#the pears were somehow the least complicated part of this

[benchwarming]

a troubling of pears

[carriagelamp]

Weirdly enough, I often find myself reading less in the summer, since I have more time than I do during the rest of the year to do other things. Also artfight has been eating up more than a bit of my free time! But here’s a collection a graphic novels I sat around on the hammock reading, and some novels I finished up...

(Everyone go read All Systems Red, holy crow guys)

A Whale of the Wild

The “sequel” to A Wolf Called Wander, though it doesn’t actually connect to the previous novel except in the stylistic/thematic sense. A Whale of the Wild is very much a standalone novel. And a pretty decent one! Personally, I think I liked Wolf more, but this one was a pleasant, informative read, with just the right amount of crushing dread sprinkled in. It’s about a young orca called Vega who is learning to become a new wayfinder for her pod but who still has a lot to learn, especially in an ocean that is becoming increasingly hostile to orcas and the other sealife that live alongside humans. When a devastating earthquake hits, Vega and her little brother find themselves separated from their family, lost in a now horrifyingly unfamiliar environment, and fighting starvation as the salmon that sustain them become more and more unreliable. It’s a desperate fight for survival as they search for food and their missing family. This book is written for a middle grade level, and does a really good job of putting the current environmental crisis into an animal’s perspective while giving the readers something to hope for.

The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom

Every July I eagerly anticipate the next Adventure Zone graphic novel. This one is for their fourth arc, The Crystal Kingdom, in which Magnus, Taako, and Merle respond to a SOS from a floating laboratory that is gradually being consumed by crystals and which threatens the entire world should it fall into the ocean. Carey Pietsch’s art continues to be absolutely fantastic, so beautifully and hilariously expressive, and this one delivers some great Merle moments, lots of Carey Fangbattle, and, of course, Kravtiz. Kravitz, my beloved…

Anyway, I obviously always recommend these. If you’ve never gotten into The Adventure Zone, I totally recommend either trying these graphic novels — or even better, just go listen to the podcast because it really is both hilarious and creates a shockingly good and heart-wrenching story by the end.

All Systems Red

I’ve seen The Murderbot Diaries on my dash occasionally, and it always looked interesting, but a friend’s recommendation finally compelled me to read the first novella of the series. And holy shit y’all. Absolutely the best book I’ve read this month, it’s amazing. Mind-blowingly good. Also, if you’re like me and want a good audiobook, it’s a nice three-hour listen, very chill!

Anyway, All Systems Red is about a Security Unit, an artificially created being that’s part-organic part-mechanical and all-company-owned-and-controlled. However, self-named “Murderbot” has managed to hack into the system that suppresses its own will, and is now coasting along, doing the least amount of work its job requires not to be noticed, while preferring to spend all its time watching the hours and hours of soap operas it has downloaded into its brain. And it’s a tolerable if somewhat dull life, until the science team that it's currently rented to is attacked and the whole mission goes pear-shaped. Suddenly Murderbot has to scramble to keep its humans alive… while its humans scramble with the realization that their “SecUnit” isn’t actually a mindless robot like they had all believed...

This story is both gripping and hilariously funny. Murderbot has such a unique voice and perspective and it’s an absolute pleasure to follow its story. I reallly need to read the next book...

Asterix and the Banquet

A classic. I was startled when I realized I hadn’t actually read this Asterix story… but hell I’m not gonna complain, it lets me read one of the originals for the first time again! In this Asterix volume, the Indomitable Gauls and the Romans end up arranging a bet — the Romans intend to keep them under siege, trapped in their village, while Asterix is confident that he can easily evade them… and will prove it by going on a tour around all of Gaul, collecting iconic foods from each region in order to return and put on a fine banquet. So we get a fantastic adventure in which Asterix and Obelix run all over the country, pursued the whole way, while making cheerful stops at the various eateries along the way. Also the first book Dogmatix shows up in! All around, a wonderful read, fun like all the best Asterix comics are.

Beauty Pop v4

A less impressive graphic novel. The first Beauty Pop is one of my guilty pleasure manga because… it really is pretty stupid but in the best possible ways. I mean, the whole thing is framed around hairstyling battles, like a shojo sports manga without the sports. It’s bonkers. Unfortunately, the series does not really manage to hold up, and it really begins to feel repetitive and dragging as it continues… as a lot of series like this do. *shrug* Unsurprising but still kinda disappointing I suppose. The building three-way romantic tension is mildly interesting if for no other reason than the main character Does Not Notice and Does Not Care about any of it, which is amusing and refreshing.

FRNCK v5

Now this series only gets better and better as it goes. This is the first book of the second arc, and somehow the danger just seems to be ramping up and up and up. The cavefamily have lost their home… as well as Léonard and Gargouille. Heartbroken, shocked, and angry, Franck is the one who ends up shouldering the blame for their presumed deaths as the others mourn. Things only get worse when Franck finds himself separated from the family, and in the territory of another tribe, this one hostile and cannibalistic...

Haikyuu v5

I continue to read this series because it continues to be charming… though it is beginning to feel, maybe, just a little repetitive. Kind of an inevitability with sports manga. But so far it continues to be good enough to overcome that. I’m not sure what I can say about this series that I haven’t already, so I’ll simply say it continues to be one of the most impressive sports manga I’ve read, and the author does a fantastic job of creating engaging characters, fleshed out teams, and really compelling relationships. I do genuinely adore all the main members of Crows, along with a number of characters from the rival teams as well. And of course it has some kickass volleyball scenes that are just drawn so dramatically they can’t help but take your breath away a little.

M*A*S*H Goes To Maine

Meh. The original book of the series was actually quite good in my opinion. This one… considerably less so. The first part I enjoyed more, since it was about Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke, and Oliver Jones trying to set up the FinestKind Clinic and Fishmarket in Crabapple Cove (which… is just the best premise I could have ever asked for). However, the book spends most of its time describing the quirky lives and times of other people living in the area and I… just… don’t care. It was funny at times but… I just don’t care. I wanted to hear more about the main cast. Also I found this book felt more racist and misogynistic than the first which also put me off :/ Wouldn’t bother if I were you. Go read the first book instead, or better yet just watch the TV show which is an obvious banger.

My Heart’s in the Highlands

I have had this on my “currently reading” list for so long but I’m officially giving up. It’s a really good book in theory but my god I can’t get over the pacing.

