW had two major relationships(3 if you count Cory/Eric’s parents) with a few minor ones here and there that never meant anything, and none of them ever had love triangles (except Cory/Lauren/Topanga but that lasted like 3 episodes and wasn’t dragged on for half a season). I get GMW was geared to a younger audience but it still wasn’t necessary. But I still do like Rucas and still think they’re sweet even though I don’t care about the show anymore.

Charlie/Riley: Weird. Pointless. Unnecessary. Like they are so irrelevant I literally do not even have any other way to describe them lmao.

Drianca: 😍😍😍. My 2nd favorite ship of all time! My babies!!!! I love their build up, their chemistry, how much they love and care about each other and the lengths they went to protect each other ❤️❤️❤️ Drew helped Bianca get her life back on track and was there for her when she had no one. They were always super happy together and SCREW THE WRITERS FOR BREAKING THEM UP. I get people move on and that long distance sometimes puts those things in perspective, but they were doing just fine!!!! Like maybe Alicia couldn’t come back to the show but they were doing long distance just fine. Maybe if they didn’t stretch the seniors year out for 80 years they could have graduated in s13 and they could have been endgame. But nooo they just had to give Drew unnecessary relationships that just dragged down his character!!!! Like Clew was fine but they didn’t even happen for real and then Drew got screwed over by her mistaking the baby as his and ugh!!!! Anyway, I love Drianca so much, everything about them is amazing and they were made for each other ❤️❤️❤️ and they’re back together now the writers can’t do shit about that :)

Zaya: MY BABIES😍😍😍 my first favorite ship of all time! Their build up was AMAZING AND WORTH THE WAIT👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 They have amazing chemistry, a beautiful friendship, they clearly love each other to pieces, they never gave up on each other even when they were with other people, and that gross NC storyline only happened because the writers hated Zig for whatever reason. That never would have happened otherwise!! Zaya is just, beautiful. Season 14 was amazing because of them. Season 4/18 did a great job bringing them back together. I’m sad they didn’t kiss but oh well, WE GOT PROM ZAYA AND CUDDLY ZAYA AND THEY SAID THEY ALWAYS PICTURED GOING TO PROM TOGETHER LIKE 😍😍😍. So yeah fuck the haters ZAYA IS BEAUTIFUL ZAYA IS AMAZING AND ZAYA IS ENDGAME!!!!!

[scarlettlawyer]

Next attempt: Shelly de Killer and Pearl Fey!

Shelly de Killer:

- I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

- favorite thing about them: THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF ELEGANCE AND MURDER. HE’S JUST SO GREAT!!! I love the aura of absolute calm and aesthetic interlaced with imminent threat. Well, not absolute calm. He can certainly lose his patience. But he's not really one to raise his voice. It’s a quiet and terrifying anger if invoked. The veneer of calm is part of the gentleman aesthetic; the hint of anger is the imminent threat. Outside of his being angry, however, it’s still the same: even if he’s not angry at you, his mere job makes him intimidating. That’s inescapable. But his polite demeanour is still there. The combination of those things is fantastic. He will kill you if he must but damn if he isn’t going to do it in style.

- least favorite thing about them: I actually did have a reply to this come to mind, possibly connected to AAI2, and yet it slipped away shortly thereafter and now I cannot recall it, and after losing the actual reply I had I’ve honestly sat here struggling to come up with something. Like there were moments when I enjoyed his character a bit less, but... Hard to just list off a least favourite thing from that.

- ship(s): ...Oldbag. You have done this; you have planted this idea in the mind of my friend and I. Like okay I don’t actually ship it in canon OR in your fic, but the thought of it is so out there, and therefore amusing. And then my friend came up with this amazing JFA au running with the idea so, I do “ship” it specifically in the context of her au ahahaha. I love my friend’s idea of... him liking her and her not really being aware of it? Because it’s a reversal of what’s usually the case in canon. Let a guy be interested in her for once and have her be unaware of it. XD

Also just gonna tack this fic-related message(s) on randomly too but FOR CONTEXT TO BE FAIR THIS WAS before I read the ending which actually does address the death of Wendy’s husband and before the actual dynamic between Oldbag, Shelly and Benny had been elaborated on by the story:

(I ACTUALLY MEANT IN THE SENSE OF HAVING BEEN HIRED BY SOMEONE TO KILL MR OLDBAG BUT THEN MY FRIEND WAS LIKE “HOW DO I MAKE THIS ABOUT THE SHIP” LOL). Okay but maybe Mr Oldbag could have been an important figure in an au that someone would have reason to assassinate 🤔 :P

- BROTP(s): I guess Sirhan Dogen is the main candidate for this, although I haven’t thought about their interactions too much!

- NOTP(s): I don’t think I’ve really seen any Shelly shipping haha...

- Game/case where I like them more: Gonna go with standard JFA case for this one, but AAI2 case 1 is also just really awesome. Particularly the whole hostage thing to help Edgeworth’s investigation out.

- Random headcanon: Not headcanons about the character himself but rather in relation to him; I like to imagine how scandalised Phoenix would be if he heard that yes, Shelly de Killer, that guy Edgeworth and law enforcement at large are so intent on apprehending? The guy who kidnapped Maya? Edgeworth totally spoke kinda casually with the guy a bunch of times, and was even assisted by Shelly (you could even stretch this to perhaps argue that he COOPERATED with Shelly). Even saw Shelly face to face during AAI2 and had a chat with him. Well, yes, context, but... :P Especially without context, Phoenix would not be pleased. Not that Edgeworth would readily offer up this information to him. I think Edgeworth is in a slightly awkward position with regards to Shelly post-AAI2, at least slightly more than before, given how much help Shelly was and now having actually interacted with him in person.

Another thing I was thinking of recently is that... I think that there could be a very secretive and select group of individuals working for law enforcement SPECIFICALLY dedicated to trying to arrest Shelly and gathering as much info as possible. A highly skilled and dedicated team of say 5-10 people, and all of the information they deal with, and about them, is absolutely top secret. The group itself is secret, even, because this is dangerous work. They’re all about trying to track him down, analysing all the data they’ve gathered, you name it. Not that they have much success. But they would also over time probably veer more towards less conventional methods. Delving deeper into the criminal underworld for information, going undercover... Honestly? The closest they might come to actually getting a hold of the guy in person... is to go undercover as a client. Finding out how to hire him. It’s an awfully dangerous game they would be playing and their covers would have to be airtight.

- Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t sure how I felt about him sparing Simon. I really gotta replay AAI2, get my thoughts in order. This ties in with the “least favourite” question but I wasn’t too sure about the whole thing where Simon was considered to have broken the bond of trust for not saying it was a double and yeah I just gotta, replay the game haha. But... if a client normally recounts the ENTIRETY of the circumstances to him, expected not to leave anything out, as opposed to a simple “I want this person dead”, then I suppose that makes sense....Actually, wrong question for this but I’ll add it as a headcanon anyway: when Shelly meets with a client, part of establishing that bond of trust is kind of like the client “confiding” everything thoroughly to him, like telling a story of everything connected to, and culminating in the assassination request. He wants to know not only the who, but the why. What’s the client’s connection to and history with the target? Was there a time when they got along, were they always enemies? Is it just a political or corporate matter? It’s not about justification - Shelly doesn’t care how “justified” a client is and he certainly doesn’t judge. He just listens. None of the added information is necessary to complete the job, but divulging so much information is a demonstration of trust and helps make it clear this person is real with motivations and not an undercover person trying to arrest him or something like that. It’s also kind of an added bonus to get to hear some of the tales of intrigue that result from such meetings with clients. In the context of something like this, omitting the fact that the “president” was a double is a very serious offense.

I was gonna go on another tangent but this is already long enough lol.

----

Pearl Fey

- I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

(I do love her! Just not with as much intensity as some of the other characters this series has).

- favorite thing about them: She is adorable incarnate, she is strong, and very cute

- least favorite thing about them: The fact that she was not allowed to grow as a character at all post-timeskip. I have so many complaints about older!Pearl. They took a ~17 year old character and forced her into the exact same role and characterisation as a ~nine year old! She is restricted and kept the same, and it feels deeply unnatural and kind of uncomfortable to me. The whole thing around her height too, like... why did they go out of their way to make her so short and tiny? To reinforce that we are still supposed to see her as a 9 year old? I love trilogy Pearl, I love her so much, but I find older Pearl so boring and so uninspired on top of that undercurrent of discomfort. They did nothing new with her, but in a uniquely and unnaturally limiting way in the sense that she is trapped as her trilogy self. After the timeskip the games appear to have a weird preoccupation with infantilising her because I guess they think connecting back to the trilogy (instead of doing something new) is the only way to keep us caring about her??

And like... Yes, Pearl embodies and encapsulates the cuteness and innocence of children. That’s a big part of her character and I love her for it, and I would therefore be reluctant to let that go. There’s nothing wrong with preserving stuff like that when she’s older. All I’m asking is for the games to actually put at least one new spin on her; SOMETHING that can distinguish her from her younger self so I’m not left feeling like she did not change at all in nearly ten years. A slightly different design, one (1) distinct new and different thing that sets her apart from (and potentially at odds with) her younger self, and I’d probably be happy. I don’t like what they did with her hair either. It sucks. Should’ve gone with the gorgeous inverted pretzel style.

Anyway I want to be given a reason to care about and be invested in older Pearl, an older Pearl trait that I can love older Pearl for...

- ship(s): Trupearl can be cute, but I don’t think about shipping much at all seeing as I vastly prefer her younger self, haha.

- BROTP(s): General “Pearl getting along with the gang” type dynamics haha.

- NOTP(s): Well, I do not like any implication that she has a crush on Marlon or vice versa. I really don’t like that.

- Game/case where I like them more: I’m not sure ahah. Good thing I’m trying to work through the games in Chinese on youtube so maybe I can brush up on my AA knowledge a bit.

- Random headcanon: Ok made this one up just now: When she’s slightly older she adopts the term “Narumayo” for her shipping of Phoenix and Maya. At least, the Japanese version of her where the characters have their Japanese names... lol. I guess her English-speaking self tried but failed to come up with a good name as the counterpart headcanon. Mayanix?

Actually, I guess another headcanon would be her being a hardcore shipper for any media she’s invested in. She moves away from shipping real people and onto characters, channelling all that energy elsewhere.

Or honestly, she could stick with real people and either become an Ace Matchmaker or overall consistently terrible matchmaker. Either’s good. If you combine the two, she could try to matchmake what seems to be an absolutely horrendous pair/combination of people, only for it to actually work.

- Unpopular opinion: Well, I think I already got quite opinionated above, and nothing really comes to mind to reply to this with. I might have been too harsh on older Pearl, but everything I wrote is what I genuinely felt and the impression that I was left with. That impression may be false, I’m not sure, but yeah.

[the-everlasting-dream]

The Revelation, Chapter 14 - TRR AU

Summary: Drake and Elizabeth meet face to face finally. 

A/N: Surprise another chapter, I’ll have you know I’ve scrapped the rest of the plot to this series so from now on this is pure spitballing so for those of you still with me, lets do this. 

Word Count: 3000+

Warnings: Language, slight violence, mentions of blood and injury

MASTERLIST

-

‘I’m gonna call to check on Bartie then I’ll be back,’ Savannah informed her brother sitting on the hospital bed. 

 Barely hearing his sister stepping out to take a call, Drake sighed once again, eyes flicking to the ceiling, studying the white plaster mounted above his head. He’d passed out after the duel, after the significant blood loss he’d sustained from Neville’s cut to his side. The deep cut had gotten infected despite the medical attention he’d received. Under Savannah’s careful supervision, he’d taken the prescribed antibiotics and the infection was subsiding. You should be able to resume normal activity with supplementary physiotherapy sessions for that shoulder, they’d informed him after the latest check up. 

By all rights, he should be fine. He should be okay, more than okay in fact. First man to win a duel in a hundred years they told him. You should be celebrating they said. You should be proud of yourself. 

But why did he feel so numb?

Never in his life had Drake felt so… listless. As if he’d lost the will to move, to breathe, to do anything.. At first the pain, though it hurt like hell was a welcome distraction from her. Elizabeth… Her name still pierced him every time it crossed his mind more often than it should have. He was missing her so much… No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get rid of those thoughts, couldn’t stop them from creeping into his mind again. He’d tried to force her out of his head, but it seemed impossible. His victory over Neville had only confirmed that. At Hana’s insistence, he’d done it, he’d kept fighting, fighting for her and when he had won, when they were showering him in praises and honours, he’d realised that the only prize he’d wanted was to see her again. During the fight, a tiny part of him had naively been hoping that she’d miraculously be there and naturally when Elizabeth wasn't, his spirit plummeted. 