It’s about Lady Jane, a woman studying medicine in Edinburgh in 1888, and who suddenly finds herself back in the Highlands in the 13th century. Lost and confused, Jane is now at the mercy Clan Donald’s hospitality while she tries to adjust to this new world and hunts for her broken time machine. Fortunately, this hospitality include a burgeoning friendship with a red-haired warrior woman, Ainslie nic Dòmhnaill, who opens Jane’s eyes to the way the world could be.

Listen. It drives me nuts. This book should be completely up my alley, it has everything I like — IT HAS ALL OF ITS HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES CITED AT THE BACK, LITTLE EXTRA DETAILS ABOUT EVERY CHAPTER. THAT’S MY SHIT RIGHT THERE. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LIKE BEING ABLE TO GO OVER HISTORICAL DETAILS?? AND WELL RESEARCHED FOOTNOTES?? And yet it doesn’t. Fucking. Work for me. It has a kickass Scottish warrior lady as a love interest! It has a badass lady doctor! It has fish-out-of-water culture shock! But it also has a completely meandering plot, no sense of building tension, and a romance that just happens out of nowhere and feels completely unearned and uninteresting.

I would genuinely just rather read Outlander again, which I know has its own host of problems, but at least Outlander felt exciting and interesting and tense and funny. The romance built in fits and starts, it was complicated, and kept me interested. That book had me hooked (and has me hooked every time I reread it) whereas this book I’ve been sadly picking at for months like its a plate of overcooked spinach. This felt like an attempt at a queer, historically accurate knockoff which I would normally be super into but which just could not stick the landing.

Moomin on the Riviera

My first time actually reading anything from the Moomin canon. I have zero idea how to feel about it! It certainly is as feral as I’ve heard described! Overall, I think I enjoyed it but it sure made me feel strange emotions I didn’t know existed. I’m not even going to try to describe it. Read it if you want a batshit insane anti-capitalist comic.

Surviving the City

This was good in some areas, less good in others. It had a very interesting indigenous perspective on life in the modern city, the foster system, and The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women issue, which I’ve never seen handled in a book before. Something about the pacing did not completely click with me and I found myself getting easily distracted, but it’s definitely worth the read just to experience it and look at the issues it deals with through the characters’ (and author’s) eyes. It did give me a lot to think about and wrestle with, which is sometimes the best thing a book can give you.

Torchwood: Pack Animals

A really fun read, more so than I had ever expected! If you like Torchwood and want more stories about the team before everything goes to shit, this is perfect for that. It includes the entire cast, an interest mystery to be unravelled, lots of slavering monsters, Rhys being really wonderful and sweet (which I didn’t know I wanted until I read this book), and all the humour I expect from Torchwood. I had to send a lot of quotes to my long-suffering girlfriend who a) does not watch this show but b) needs to tolerate it because I find it too funny to keep to myself. It was good enough to make me go out another book of the series since this was the only one my library carried.

[five-rivers]

Stars Aligned Chapter 2

Here’s the thing.  Danny knew this was a dumb decision.  At least as dumb as stepping into the ghost portal (but at least he’d gotten some nifty powers out of that, hey?).  Whatever reason his bio-dad had for chucking him out the door within days of his birth couldn’t be good.  Putting himself within reach of the man…  Yeah.  Not his brightest thought.  

(Not to mention the wizards.  And witches.  That was so weird, how they had two different names for essentially the same thing. Then again… actor, actress…  Why were people so weird?)

On the other hand, twin brother.  Twin brother who had to live with aforementioned baby-abandoning bio-dad.  Twin brother who wasn’t allowed to visit America.  Or, Danny suspected, a family of squibs.  

Yeah.  

Yeah.  

So, here he was.  Getting everything in order for a wizard passport and wizard international travel, because bio-family refused to even look at an airport.  

Danny had a suspicion that, based on how they spelled the word and a few other comments in that particular letter, that they weren’t entirely clear on what an airport was.  

Fun.  

On the other hand, in comparison to the actual, normal, legal passport he’d gotten, just in case bio-family left him somewhere, wizard passports were much, much easier to get.  The wait times were practically nonexistent.  He could, in theory, get the passport on the same day he traveled.  All that was needed was proof he was a wizard and his adoption papers.  

Of course, ‘proof he was a wizard’ actually meant ‘wand.’  Wands being something they used as personal ID, despite the fact that they were a) sticks, and b) didn’t actually carry any personally identifiable information.  Sure, Jack said that they were somehow connected to their owners, but unless there were, like, giant books of details about everyone’s wands at every place that would, conceivably, need ID, and had people trained to identify all those tiny little characteristics…  Danny just couldn’t see how it would work.

Danny’s current theory was that all wizards were just insane, which meant that his twin would most likely fit right in with the rest of Danny’s family, right as soon as Danny figured out how to legally kidnap him.

(No, Danny didn’t have a ghostly Obsession, and it definitely wasn’t family related.  He was only half-ghost, after all.  Why do you ask?)

Anyway.  Wizard passport.  Wizard ID. Wizard sticks.  

Wands.  

Wands meant a nerve-wracking trip to the nearest wizarding town with Jack.  Evidently, he’d lived there a couple of years after his parents sent him away from Britain when he was around fourteen because of ‘the war.’

Abruptly, many of Jack’s stories about his childhood made more sense.

(It had always been something of a joke between Jazz and Danny to try and figure out what ‘the war’ was supposed to be, and if Jack’s parents had just… Conned him into thinking he’d eaten horse meat.  For some reason.  Even if the Fentons hadn’t seemed like that kind of people, no matter how eccentric.)

(Also, evidently Jazz and Danny had never met Jack’s biological parents, who were not named Fenton, although his adopted mother was also a witch.)

(Why was everything so complicated?)

 The “wizarding community” was a small town accessible only by a train line invisible to ‘no-majs.’  And also flying brooms.  Which wizards used.  Danny had seen the train before, not realizing that he wasn’t supposed to. Several times.  Usually while flying to Wisconsin to deal with whatever Vlad had done that week.  

If Danny was a wizard, was Vlad?  Was being half-ghost somehow tied up in being magical? What did that mean for Dani?

(Hey, maybe this whole affair could be used to bring Dani into the family safely.  Who was to say that he didn’t have a secret twin sister?)