‘You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.’ 

Jackson Walker’s rendition of Maya Angelou’s words echoed back to Drake now as he continued to stare out the hospital room window, looking out at what he could see of the Cordonian citadel stretched out beneath him. He’d held those words close to his heart all through his life, recalling how his dad had told him that after a particularly gruelling day at school. His father had made him promise him that no matter what life threw at him, even though he’d get knocked down, he’d always get back up. When Jackson had passed away, Drake silently resolved to honour his father’s memory in that. And so far, he’d kept his promise fiercely until now…   

His chest ached now where the bullet had torn through it, a visceral reminder of what he’d had and lost. A deepset tiredness filtered through him. He was tired, so tired of feeling this way, of fighting constantly only to be constantly let down. I’m sorry Dad. Drake thought to himself, feeling a profound sense of shame and regret. This time, this time its too much… He couldn’t go on like this, to hope and to pray for a sign that was never going to arrive. This was the moment that Drake Walker gave up.

Almost as if fate had answered his call, Drake heard the door swing open. Assuming it was his sister, he ignored her, barely turning his head in favour of continuing to stare out the window at leaves blowing by in the wind. 

‘If you’ve come to lecture me again Sav you can save it,’ he snapped backhandedly. 

 ‘Its… its not Savannah.’ 

 At the sound of her voice, Drake whipped his head around so fast, the nerve in his neck tinged painfully but he was too distracted by the sight of the one person he’d given up on seeing for the rest of his life. 

 ‘Elizabeth!? W-w-what? How?’ 

What… what were the chances of her showing up so… just when he was ready to give up… 

 ‘Hey Drake,’ her voice was small and smile even smaller as she stood in the doorway, hesitating. 

 ‘You’re back.’ It come out somewhere between a question or a statement but Drake was too busy trying to still the butterflies in his stomach as he scrambled into a sitting position. 

 ‘Uh.. yeah, I’m back.’ She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, hands wrung in a tense knot. 

 A million questions buzzed in his mind yet his tongue failed to articulate even one as he sputtered visibly at the sight of her, same dark hair twisted into a loose braid, grey cardigan, jeans and a t-shirt hanging on her slim frame he knew so well and at the same time not at all. Amidst his negotiation to settle into a comfortable, his arm missed the edge of the bed and threatened to send him crashing down to the floor. At the last second he managed to catch himself on the bed frame but not without a pain lancing through him so sharp, his vision tinged red.

Before he could register it, Elizabeth was by his side, helping to prop him back up on the bed. As she moved to position his pillow, Drake couldn’t take his eyes off her hand where it rested on his arm, her skin warm against his for the first time in months seemed to seep through him to his chest where a little spark of hope was rekindled.  

‘What happened?’ Elizabeth scanned the sight of him, a tiny crease between her eyebrows telling him she was thinking hard with that medical science degree of hers, assessing him closely. 

 ‘I..uh….’ 

How was he supposed to tell her he got stabbed? Drake glanced at her determined face and nodded slightly, knowing he shouldn’t lie to her. 

‘After I passed out… after the duel… Neville’s stab… it wasn’t very deep but coz of the crowds at the ball, the ambulance took a lot longer to get… to get to me. They told me I bled a lot, almost bled out, used some big fancy word like ex-extrasink-‘ 

‘Exsanguination,’ she put in, her expression still calculating. 

 ‘Yeah that,’ Drake gulped, dropping his gaze to the blanket cover his lap, resisting the urge to scratch at the sound under the bandages, a constant urge he fought to curb. ‘Anyway I guess I should count myself lucky that that bastard can swing a sword but he didn’t have any force behind the blow. Since it was on the side and not in the middle, its not too bad I think…’ 

‘You’re extremely lucky it didn’t hit any major organs.’ 

He nodded once. 'Got infected for a bit but they gave me something for that and it seems to be working, I guess...'

‘Its still an abdomen wound,’ she rationalised, eyes sweeping across him again. ‘They’re always tough to recover from because they’re in the middle of the body and you can’t just pop it in a sling like a broken leg. You must have had trouble breathing and eating and peeing and p-’ 

‘Yeah that’s been rough,’ Drake cut her off, feeling the top of his ears burn red hot in embarrassment. He shifted again, wincing as he tried to try alleviate the discomfort where the bandage was digging into his ribs. 

Elizabeth noticed immediately, concern flooding back into her expression. ‘You’re not comfortable. Do you need me to call the nu-‘ 

‘Its fine,’ he cut her off, loathe to cause a whole scene. ‘Just this stupid bandage is twisted.’ 

She swallowed once. For the first time in months, those brown eyes lifted up to meet his own and he couldn’t help a sharp inhale of breath. ‘I can take a look if you want?’

Drake eyed her for a moment, conflicted but eventually he gave in. ‘Sure that would be great actually.’ 

It was a bit of a challenge to wrestle the hospital gown up while preserving his modesty but they made it work and as soon as Elizabeth’s cool hands touched his side, he hissed a little, not expecting the contact. 

’Sorry,’ she gave him an apologetic look before leaning down to peer at his wound. 

As she fiddled with the bandage, he marvelled at the level of care and concern she was showing him. He had no idea what state her memory was in but he couldn’t deny his own feelings, having her here next to him was so inexplicably right he couldn’t explain it. The spark of hope flared up in his chest.. Maybe they- Suddenly the tiny irritating pain in his side ceased. 

 ‘Better?’ 

He wiggled experimentally and found that the pain had subsided and he could breathe properly again. ‘Much. Thank you.’

‘It was nothing.’

She helped him adjust his clothes again, sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment as Drake took in the sigh of her again, unable to believe she was even here. With her sitting so near, hand inches away from his, close enough to reach out and- 

Elizabeth glanced down abruptly clearing her throat as she realised how close they were and wrapped her cardigan tighter around herself, almost as a shield between them. Her gaze slid hesitantly up to his before dropping to the floor. A hundred things were on the tip of his tongue, burning questions he had wanted to ask for the last few months but he couldn’t bring himself to vocalise any of them. Just as he was mustering up the courage to say something, Elizabeth spoke, her voice quiet and unsteady. 

 ‘You could have died Drake.’ 

 ‘Elizabeth…’ Her name felt both foreign and familiar on his tongue after months of disuse. he wanted to say mo-

‘Why did you do it? Why did you do it Drake?’ She questioned. ‘Why did you accept Neville's challenge?' 

A long, deep sigh escaped him as he struggled to find some explanation. 'I had to Richmond... I had to for you. For Savannah, for my dad, for every commoner they’ve ever looked down on. Saying yes was the only chance I had to prove him wrong about all of this. To fight him on his own terms... It was a stupid idea,’ he continued, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. ‘For a moment there, I almost didn’t make it.’

‘Drake..’ 

Her voice was wobbly as her mouth shaped his name and he knew tears were not far away. This time he did reach for her hand, grasping it between his fingers until she was looking him deep in the eyes. 

‘It was you Richmond… Elizabeth.. I thought of you. I did it for you. Even if you don’t remember… even if you don’t love me… Elizabeth I-‘ 

She tugged her hand away from his suddenly, he gasped at the break in contact before his eyes strayed to her face where he could see her withdrawing further into herself… and away from him. He opened his mouth to speak, to say something, anything that would bring her back to him when the door suddenly slammed open, the sound shattering whatever headway they’d made. 

 ‘Dra-Oh!’ Savannah’s grey eyes blew wide open at the sight of her. ‘Elizabeth…’ It was obvious how her tone immediately soured. 'I didn’t know you were back.’

‘Uh.. yeah. Hi Savannah,’ Elizabeth mumbled, standing up to quickly she almost tripped. 'Yeah well… I was just leaving actually.’

Drake watched his younger sister’s face morph into a disgusted look. ‘So soon? You look like you just got here… What made you come back?’ She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared the other woman down. 

 ‘Yeah,’ he put in, finally questioned, curiosity deep in his voice. They’d had no contact since she left. How had she known where he was? 

‘The duel…’ Elizabeth replied, swallowing thickly acutely aware of both their invasive gazes before continuing. 'I heard you got hurt and I… needed to make sure you were okay. Liam said-‘ 

‘Liam?’ 

‘Yeah he came to my brother’s apartment-‘ 

‘He came New York?’ Drake’s brain raced to put the pieces together. The night of the duel brought back so many unpleasant memories but through it all he remembered that Liam hadn’t been there. During at the Costume ball… Maxwell had said it was official business… Maxwell would never lie to him, would he?   

‘He did.’ 

Drake dropped his gaze to the floor, his mouth tasting sour and his voice laced with months worth of resentment when he spoke. ‘I guess you’re with him now aren’t you?’ 

Elizabeth opened her mouth to argue but something ugly reared inside him, determined to make her hurt just like he’d hurt when he’d seen her kissing Liam but Savannah beat him to it.

‘You’ve got no fucking right to be in there you know?’ she snapped at Elizabeth, stalking up to the taller woman, anger radiating off her entire frame. 'After all the shit you put him through.' 

'Savannah I can handle this,’ Drake interrupted but she ignored him, her voice raising in pitch and volume. 

 'Why can’t you just stay away!?' 

Elizabeth seemed to shrink further into herself, backing away from her. 'I couldn’t okay?! I can't stay away when-' 

’Then why you come back huh? To rub it in? Was leaving not painful enough for him? Or did you just have to see it through, to have the final laugh now that you-'

‘That not it at all,’ She cried out, immediately wincing as she raising a hand to her head, grimacing in pain as she turned to face Drake, eyes imploring him to listen. ‘Drake it was because of you! Back in New York, I could never get you out of my head. I tried to forget you, to move on but I couldn’t. The memories, our memories of you, of us wouldn’t stop no matter how hard I tried to block them out. And when I heard you got hurt-‘ Tears began to roll down her face as Elizabeth clutched her head in pain. 

‘Save the tears for someone who actually cares princess,’ His sister was yelling now at full volume. 

 'Savannah could you… please-‘ 

‘Sav cool it.' Drake attempted to step in again, his voice a warning now as he struggled to get off the bed, pain arcing through his side.  

‘Cool it? You’re asking me to cool it and this bitch just gets off scot free?’ She whirled back to Elizabeth, grey eyes flashing with rage. 'Puh-lease! After all the shit you put my brother through, you don’t get to ask You don’t get to traipse back here and suddenly decide that you want him in your life again!'

Elizabeth’s face twisted in anger. ‘Oh but you do?’

Neither of them saw the movement but there was no mistaking the sound of Savannah’s hand making contact with his ex-fiancee's right cheek, the stinging echoing throughout the small hospital room. 

 ‘Savannah what the fuck!?’ Drake screeched, eyes wide as he regarded his sister, horrified at how smug she looked. His eyes flew back to Elizabeth, who was clutching her cheek in pain, the skin underneath already red and swelling up. He made to say something but Elizabeth held a hand out to stop him. 

 ‘No its fine,' she gulped. ‘I-I..’ She didn’t wait to finish her sentence before dashing out the door, her sobs echoing behind her. 

Drake stared after her retreating figure, frozen in shock what had just happened. Suddenly his mind kicked him into action. 

 ‘What the hell are you doing?’ Savannah demanded, glaring at him as he struggled to get to his feet. 

‘What the fuck does it look like?’ He growled. ‘I’m going after her. I'm not about to let her go again.’ 

His sister’s face twisted into an ugly look. ’She doesn’t deserve it. No one came after me when I left..’ 

‘How is this suddenly about you?’ Drake snapped, ignoring the pain in his side as he struggled to move into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. 'You know what I don’t have the fucking time to deal with this right now.’ 

‘You’ll never catch up to her,’ Savannah replied bitterly, watching him rip off the hospital gown and slip on a pair of pants over his boxers. 

 ‘Watch me.’ With that he struggled to his feet, sliding on his shoes, gritting his teeth at the strain on his wound. 

 ‘She’s not worth it Drake.’ 

He paused in the doorway to glance back at where she was glaring at him from inside the room, grey eyes still brewing with anger. He matched her gaze, looking her fiercely in the eye. 

‘She’s worth everything.’