Danny could admit that the town itself, which had almost a Ghost Zone vibe with how all the architecture seemed to be from fifty plus to a hundred years ago and also the physics breaking magic, was sort of cool. It was… cute, he guessed.  He didn’t really like how everyone was staring at Jack, their clothes were just as weird, but it wasn’t a new thing.  People always stared at Jack.  

That’s what happened when you wore hazard-orange jumpsuits twenty-four seven.  

The shops all had names out of a fantasy novel, and at one point they got turned around and wound up on a residential street where they had to ask for directions, but eventually they made it to ‘Willoughby’s Wand Emporium.’

The interior of Willoughby’s Wand Emporium reminded Danny strongly of a shoe store.  The shelves were all lined with boxes of approximately that size, and the employees all carried measuring tape.  It also smelled like a shoe store: musty and dry, with a hint of polish.  Or maybe it was wood varnish?  Or some kind of paint.  

A young woman bounced up.  “Hi, how can we help you today?  Replacement wand?”

“First time, actually,” said Jack.  

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the woman.  “You’re just so tall for your age.”

“I’m fourteen,” said Danny.  

The woman began to turn red.

“He was missed,” said Jack.  “It happens.”  He smiled, but it looked far more strained than usual.  

“Oh,” said the woman.  “Ahem.  Well, if you’ll come right this way, I can start taking measurements, and start trying out wands.  The wand chooses the wizard, they say!”

“Okay,” said Danny, shrugging.  That was… interesting.  Were the wands sentient?  Did that somehow make them acceptable IDs?

Seemed really weird to keep sentient things stored in boxes.

… Said the kid who stored sentient beings in a soup thermos.

A really high-tech soup thermos.

Didn’t make it better.  

Except he didn’t keep them in the thermos indefinitely.  Except for Dan.  

Danny didn’t know if the wizards kept the wands in boxes indefinitely, either.  Maybe he should stop assuming things.  That had gotten him in trouble with ghosts more than once.

The woman took her measuring tape from where it hung around her shoulders, held it out in front of herself, and promptly dropped it. It did not fall.  

As basic as levitation was for ghosts, it was really weird to see a human do it.  (Especially when it always took so much concentration for him to levitate things other than himself—Hence why he never really used the ability in battle.)

The measuring tape flitted around Danny’s head, shoulders, arms, and body, taking measurements.  He had to sit on his reflexes hard to prevent himself from trying to catch it or knock it out of the air.  

He was so nervous.  Was it normal to be nervous?

The measuring tape snaked back through the air to the woman, who smiled.  “Alright,” she said, “we can start with that.  Uh, to explain the process, we usually start out with wands in the appropriate size range and try and zero in on the ones that respond best to you from there.”  She flicked her own wand, and several thin boxes slid themselves off the shelves.  “We use a wide variety of wand woods from a variety of wandmakers.  Just about any tree that grows in North America is probably represented here.” She paused.  “Except for palm trees.”

“That makes sense,” said Danny.  Palm trees were quite different from other trees.  

“Alright.  Let’s start with pine.  The core of this one is dragon heartstring—Harvested humanely, of course!”

“Core?” said Danny, latching on to the familiar word even as he regarded the wand itself dubiously.  

“Yes.  As with our woods, we also stock a wide range of wand cores.  Each wand has a core made of a small part of a magical creature.  Dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, and phoenix feather are the standard ones…  But that standardization is rather British.  We have a few others available.  Thunderbird tail feather—Only taken during molt.  Wampus cat hair.  Dittany. Rougarou hair.  Jackalope antler…  Those are the more common ones, though we do have others.  Even some kneazle whisker, although most people don’t want those.”

“Why not?”

“Ah, they tend not to be very strong.  But sheer power isn’t everything.  Some prefer control, need lower power output…  or are worried about accidents while they’re learning.  We do see some adult learners every now and then.”

That actually sounded sort of appealing to Danny, but he supposed he’d better go about this normally.  At least at first.  

He picked up the pine wand and immediately dropped it.  

“Ow,” he said.  

“Ow?” repeated the woman.  “Oh,” she said, catching sight of the burn on his hand.  “That’s… not supposed to happen.”

“Y’know,” said Danny, conversationally, “I’ve only held, like, two magical things in my life, and both of them have damaged my hands. Is this, like, a common thing, or am I just ridiculously unlucky.”

“Second one, I think,” said the woman.  “Cynthia’s good at minor healing charms.  I’m going to go get her.  Okay?  Okay.”

Shortly thereafter, phoenix feather wands were also eliminated as a possibility, not because they burned Danny, but because they seemed intent on burning everything else around him.  Pine wands were also a definite no-go (“Don’t worry about the lifespan thing,” said the woman, “that’s a myth.”).  As was everything but elder, apple, pear, hornbeam, thorn, and yew (this list got another mention of myths from the shop assistant).  

At this point, the shop owner, Mrs. Willoughby, was drawn out from the back room to observe the mess Danny was making.  

“My,” she said, “I haven’t seen anyone have this much trouble in a while.  Heather, why don’t you go get some of the specialty cores.”

“I thought the unicorn was working well,” protested the woman who’d been helping Danny so far.  She winced as Danny picked up a new wand and exploded a light.  “Comparatively.”

“Yes, we could probably eventually find a unicorn hair wand that would work for him, but all things considered…  I feel like we should explore other avenues.”  She sniffed.  “Nothing associated with fire.  Perhaps kelpie mane?”

“I’ll check,” said Heather.  

.

Kelpie mane, it turned out, did the same sort of thing as phoenix tail feather when it came to Danny.  Only with a lot more water involved.  

“I didn’t think that would work, anyway,” said Mrs. Willoughby.

“Then why,” said Danny, wringing water out of his shirt, “did you have me try it?”

“Oh, cases like you greatly improve our understanding of wandlore,” said Mrs. Willoughby.  “You’re not likely to have noticed this yet, but the population of wizards and witches is so small compared to the no-maj population that everyone who gets very far in a profession has to be a bit of an innovator.  I’m recording this for future reference, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you do in life.  If anything.  It would be very helpful to me if you became famous.”

“Hard pass on that,” said Danny.  

“Or at least come back at some point.”

“I’ll consider it,” said Danny.  “But, like, we were really hoping to do other things today, so maybe…”  He made a circular motion with his hand.  “Or at least, ugh, I don’t know.  I feel like everything you give me is trying to kill me.”