Drake barely heard the door slam and Maxwell’s gasp of surprise before blindly turning down a hallway, hoping to find Elizabeth. He called out her name, over and over as he staggered forward unsteadily, hospital parsons and staff of all kinds staring at him in annoyance but he didn’t care. He couldn’t let her go again… not this time. 

Attempting to navigate the busy corridors for a glimpse of her grey cardigan, his shoulder glanced off a protrusion on the wall, jerking him back painfully. He reflexively brought an arm to the bandage on his side and found it wet with blood but he forced himself to go on, calling out her name with renewed vigour until red began to fringe on the edges of his vision. 

 ‘NO, no, no, no,’ Drake muttered to no one in particular. ‘I need to find her, I have to tell her…’ His head swam and he could barely see until finally he sank to one knee, depleted of the strength to even hold himself up, vaguely aware of the hospital staff surrounding him, waving them off as he willed himself to get up but couldn’t as the darkness enveloped him once again. 

I need to tell her Iove her..

-

Idk who’s stil keeping up with this Tags:   @chantelle-x0x , @choicessa  @quartzandarrow , @drakewalkerwhipped , @ooo-barff-ooo @meeraaverywalker , @littleblossom-18, @boneandfur , @lizeboredom , @topsyturvy-dream , @american-duchess , @withice , @majesticmintyj @ninamckenzie22 , @drakelover78 , @h3llostrang3r , @cocomaxley , @zarina-x-zig , @nicestrokepam  , @enmchoices ,  @kellyale1804  , @mrswalkerreynolds , @kamybelen-blog ,  @hhiggs , @jenjosh5 ,  @bruhvs ,  @natalievgoodehenry ,  @choiceswreckedme ,  @laniquelove , @theroyalweisme  , @jamielea81  , @penguininapinktuxedo  , @tmarie82 , @crookedslimecreatorpasta ,  @asprankle  , @drakewanker  , @client-327  @graceisgone56 ,  @mfackenthal  , @smritysriv , @drakewalkerfantasy, @bobasheebaby , @ineedpeetalikehekneadsbread  , @srawesleyghuewrites , @ekhw1989 @mymandrake , @writtenbycandy , @andy-loves-corgis , @alwaysthebestchoice , @snyggflicka @mrsdrakewalkerblog , @moodygrip , @barbaravalentino , @agent-zephyrkah , @radpicklebakeryhero  , @innerpostmentality ,  @fairydustandsarcasm  , @speedyoperarascalparty , @debramcg1106 , @gardeningourmet , @blackcatkita , @meladoridarcy @lovelylittlewren @walkerduchess , @caz1003 , @annekebbphotography , @guilia3272 , @eileendannie 

[ircnxveils]

maya ( dealer's choice - you pick )

7. …to shut them up

  It was easy to forget that there were always threats, E S P E C I A L L Y when they happened to be supernatural creatures; the world would always REQUIRE a balance. Now she typically would’ve told the world to fuck off. It seemed plausible in instances where things just couldn’t be simple, where they were left hiding behind some wall in hopes that the hunter who’d just killed someone not too unlike them..wouldn’t wonder their way. That maybe the perfect cloak came in the form of brick and cement. 

 There was a tempting aspect, some part of her keen to jump out and tear the man apart (and while that worked in her world) it wouldn’t work here. She didn’t have a death wish…she knew the other woman didn’t either…-that they both just wanted to get out of here A L I V E. 

She’d heard footsteps, the slow approach of steps against the wooden floor. A sound that rang in her ears, something diluted by the sound of the other’s whispers. She’d taken action;nothing more than a requirement to make sure they weren’t heard. The gentle press of plump skin against the others, a softness to it because it was the only thing she could do to both shut her up and ensure they weren’t heard. 

 When the footsteps moved further away, then came the relief though nothing quite like the sound of the door opening and closing. He was gone and they were alive. “Next time be just a TINY bit more cautious huh?” 

@swtsvrndr

[theatricks]

Seisho School Story - Chapters 6-10 (English Translation)

Happy birthday, Hikari!!! ✨ 🎉

Chapter 6

Mahiru: Karen-chan, Hikari-chan. Are you done changing yet? Karen: Nnnn, Bananaaa, more rice... nomnomnom. Zzzzzz... Hikari: Karen, there's rice on your cheek... Zzzzzz... Mahiru: Wha-, you're sleeping again! And that's not all, you two! Mahiru: Geez~ Your uniforms are going to get wrinkled~! That's enough, wake up, you two!! New Year's is over!! Karen and Hikari: ....Wha-!! Mahiru: Are you awake? Today I want to air out the bedding and clean the room. You two are always messing it up... Karen: You sound just like a mom, Mahiru-chan~ Hikari: ...Mamahiru. Mahiru: I'm not your mother!! Mahiru: You two are going out today, right? Karen: (Oh, right... Got it.) Y-You're right. Hikari-chan, let's head out! Hikari: ? Did I make that sort of promise with you? Karen: It's fine, it's fine... (Karen and Hikari leave) Mahiru: Is it really fine? It'll be a tough performance, but do your best... Karen-chan.

Hikari: So, where are we going, Karen? Karen: Let's go to the lesson room! We got a bit rusty during the break, so let's work up a sweat practicing! Hikari: Then, I have to go back and get my leotard. Karen: You're right, let's go back to the dorms and...

~Karen's Memory~ Nana: We'll be using the kitchen until evening, so take care of her until then, okay?♪

Karen: Aah, no, we can't go back! Er, I mean, it'll be a pain to turn back now, so let's just go someplace else! Hikari: Oh? Karen: I wanted to do a little shopping. Hikari: The mall, then?

~Karen's Memory~ Futaba: Karen, make sure you don't go to the mall that day, got it?

Karen: Ah! No good... I was told to stay away from the mall today... Hikari: By who? Karen: M-My horoscope! In any case, that's a non-non, Hikari-chan!! Hikari: A more forceful non-non than usual... How about we go to the aquarium? Karen: Yeah, if we're going to the aquarium, then we can take the train there, and...

~Karen's Memory~ Claudine: We'll be looking around the store at the station, so avoid it if you can, okay?

Karen: Yeah, that's a non-non... Hikari: ...... Let's just go to the park. Karen: The park? The park is... The park is A-OK, Hikari-chan!!