It was a very familiar feeling, and a very unwelcome one, nonetheless.  

“We really aren’t,” said Mrs. Willoughby.  “But perhaps… from now on, we’ll limit to the woods to the Rosaceaes.  The others tend to be called unlucky.  Well, except for the hornbeam.  Is there anything you’re singularly passionate about?”

Singularly passionate?  “Not really,” said Danny, who did not think about ghosts or helping people or space. He shifted, uncomfortable, and squelched.  

Screw it.  He was supposedly a wizard, now, right?

He phased the water off himself.  

“Oh my god!” shouted Heather.  “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Uh,” said Danny.  “No?”

“Calm down, Heather.  Don’t act like you’ve never seen accidental magic before.”

“Not with a teenager doing it!”

They were now attracting a crowd.  Yay.  

“He’s not trained, yet,” said Mrs. Willoughby, unconcerned.  “Don’t be rude.”

“Yeah, can we get back on track, here?”

After a few more tries, Mrs. Willoughby had determined that the wood that reacted the least badly to Danny was hawthorn.  Then she sent Heather into the storage room to fetch more.  

“I don’t know why we even have these,” said Heather, under her breath, carrying several boxes marked with stamps that read ‘THESTRAL.’

“Because some people have trauma, Heather.”

“He’s a teenager.  I seriously doubt he has deep personal experiences with death.”

“Wow, way to assume, Heather,” said another shop assistant, who was passing by with a far-too-curious customer.  

“Here,” said Mrs. Willoughby, handing Danny a box.  “Try this one.  It’s hawthorn.”

With some suspicion, Danny slid the cover off the box and gingerly picked up the wand inside.  

It didn’t do anything like what the other wands had. Instead, the slender length of wood gave him a faint echo of the feeling he got when he was on an emotional high and engaging in either extreme mischief or obsession-adjacent activities (because he did not have a real, ghostly, capital-O Obsession).

Danny declined to hold it with all five fingers, lest he be overcome with mania.

Yes, he was paranoid.  But when touching things can go as badly for you as they did for Danny, paranoia was justified.  

“Oh, it looks like you’ve found your match,” said Mrs. Willoughby, clapping.  

With the ease of practice, Danny did not let any trace of horror or unease show on his face.  He ignored the surge of glee from the wand, and carefully placed it back in the box.  

Yeah.  He needed a wand for passport purposes, but there was no way he was going to use that.  He’d just fake magic with ghost powers.  It had been working out okay so far.  

What was the worst that could happen?

A rather relieved Jack paid for the wand, and they made their way, slowly, to the government building.  

“So,” said Jack.  “You want to save getting those beginner magic manuals for another day?”

“Absolutely,” said Danny.  He wondered if his twin had gone through anything even remotely like this and if it was really worth all this trouble to meet a person he would have basically nothing in common with other than blood.  

Blood that likely meant less than usual, considering that his was diluted with ectoplasm.  A fact he would have to hide.  With no allies or back up.  In England.

(Again, this whole endeavor was not his greatest idea.)

.

Draco supervised the house-elves as they cleaned out the room next to his own, feeling rather blank.  He had campaigned vigorously for his twin to come, but now that he was…

The boy, for all that he was as much a Malfoy as Draco, was an American for all intents and purposes.  What did Americans even like?  What did they call their bastardized version of Quidditch?  Would Deneb even know about wizard games?  According to the woman from the agency, he’d been raised as a muggle by those squibs he’d been placed with.  

Slowly but surely, Draco’s heart sank.  He had no idea what his twin would be like.  Deneb, despite being his brother, would essentially be a stranger.  

He was beginning to understand why his mother was so angry at his father.  

[i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle]

Chapter 25: Starlight’s Mother, Part 1 - Who Was She?

The Elements of Harmony and the CMC are on their way to town to search for Starlight. While there, they walk by Trixie’s wagon. Trixie opens up the side and sees the group walking by.

Trixie: Heeeeeeeeey! Twilight and Friends!

The group stops and turns toward Trixie who’s waving to them, they decide to go see her in case maybe Trixie knows where Starlight is.

Twilight: Hi Trixie! Good to see you.

Trixie: Same to all of you, did you enjoy Trixie’s performance last night?

Trixie grins smugly, hoping for some more praise

Sweetie: That was pretty cool how you got yourself and Starlight to fit into that lamp without being a genie. And your horn didn’t even glow! I can’t even imagine how that worked out...

Scootaloo: Maybe there was a secret escape under the bottom of the lamp?

Apple Bloom: But even then, Trixie would o’ still had t’ squeeze her and Starlight though such ah tight space!

Scootaloo: True, but didn’t Big Mac once accidentally squish you so hard you went down the berry squish drain during the Sisterhooves Social?

Apple Bloom: Well yeah… though this was certainly still ah different method then the sheer force o’ weight…

Sweetie: Are we more liquid then we thought?

The CMC continue to ponder more on how Trixie did what she did. While the rest giggle knowing it was just something Trixie wished for from Twilight’s genie magic.

Twilight: You had a good show, Trixie. Though while we’re stopping by, I don’t suppose you know where Starlight is right now? I know you told me last night that Starlight wanted to see me when I was available today.

Trixie: Well... coincidentally she’s probably looking for you right now! I think she headed to Saddle Arabia using the portal gum expecting you to be back at the palace.

Twilight: Uh oh, I don’t know if I should go to Saddle Arabia in case she happens to gum portal back to town, and we just end up traveling in circles. I feel like she’ll come across Princess Celestia, Malakhar, Kubuya, or the Sultan. She’ll ask them where I am and they’ll say I’m likely at…

Twilight widens eyes briefly

Twilight: Sweet… Apple… Acres… Oh no! We better go back… We should of just stayed at the farm!

Trixie: Oh Twilight, is it ok if I come with?

Twilight: Of course, Trixie! Come with us!

Trixie opens the exit of her wagon and starts galloping along with the group back to Sweet Apple Acres. They quickly get back to the gates of the farm, but then they hear a scream.

Twilight: That sounds like Starlight! Come on, she might be in trouble!

They get closer to the farm house before they hear Starlight’s voice again

Starlight: APPPPLLLLLEEEEEEJAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKK!

Starlight is then seen running from the other side of the house straight to the other side where the Elements, the CMC, and Trixie are. Starlight heads straight over to Applejack. She’s shaking, and terrified.