Karen: Looks like there's someone doing something over there? Street Performer: Here I have a ballo~on! I do this, give it a twist, aaand~ Now it's a doggy!! Karen: Woo~~w!! That person's amazing, Hikari-chan!! Karen: Excuse me, please make me your apprentice~~!! Hikari: Ah, Karen! She was drawn in by their energy... Street Performer: First up is~~ The method of preparing~~ The balloon's air~~ Karen: The balloon's air~~

Karen: Hikari-chan, thanks for waiting! Here you go. Hikari: Mister White balloon art...? Karen: I made it for you. Go on, take it! Hikari: Huh...? Karen: Teacher's example was so good... I'll do my best to make something even more sparkling next time! Hikari: Karen... Karen: You weren't bored, were you, Hikari-chan? Hikari: No, it was fun just watching you. And you gave me Mister White. Hikari: Karen, thank you. Karen: Don't mention it! Karen: Evening crept up quick. Hikari-chan, let's go home. Hikari: Is that okay? Karen: Yeah, it's probably fine by now!! Hikari: Right... Hikari: (Oh, Karen, you're terrible at keeping secrets...)

Chapter 7

Futaba: I wonder if they're doing okay... Junna: I wonder... Futaba: The cooking crew should be fine, but I'm worried about Kaoruko and Karen who's in charge of being the diversion. Junna: I'm worried too. Especially about Karen. Futaba: She needs to keep Hikari away from the dorms, but the station and mall are off limits, too... Junna: And she needs to do it without her suspecting anything. This might be a tough mission for Karen. Futaba: Well, all we can do is carry out our own mission here.

Junna: Now, let's go to the goods department on the 3rd floor! Futaba: ...You sure are dependable, Hoshimi. I could just sit here and there'd be no problem, easy-peasy. Junna: Hanayagi-san would be angry if she heard you say that, you know? Futaba: It's the truth, though~ She even got lost here recently. Futaba: That Kaoruko... Hope she's not giving Kuroko and Tendo any trouble.

Kaoruko: ...Achoo. Someone's talking about me. Must be Futaba-han, she's probably anxious being away from me. Claudine: You never know, maybe she's taking the chance to let her hair down? Kaoruko: Unacceptable.

Junna: This miscalculation is unnaceptable. To think that it would be sold out...! Futaba: It's popular merchandise. That thing... Junna: We'll just have to go looking for it elsewhere. It's something the eight of us decided on, after all. Futaba: Alright, let's pick ourselves back up and head to the station!

Futaba: Let's see here... Oh, looks like the goods department is on the second floor. Junna: If it's sold out here too...what'll we do... Futaba: Well, there's still time, so don't give up just yet. We can try the shopping district too. Junna: You're a positive thinker, Isurugi-san. Futaba: You think? Futaba: It's probably because Kaoruko used to be such a sourpuss. I was always having to pull her along, I never even had the time to be negative. Junna: Understandable... To the point of being respectable.

Kaoruko: Achoo, achoo!! Claudine: Oh, Futaba's talking about you again. Maya: "To sneeze twice means you're being talked poorly about"...or so they say. Claudine: Well, she must be insulting you then. Kaoruko: How can you two say that!? There's no way that's the case!!

Junna: If this is the place, then it must be that shop at the corner there. Junna: Excuse me. There's something we're looking for... Junna: I see. You're sold out... Junna: Huh... You'll look into which shops have it in their inventory? Thank you very much!!!

Junna: ...Isurugi-san, we're going back to the mall! They said that someone cancelled their order and it's available now!! Futaba: Alright, let's go!!

Junna: Haa... Haa... We've been doing nothing but walking around but, as expected, you're not showing it at all. Futaba: This is nothing compared to theatrical combat practice.

Shopkeep: Thank you and come again! Junna: We did it... We finally bought it! Futaba: Haa~h, thank god. With this our mission is accomplished. Futaba: But, man, that was a long trip! I didn't think we would have this hard of a time. Junna: Now all that's left is the wrapping materials. What color do you think Kagura-san would like? Futaba: Out of those... It'd have to be the blue, right? Junna: Then, blue wrapping paper and a red ribbon? Futaba: How about we go a bit fancy with a gold ribbon? Junna: Good idea, that suits her! Futaba: This is a celebratory day, after all!

Junna: It's bulkier than I thought... Is it heavy, Isurugi-san? Futaba: Nah, not at all. You had your hands full with the shopping, so let me take care of this. Junna: I'll rely on your strength. That must be from carrying around Hanayagi-san's things every day. Futaba: She's actually been carrying her things herself lately. Junna: Wow... That's progress. Although it's normal for most people... Junna: But with that, our mission is complete. Now we just need to hope it goes smoothly for everyone else. Futaba: Let's hurry back. So we get there before Karen and the others. Junna: Yeah, let's help out the cooking crew and decorations team! We still have to do the wrapping, too.

Chapter 8

Kaoruko: Snip, snip, snip... Kaoruko: Aaah, impossible...! This isn't what my fingers are meant to do! Kaoruko: They're for perfectly holding a folding fan!! Claudine: You chose this job because you said it seemed the simplest. Maya: All you have to do is cut along the lines. Claudine: Your ballet coupe isn't very good either. Kaoruko: What does that have to do with anything!? Claudine: "Coupe" is the French word for "cut". Kaoruko: S'that so... The A, P, B, and R are so difficult. What's up with those shapes? Holes are the worst. Maya: Shall we change it to kanji? How about "誕"... would that be preferable? Kaoruko: Hell no. Claudine: Put them up on the wall when you're done cutting, Kaoruko. And you, what are you working on? Origami? Maya: Take the paper like this and fold it over and over again repeatedly... Cut it with scissors... Claudine: It looks like you're just cutting at random though... Maya: And then open it up... Claudine: C'est quoi ça!! How did you do that!? It's shaped like birds!! Claudine: ...Impressive. Mine are paper flowers. I've already made this many of them. Well? Fast, right? Maya: You got better and better as you went along, didn't you? Claudine: Each one is in a topdown perspective, but... Well, whatever.

Claudine: Haa... Haa... Claudine: Look how large the balloons I inflated are! Seems I come out on top in terms of lung capacity. Maya: ...... Claudine: Hey, say something... Maya: Large balloons don't look very pleasing when gathered together, do they? Claudine: Guh-... You're right.