Applejack: Starlight, what’s wrong?!

Starlight: Applejack! I think your house is haunted!

Applejack: Haunted?! What do ya mean?

Starlight: You’re probably going to think I went insane… but when I got here looking for Twilight after Princess Celestia informed me at the palace that she’d likely be here… I came by the backdoor of your house and peeked into the windows… and I saw these transparent, glowing ghosts of your parents!

Applejack chuckles as she’s aware that this would have made her an emotional wreck just hours ago, and also expresses relief that Starlight is ok. 

Applejack: Oh? Is that all? Ya’ll had me worried fo’ ah moment!

Starlight goes wide-eyed, she thought Applejack was going to be surprised that somepony has seen ghosts of her parents.

Starlight: WHAT?! How can you respond like this isn’t a big deal?!

Applejack: Well… ah mean… it would o’ been ah big deal just ah few hours ago… and it even took ah little while t’ convince me even after they appeared… But Twilight and Spike summoned mah parents’ spirits using Spike’s Dragon Tear. It’s capable o’ bringing down the deceased souls all the way down from space!

Starlight flails her hooves as she looks absolutely incredulous

Starlight: Since when could it do that?! Since when have we found out the dead go to space?!

Twilight: Ohohoho… Believe me, Starlight… it has been an absolutely crazy day…

Twilight and the others proceed to recap to Starlight what they talked about around Pear Butter and Bright Mac’s spirits. Starlight just holding her fore hooves on the sides of her head hearing everything that’s been learned in just the past few hours.

Starlight: So let me get this straight… we can bring back the dead as spirits with the Dragon’s Tear… the sun and moon wouldn’t be able to move without our magic… plus our planet doesn’t rotate… the souls of the deceased join some big shield invisible to us orbiting around our planet and moon… said souls protect us from outside threats in space… Life is magic… Genies and thus Twilight is at least PART spirit… and the planet is alive?!

The rest of the group nods, though Trixie herself is also kind of freaking out since she hasn’t heard all this either.

Trixie: And all of you are taking this calmly like it’s already some common knowledge?!

Twilight: Oh we freaked out alright. We just kind of already got most of it out of the way. It’s still kind of all swirling in my head to be honest… *Twilight spins her eyes*

Starlight: This is just insane… the fact that Applejack is calm during this means it is true… she’s the element of Honesty. She couldn’t lie, or at the very least… wouldn’t be able to hold a straight face very easily if any of this was not real…

Applejack: Like ah said, it did take some time fo’ me t’ acknowledge much o’ this as the truth. But considering just moments before ah was told all this, mah parent’s spirits were summoned… there’s just about no way ah could really object. It’d have t’ be one heck o’ ah conspiracy t’ say both ponies that are living AND dead have conspired together including mah own parents t’ peddle ah lie… especially since there’s really only been one time before all this that ah Dragon’s Tear has brought spirits down. And that was ah long time ago when Jinn was still around…

Starlight: Just let me take some deep breaths, then I can finally be calm and proceed to tell you what I wanted to see you about.

Starlight takes a few moments to do a breathing exercise as all the things she was just told swirl in her head. She still kinda shakes a little or her ear twitches thinking about all the crazy but true facts about their world as well as life and death. But eventually, she gets back to a relatively normal state with a determined look on her face.

Starlight: Ok… Twilight… it’s time.

Twilight walks on over to the front of Starlight with a determined look of her own.

Twilight: Yes, it is…

Starlight / Twilight: Please, help me find my mother! / I’m gonna help you find your mother!

Starlight & Twilight: Wait… How did you know?!

Starlight / Twilight: Applejack must of told you! / Applejack told me!

Starlight & Twilight: Maybe we should stop talking simultaneously?

The two giggle a little bit before ultimately the subject matter of finding Starlight’s mother puts a rather heavy air around the area.

Twilight: Before we go to try finding your mother. Is it alright if we get an explanation from you? I know you’ve already told the CMC, at least a big part of it considering you’ve told them how you got your Cutie Mark. We’ve already got the gist from Applejack that you don’t know who your mother is, and your father refuses to tell you. Maybe start with… why haven’t you shared this years ago?

Starlight lowers her head solemnly

Starlight: I guess… it just never occurred to me to bring it up at the time…

Applejack: It’s ok Starlight, after all… Twilight went almost 2 years without telling us she had ah brother that she loves so much. *winks*

Twilight smiles sheepishly, putting a hoof behind your back

Twilight: Well… you girls never asked!

But er… ahem… how about we get the little that you do know about your mother?

Starlight: There’s only a few facts I know. One of which I just learned recently, thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all beam a grin.

Starlight: Just to narrow it down so not too many questions are asked. My father actually doesn’t know what happened to her after she disappeared either, he really only just refuses to tell me her name. Because otherwise he’s just as much in the dark as I am, the birth certificates in Sire’s Hollow conveniently leave off Parent’s names, and this wasn’t a case where she died from complications of childbirth. She gave birth to me in my old home rather then a hospital, but she survived my birth for certain. And even if she had died from child birth, then my father would of most certainly known.

And the only other big fact I know is something the Cutie Mark Crusaders already know...

Twilight: I did overhear Apple Bloom mention that you told them how you got your mark, and that your mother might be related somehow. I suppose that’s a good time as any for you to finally tell us, too?

The other elements pay really close attention as they themselves have always been curious about how Staright got her mark.

Starlight: Certainly, I also gave a little bit of the gist of it to Applejack at the ball. But I’ll certainly provide at least a little more detail then the summary I gave her…

Starlight takes a deep breath

Starlight: First of all, I was a latchkey filly. I never even had one babysitter, when my father went to work I was always alone in the house by myself. When Sunburst was still in town, he at least tended to come over from time to time. But once he got his cutie mark and left, that was it. Which added to why him leaving was the beginning of such a dark part of my life... As I was left alone for most hours of any days my father had to work.

One day, I was playing with a ball in the basement and when I accidentally supercharged it into a wall. A hole broke through, and when I looked into it... I found two books, and read them both. The first one I read…. ehehhehheh… isn’t exactly relevant right now… but the 2nd one absolutely was. It was a spell book for some of the more advanced unicorns, and I mean like super advanced. As in probably most students aside from you at Celestia’s gifted students school may have had trouble performing the kind of things in that book. And yet, even as young as I was… I somewhat understood the nuances in the book.

I found a spell in the book of self-levitation AKA flight with just magic. Surprisingly, it was one of the more simpler ones in the book. I decided to give it a try, and soon I was having some fun flying all around the basement. But then things went wrong when I tried picking up the ball at the same time. Because it was such an advanced spell, and I was inexperienced with controlling that kind of power, it led to me unable to control what I was picking up and soon all the toys on the basement floor were orbiting around me. A magic aura appeared, and at least my father has told me he remembers that my eyes were glowing then.

Twilight:  *gasp* This sounds quite similar to my magic freakout after I had hatched Spike…

Starlight: It probably was pretty much just like that. Though speaking of my father, he came home at the time and I screamed to call for him to help me. He came down, and eventually tackled me down. I may have a complicated relationship with my father, but I was thankful to him for saving me. I became scared of what might have happened if say… I had that same magical freakout but in the kitchen, with a lot more dangerous materials like knives swirling around me…

Once we recovered from the shock, I told my father what happened. Naturally, leading to him keeping that spellbook as far away as possible from me. But amid my father looking if I had any injuries, that’s when he noticed that I had gotten my Cutie Mark. He pointed it out to me, and I immediately looked at my flank. Now obviously that magic outburst was what gave me my cutie mark. But what an outburst like that doesn’t exactly do is really explain what it means. Perhaps, naturally it just means I have a lot of raw magic power. But the problem is, it makes it quite vague.

Twilight, your cutie mark is somewhat similar in that way, but you knew it meant your skill in magic because you had read for hours upon hours about magic, plus you received the mark just as you were about to become Celestia’s protege. I didn’t have that, it just simply happened as I used an advanced spell for the first time. So I didn’t understand what sort of future I was destined for, not to mention of course that I hated cutie marks because of Sunburst leaving. So even if I kind of knew what it meant, I would of grumbled about it regardless.

So… the only explanation for my raw magic power… as deduced by the Cutie Mark Crusaders… is I had to have inherited it. Somepony in my family has a bloodline of strong magic power. And my father’s bloodline I’m pretty sure has no signs of that. So that means… it has to be related to my mother somehow…

Twilight: I see… then this isn’t just a matter of family-related strife... The identity of your mother holds the keys to the very pony that you are destined to be!

Starlight: Also, Twilight… I think it’s about time I confess something to you… Do you remember when I finally turned around while we were traveling through time after all you did was just softly speak to me?

Twilight gasps, as she’s long wanted to hear this

Twilight: Yes…?

Starlight starts streaming down tears

Starlight: I think I gave in… because hearing your voice then… was almost like having the mother I never had… you’re the closest to a mother figure I’ve ever had… *sniff*

Twilight: Oh Starlight… come here…

Twilight calls Starlight in for a hug. Starlight hugs Twilight and Twilight wraps both of her wings around her, as Starlight’s tears stream down her face and onto Twilight’s shoulders. The rest of the group with sympathetic tears and smiles as they watch the long hug Twilight gives Starlight. Twilight softly speaks to Starlight in the middle of the hug.

Twilight: Let’s go solve this, together… We’ll go to Sire’s Hollow right now… You and your father are going to be reuniting with your mother, one way or another…

Starlight lets go of the hug and wipes the tears away from her eyes

Starlight: Thank you, Twilight… Allow me to get us there.

Starlight pulls out another piece of gum back to Starlight’s old hometown. Once the portal is open, Starlight enters first, as Twilight and the others follow. 

((Story continues after the break))

Before they bring Firelight out of his home. They discuss the game plan on setting out to find Starlight’s mother.

Twilight: Ok… so if I recall correctly... you said you have no idea what happened to your mother, ergo, you don’t even know if she’s alive or not. Correct?

Starlight nods

Starlight: Correct

Twilight: Well… then there’s 2 ways we can go about this first. Either you wish you knew where your mother was on the planet to check if she’s alive, or… we use Spike’s dragon tear to check if she’s among the deceased.

Starlight taps her hooves together with a bit of a sinister grin

Starlight: What if… I wished I could read my father’s mind?

Twilight scowls

Twilight: Sorry Starlight, but I’d rather not grant the ability to read a pony’s mind. Everypony should have a right to their private thoughts. Even if it’s a secret that your father has selfishly kept from you. Besides, the two ways I told you about will do it just as well.

Starlight: Ok… I guess I understand. Guess this is why Malakhar genified you, you’re responsible with your wishes. But I suppose it’s time to get my father out. I’ll be right back out with him.

Starlight walks into her old home again, this time Firelight is drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen. Firelight turns to see her daughter’s back.

Firelight: Hey there Pumpky-wu-WHAAAA

Starlight grabs her father by the collar with her magic, the sudden jerk makes him drop his coffee, the cup breaking on the kitchen floor, a big coffee spill now on the floor, and Starlight brings his face close to her’s

Starlight: No childish nicknames right now. We are ending this… right. now.

Firelight: Agggh! Starlight, what are you talking about?!

Starlight: We are reuniting with my mother, one way or another. I have Princess Twilight and her friends outside the house. I’m going to get a wish from her that will let me find her. And you’re just going to stand there and watch!

Firelight: B…b..bu….but I thought you said you could wait for years at the ball!

Starlight rolls her eyes

Starlight: Oh Father, you’ve always been soooooo naive, when I was very clearly being sarcastic!

Firelight: Wait, Starlight you don’t have to do this!

Starlight drops her father’s collar and raises an eyebrow as he drops to his floor his chin hitting the floor.

Starlight: Oh? Are you willing to say who she was yourself right now?

Firelight just sweats nervously and keeps quiet. Seems like he’s still not willing to say it himself. Starlight raising an eyebrow. Giving him time to answer, but Firelight still says nothing.

Starlight: *sigh* I guess I’ll take that as a no…

Starlight now grabs her father by the tail with her magic and starts dragging him out of the house.

Firelight: Agh! Starlight! Wait! There’s going to be a storm any second now! The weather patrol told us to stay inside!

Starlight ignores her father’s pleads and has soon brought him out to the group outside their home. Starlight let’s go of his tail. And he stands back up, looking at a group of displeased mares, fillies, and one dragon given they know he’s been the one who’s hidden Starlight’s mother’s identity for so long.