Maya: A little higher. Now a bit to the left. Good, there. Claudine: There we go. Oh, Maya, can you hand me a thumb tack? Claudine: The garlands and balloons are up. They look nice, don't they? Maya: The cooking smells good as well. Claudine: Mmhmm, it's going well, isn't it? ......? What are you looking at, Kaoruko? Kaoruko: I mean... I can't really tell if you two get along or if you don't. Claudine: Did it look like we were getting along!? Maya: Oh, were we not? Claudine: Were you trying to!? Maya: That's what I was assuming, Saijo Claudine.

Claudine: W-Well, if you think so, then that's fine, I guess. Kaoruko: ...You really do get along, huh? Kaoruko: Oh, by the way, I'm done cutting. "HAPPY"! Claudine: That's it!? Where's the rest!? Kaoruko: I'm working on it... Claudine: You're working on it? Do you realize what time--... Kaoruko: Don't worry. Any second now... Futaba: Kaorukooo!! We're back! Kaoruko: See, they're back. Futaba-han will take it from here. Futaba: Huh!? You're not done with your work? I mean, I kinda figured as much, but... Kaoruko: Isn't the fact that I'm on the decoration team in the first place weird? Having to use these tiny scissors... Futaba: So what would you rather have done? Kaoruko: Taste testing? Anyways, here, I leave the sniping to you, Futaba-han. Futaba: ...Geez, whatever.

Futaba: Hehe~n, finished. How's it look? Maya: Lovely... You're quite dexterous, Isurugi-san. Claudine: Thanks to that, we'll finish the decorations just in time. Give Futaba your thanks, Kaoruko. Kaoruko: I did all the work I possibly could. I'm clumsy, you know. Futaba: No, you keep working too! Claudine: They sure get along well. Maya: They really do.

Chapter 9

Nana: Flour, eggs, butter, cream, and lots of fruits... Mahiru: Carrots, onions, nori, and... umm, let's see... Mahiru: My family sent a whole bunch of potatoes to the dorms, so I think that'll do it. Nana: Your family's potatoes are really tasty♪ Mahiru: I'm always surprised when they send so much, but your cooking really helps out. Nana: Now that the shopping is complete and we've got all the ingredients, it's time to put our skills to the test. I hope the others enjoy it, too. Mahiru: Even the cake will be homemade. They'll definitely enjoy it!

Nana: Okay, I'll prepare the cake and desserts. Mahiru: And I'll handle the potato dishes and sushi rolls. Both: Nanahiru Cooking♪ Nana: Sift the flour~ Melt the butter~ Preheat the oven to 180~♪ Nana: Crack the eggs in a bowl~ Add the sugar and use the hand mixer~♪ Mahiru: You're as skillful as ever, Banana-chan. I can't make sweets unless I'm looking at a recipe... Mahiru: Boil the potatoes... Peel the skin... Mash until fluffy... Nana: You don't peel the potatoes first and then boil them? Mahiru: My Grandma taught me that if you boil them before peeling, their flavor won't escape. Nana: Bananice♪ I didn't know that. I'll try it next time. Nana: We should clean up while we're at it. I'll wash the bowls and knives. Mahiru: Then, I'll wipe this down! Mahiru: ...This kinda takes me back. I come from a big family, so there was always a lot of cleaning up to do. Mahiru: My grandma would wash the tableware and I would wipe things off. Nana: Fufu... You have a big family even now. That's what we are, after all♪ Mahiru: Banana-chan is the mother, then... Nana: And Mahiru-chan is the older sister.  Karen-chan always seemed like the youngest child, but... Nana: Lately she seems like an older sister, too. Mahiru: Then, the youngest is Hikari-chan? Nana: Fufu, probably♪

Nana: Sponge cake, cookies, fruit punch, sweet potatoes... Mahiru: Potato salad, German potatoes, mashed potatoes, fries... And finally, the sushi rolls... Nana: We made quite a lot...♪ Mahiru: And there's just as much cleaning to do now!! Junna: I'm home. Nana: Welcome back, Junna-chan... Ah, it's already this late!? I have to hurry and decorate the sponge cake! Mahiru: The table still needs to be set up, too! Oh, no! Karen-chan's gonna be back any second. Junna: It's okay. Start by taking a breath, you two. I'll take care of the cleaning, the two of you handle the table and cake. Nana: That's our Junna-chan♪ You must be the eldest. Junna: What are you talking about?

Nana: I think that's a good consistency for the cream♪ Mahiru: Is it okay to cut the strawberries like this? Nana: Perfect. Nana: Alright, let's decorate it. Junna and Mahiru: Wooo~w! Mahiru: Banana-chan, you're like an artisan. The cream is turning into roses! Junna: The cream is dancing on the stage of the sponge cake... Even in a place like this, your mettle as a Stage Girl is tested. Junna: ...Cake making is profound. Nana: And now for the finishing touch... Mahiru: On top, a chocolate slab with a message written on it... All: It's ready to be served♪ Claudine: Karen and Hikari should be back soon. Kaoruko: We've finished decorating the room, too. Junna: Dim the lights and get ready. Mahiru: Everyone, when Hikari-chan gets back we'll... All: Celebrate!!!

Chapter 10

Karen: Hey, hey, Hikari-chan, Hikari-chan. What day is it todaaay?? Hikari: Hmm... National Earbud Day? Karen: Is it really?? I didn't know that~... wait, no!! Karen: Today's your birthday, right? Hikari: ...You remembered? Karen: Of course I did, Hikari-chan!! I'd never forget the birthday of someone important to me! Hikari: Thank you, Karen. And for the Mister White balloon, too. Karen: Let's allllways celebrate your birthday together from now on. Hikari: Yeah, and your birthday too. Even when we become adults and then old ladies. Karen: It almost feels like we've jumped straight from our reunion to now. Everything went topsy-turvy, helter-skelter! Karen: Hikari-chan, thank you for spending the day with me! Hikari: Yeah... It was fun, Karen.

Karen: We're hooome... *pop* Karen: Eek! A party popper...? All: Welcome baaack!! Hikari: This is...! Karen: Wo~w!! Amazing!! You guys!! There's so much wonderful food! Mahiru: There's lots of potato dishes and sushi rolls that you can choose your own ingredients for. Hikari: The room decorations are cute, too. Did you all put this together...? Kaoruko: Cutting out letters was tough. It was a good way to kill time though. Futaba: It was Karen who planned it out. Karen: I just said I wanted to celebrate Hikari-chan's birthday with everyone. Karen: Then everyone pitched in and it turned into a big thing!