Applejack: Ya’ll should count ya self lucky we have other methods t’ finding Starlight’s Mom. Otherwise, ya would o’ had t’ deal with me!

Rainbow: And me!

Firelight: But I do have a reason for not telling her!

Applejack: Then maybe at least try t’ tell us?

Firelight: I… can’t without revealing the identity…

Applejack: Well then, ya’ll pleading is useless, we’re finding Starlight’s mother whether ya like it or not!

Firelight just droops his head. Twilight and Starlight then get set to preparing to do either of the two methods Twilight mentioned.

Twilight: So, do you want to check if your mother is alive or dead first?

Starlight: I suppose we should check if she’s alive first… So… Twilight… I wish I knew where my mother was on the planet!

Twilight takes a deep breath closes her eyes, and makes her horn glow. Suddenly, overhead the storm that Firelight warned about approaches, Firelight tries to use the coming storm to try to delay things further.

Firelight: Hey uh… the storm from the weather team I told you about is here… you think we can try this another time... when the weather’s more clear…?

Starlight: NO! You are not weaseling out of this, just because you might get a little wet!

The group carefully watches Twilight still trying to use her magic to locate Starlight’s mother. Rain starts falling over Sire’s Hollow. Starlight stands there watching Twilight, she’s shaking a little in anticipation for finally finding the location of her mother.

A few moments later…

…

……

………

…………

Twilight opens her eyes and frowns

Twilight: Starlight… Firelight… I’m sorry… but… I can’t find her… 

I’m… afraid... That likely means that the worst has happened to her…

The entire rest of the group gasps, especially Starlight and her father. Because of this one try… the possibility of Starlight’s Mother is dead is still out there, and in fact… is probably more likely then not.

Firelight: No… no… nonononono… s-s-sh-she can’t b-b-be… there must be some sort of explanation for this…!

Starlight glares at her father.

Starlight: LIKE WHAT?! That she’s such a powerful unicorn that not even SOUL MAGIC can find her?! Twilight’s magic is quite capable of looking across the entire world for one pony in the time she tried granting that wish!

Rain starts falling faster, and the rumbles of thunder can be heard as the sky gets darker.

Firelight: I… mean… maybe… but wait, how did you…

Starlight: Find out she was a powerful unicorn? That’s thanks to these 3 fillies over here who know how to read a cutie mark story *Pointing to the Cutie Mark Crusaders*

Firelight: Well uh… I guess while you know… you at least brought up a good optimistic possibility of why Twilight didn’t find her?

Starlight: There’s only one way to find out now… Spike, please come on over here.

Spike: Right!

Spike gives a determined face as he heads up to where Starlight is standing.

Starlight: So Twilight, if I recall correctly from you girls telling me how spirits are summoned. If my mother is indeed deceased, I just touch Spike’s Dragon Tear and send a message to my mother mentally, right?

Twilight: Yes… As for you Firelight, you can also say something. I know you don’t want to believe she’s dead, but you also don’t know what happened to her since she disappeared. Even if you’d rather be blissfully unaware of your wife’s fate… wouldn’t you at least like to try to speak to her? And if for some reason, nothing happens, then you will be proved right that she was still alive despite my magic being unable to find her.

Firelight: Wait, even if she is dead… which I hope she’s not… you expect me to believe we can talk to her simply by touching the gem on the dragon’s necklace?!

Applejack uses her status as the element of honesty to her advantage, looking at Firelight with a smug face and just replying with a very blunt…

Applejack: Yes!

The reputation of the Elements of Harmony is pretty much known world-wide by now. So Applejack saying this in a straight face, reassures anypony that it’s the truth. Firelight just going wide-eyed, and bites his lip. Before heaving a long sigh and giving in

Firelight: Does it require more then one pony to work?

Twilight: No, Starlight could do it solo if necessary

That sort of entraps Firelight since regardless if he touches it or not, they’re going to find out. The storm also picks up intensity. Rain falling harder and lightning can be seen in the distance.

Firelight: I guess I have no choice then… I’ll try… but I hope to Celestia that somehow she’s still alive… I don’t know why your magic couldn’t find her… but I hope, hope, hope, hope she is somewhere on the world… that just can’t be found by magic means… maybe Starlight is right that she’s using her own magic to hide herself…

Starlight: But then that’d mean she’s been neglecting us AND refusing to let anypony find her under any circumstances…  to the point SOUL MAGIC can’t find her! Would that really be a good thing…?

Firelight closes his eyes, droops his head, and sighs

Firelight: It would be to me… because at least she’s still alive and safe… even if she no longer wants to be a part of our family… knowing she’s ok would be good enough for me... and quite frankly today’s conversation almost makes me want to remain blissfully unaware... but... I know Starlight’s about to find out either way... so I can’t...

Starlight: A part of me hopes she’s still alive too… just so there’s a chance that even if I never had her for my childhood. I can have her around for however long she will be alive. I guess thanks to learning of the existence of the soul shield, even if she is dead, I will be lucky enough to still get to talk to her, but we won’t exactly be able to do a lot of things together, if she’s part of the trillions of souls protecting our planet…

Twilight: I hope that by some miracle she’s fine too… for both of your sakes. But we also shouldn’t try to deny reality and face the truth. Starlight’s agonized long enough not knowing, she needs to know what happened to her mother. She’ll never understand who she truly is, if we don’t do this. If you have any basic decency as a father, you’ll want her to find out...

Firelight lowers his head

Firelight: y-y-Yeah… l-l-let’s d-do it….

*THUNDER BOOM*

Firelight: …p-p-Preferably before we get struck by lightning!

Starlight and Firelight touch Spike’s Dragon Tear. And proceed to take deep breaths, then close their eyes to focus on a message inside their head.

Starlight: (Hello? Mother? This is your daughter… Starlight… you disappeared 2 weeks after i was born… I don’t know for sure if you’re really up there… but I really wish to see you for the first time in my life… I wish to know who you were… I’m gone my entire life without knowing, I can’t even be sure how I’m supposed to feel about you… I suppose that if you are up there, there’s a good chance that I’ll like you because only those who lived normal or better lives are up there… But even if for some reason I don’t, I’ll at least get answers… Please! Open up the keys to who I truly am!)