Hikari: ...... Karen: Hikari...-chan? Are you crying? Hikari: ...I'm not. Junna: Let's get this party started. The food's going to get cold. All: Leeet's eat!!

Kaoruko: Pheeew. I can't eat another bite... Maya: It seems there's dessert, as well. Mahiru: Oh... Then it should be time for that! Hikari: That? Claudine: Here, a birthday present from all of us. Go ahead and open it. Hikari: ...... This is...a Mister White hanten!! Hikari: It's the one I've been looking for. It was a limited edition, so I wasn't able to find it.... Kaoruko: That incredibly lame hanten...? I don't understand how she could possibly be happy to get something like that... Futaba: Kagura likes it, isn't that all that matters? ...It is pretty lame, though. Karen: For Hikari-chan, it's gotta be Mister White. Nana: Okay, next up is the birthday cake♪ Light the candles aaand dim the lights! Hikari: I had no idea... To think you'd do all this for me. Karen: Hikari-chan... Kaoruko: Kagura-han, as a return gift, feel free to give over the role of Claire in Starlight to me. Futaba: Kagura, what sort of lessons did you do in England? Let's practice them together sometime! Junna: To take your and Karen's place as my own, I'll be aiming for the next lead role and I won't lose. Nana: I'm glad we can stand on the same stage together for the Seisho Festival and DramaFes, Hikari-chan♪ Claudine: Let me see some acting from the English version of Starlight sometime. I'll show you something from the French version in return. Maya: I look forward to seeing your performance as Claire, Kagura-san. Mahiru: Hikari-chan, I'm glad I became friends with you. Let's keep taking care of each other from now on, too. Karen: Okay, everyone... one, two!! All: Happy birthdaaaay!! Hikari: Everyone... Thank you... Karen: Come on, let's cut the cake together, Hikari-chan!! Hikari: It's... not a wedding, though. All: Ahahahahahahaha!!

(TL Note: Just to clarify, the term that Karen uses (入刀) is specifically for when a couple cuts their wedding cake together and Hikari is like, "Umm, I don't think that's the word you're looking for?")

[maya-matlin]

Sending a lot cuz I’m bored too 😆 Jay/Emma, Clare/Drew, Manny/Spinner, Justin/Hannah, Clare/Adam, JT/Paige, Mia/Danny, Peter/Riley, Tony/Ryan, Veronica/Josie, Moose/Kevin, Sweet Pea/Fangs, Jessica/Alex, Tori/Cam, Zoe/Goldi, Winston/Imogen, Tony/Clay, Owen/Anya, Spinner/Hazel, Jane/Danny, Riley/Lucas, Maya/Farkle, FP/Gladys, Lola/Frankie, Jack/Clare, Zoe/Jack, Imogen/Drew, Sav/Mia, Anya/Fiona, Ellie/Spinner, Darcy/Jay, Fitz/Clare, Jack/Imogen, Holly J/Darcy, Chantay/Holly J, Tiny/Grace

Thank you. You’re always great about sending me things. 💞

Jemma: OTP/BROTP (Obviously they should have happened and the fact they didn’t was a huge waste of chemistry but since Jay ended up with Manny in canon, I’d never want a Jemma pairing to get in the way of that, so. :p Or they can just be polyamorous. If I had any interest in romantic Emma/Manny, I could get into this.)

Clew: OTP/BROTP (I don’t love the way Clew was written in 13C but there was potential for them to be much better than they were and the writers really botched it. It’s sad because prior to that, Clare and Drew had a nice friendship and thanks to the drama with Eli, it’s very likely they’ll never be on great terms again since his jealous ass would never go for it.)

Spanny: NOTP

Justin/Hannah: OTP/BROTP (I really don’t know. I think you said this in an ask but I also had a moment in season 2 where I was seriously considering shipping Justin/Hannah. Obviously they weren’t meant to be and both had stronger feelings for other people but in that moment it could have been great. I wish things had been different because without Bryce around or so much pressure to fall in line, they could have been decent friends.)

Clare/Adam: BROTP

JT/Paige: BROTP

Mia/Danny: OTP

Piley: OTP/BROTP

Tony/Ryan: NOTP (The idea of them seems fun but I can’t say I’m invested in anything pertaining to their relationship)

Veronica/Josie: OTP/BROTP

Moose/Kevin: OTP (I guess. Joaquin is dead so Moose is the only decent love interest for Kevin left.)

Swangs: BROTP

Jessica/Alex: OTP/BROTP (As much as I wish Jessica had stronger feelings for Alex and could give their relationship a proper second chance, she clearly doesn’t and still loves Justin. So it’s likely they’ll end up as friends and that works for me, too.)

Tori/Cam: BROTP

Zoe/Goldi: BROTP

Winston/Imogen: NOTP (Season 14 Winston was the worst so no thanks)

Tony/Clay: BROTP

Owanya: OTP

Spinner/Hazel: BROTP

Jane/Danny: OTP/BROTP

Rucas: BROTP (I don’t care enough about their relationship for them to be a NOTP but the writers stretching out the triangle with Maya and then failing to show us any development with romantic Rucas made me lose interest in them romantically. They aren’t terrible, but I’d rather see Riley end up with Maya and Lucas with Farkle.)

Markle: BROTP

FP/Gladys: OTP (They were actually really fun together a couple of times this season. The show would never go there but I think it would be much more interesting to see FP give his marriage another chance.)

Frola: OTP/BROTP (I ship them mostly as a past thing. I could have gotten into a relationship in seasons 14-NC season 2 but they don’t feel as compatible now)

Jack/Clare: OTP/BROTP

Zoe/Jack: OTP/BROTP (How is Jack such a flat character yet so shippable?)

Drimogen: OTP/BROTP (I’m not that invested, but it would have been much more tolerable than Drecky and might have prevented Drew from being shit on come season 14.)

Sav/Mia: BROTP

Anya/Fiona: BROTP

Ellie/Spinner: BROTP

Darcy/Jay: NOTP (This is an odd example, but I ship them not getting along because they’re the most fun that way)

Flare: OTP

Jackogen: OTP

Holly J/Darcy: NOTP

Chantay/Holly J: NOTP

Tiny/Grace: BROTP