Firelight: (I really hope that I’m doing this for nothing… please, I plead for nothing to happen. I hope that my wife’s actually ok… I’d like to see her… I don’t care if she suddenly decided she never wants to anything to do with me or Starlight ever again. I don’t even care if it turns out she just abandoned us for an unknown reason without telling us… I’ll just he happy that she’s fine… I beg of the many souls that are apparently surrounding this planet… please don’t tell me she is among you! Please! I just won’t be able to take it…)

*THUNDER BOOM*

Starlight and her Father finish, and open their eyes. Starlight shivers, partly because of nervousness but also because of the cold rain now making her mane and tail soaked. Her father on the other hand is a complete wreck just shaking a whole ton of nervousness. He’s mentally praying that nothing comes down, proving once and for all his wife is still alive. The rest of the group keeps an eye on Spike’s Dragon Tear.

…

……

………

…………

*THUNDER BOOM*

Just as more thunder is heard, Spike’s Dragon tear starts glowing. Firelight freaks out, and wonders what’s happening

Firelight: w-w-wh-wh-Wha…? What’s happening…?!

The rest of the group including Starlight lower their heads, they know what this means: A spirit is being summoned. But Starlight remains determined as she picks her head back up and puts on a brave face. Watching the sky to witness her first spirit summoning, and it’ll be none other then her long, lost mother.

Firelight: Somepony! Please... tell me this doesn’t mean…

Out in the distance a bright white light from the sky starts approaching fast towards Sire’s Hollow. Twilight whispers to herself.

Twilight: Here she is…

Firelight: Is that… a comet? Shouldn’t we try to evacuate, before it hits?!

Spike: Don’t worry, her spirit isn’t going to impact the planet.

Firelight: Don’t you dare say her spirit! This has to be something else! Couldn’t it?!

The rest of the group just shakes their head at Firelight’s attempts to deny the reality of what’s happening.

*THUNDER BOOM*

The white comet comes down closer and eventually stops just in front of a nearby house near the group and forms into a white sphere. It starts to turn into a pony shape, it’s at this point where Firelight’s heart finally starts to sink. He’s been able to deny as hard as possible until now, but the silhouette is starting to look unmistakable. A unicorn with a curvy mane and tail, that’s slightly spiky on top, the outline of what might just be one small bang next to the horn.

Then the color starts fading in, the coat revealing to be a golden yellow/amber…

A mane and tail that is a mix of red and yellow that evokes similarity to a fire, The spirit opens up it’s eyes showing a color of greenish-cyan, and the cutie mark in the shape of… a sun.

Just looking at the cutie mark was when Twilight knew… they didn’t just find Starlight’s mother… they had found…

*THUNDER BOOM*

Twilight: *gasp* Sunset Shimmer…!

The spirit looks at her daughter and her husband with a sad look on her face. At last, the identity of Starlight’s mother has been revealed. She’s none other then Celestia’s missing former protege prior to Twilight… Sunset Shimmer

The rest of the Elements of Harmony, and Spike all gasp, Starlight who has never heard a thing about Sunset Shimmer is confused.

Starlight: What’s this about a sunset’s shimmer? This storm is blocking the sun right now…

Twilight: No, Starlight.. Sunset Shimmer is your mother’s name!

Starlight: Huh?! How in the hay do you know that?!

Twilight: I’ll explain soon…

Sunset stands quietly for a moment, before finally speaking herself. She first turns toward Starlight

Sunset Shimmer: Hello… my lovely daughter… I… am so pleased, I get to see you again... 

Then she sadly turns over to her distraught husband

Sunset: But… as for my darling Fi-Fi… I am so sorry… but…

Sunset lowers her head and closes her eyes about to give her husband the harsh truth

Sunset:  I… was murdered a long time ago…

Firelight falls to his knees. Tears welling up in his eyes, even though he can actually see her, hear her, and even talk to her again. This is the moment it finally dawned on him that his wife was dead, and even worse… she just said she was murdered. So acting as if she had been killed right in front of him, he lays his front hooves on the ground in a puddle that’s a mix between his own tears and the rain from the storm. And yells out a long…

Firelight: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

His screams of grief echo throughout the entire valley.

UP NEXT: Chapter 26 - Starlight’s Mother, Part 2 - Why Did Firelight Keep Her A Secret?

[patandpran]

Oblivious

Summary: To say that Tine was oblivious was an understatement. To say that Sarawat was head over heels for this oblivious idiot was also an understatement. So how did the universe settle this predicament? With snacks and the guise of guitar lessons, of course!

This is an old one that’s been on Ao3 for a while but I thought I would share it here.

To say that Tine was oblivious was an understatement.

To say that Sarawat was head over heels for this oblivious idiot was also an understatement.

So how did the universe settle this predicament? With snacks and the guise of guitar lessons, of course!

It all started when Tine approached him to ‘pretend’ to be his boyfriend to get Green off his trail. Sarawat denied Tine’s request at first but who could deny those puppy dogs eyes that Tine gave him every time he asked for something and didn’t get his way? Sarawat certainly couldn’t. It had been fun, at first, for Sarawat. This secret mission. Teasing Tine, getting to know his quirks and seeing to what lengths Tine would go to learn more about him - what with all the false information floating around in the #Teamsarawatswives groups.

Sarawat especially loved when they bonded over music. He pretended to judge Tine’s ‘simple’ or ‘basic’ taste in music by throwing out names of obscure Thai bands that his bandmates liked but he liked Scrubb just as much as Tine did. Whenever he played music for Tine, he couldn’t look at the other young man for too long or his hands would freeze up and his heart would threaten to pound right out of his chest.

Tine listened - actually listened to his music. Sarawat could tell from the focused look in his eyes and the soft smile on his lips. He wasn’t like the hoards of screaming girls who would come out to their shows just to see him for his ‘looks’, Tine looked beyond that and really saw his music for what it was.

But then Pear came along and everything got much more complicated. Before Pear entered the picture, Sarawat had tricked himself into believing that he and Tine might remove the ‘fake’ from the label of ‘fake dating’. It had felt like they were on a path to something….. something more. Sarawat had even been so bold to share his feelings openly with Tine but Tine brushed it off as an attempt to practice ‘flirting’.

The final straw was when Tine brought Pear to the music fundraiser when he had so persistently asked if Sarawat’s band could play ‘Everything’ by Scrubb and then Tine hadn’t even stuck around to listen to the song. The only thing that made up for the mishap was how profusely Tine had apologized after the show which is where Sarawat decided to take a big risk.

“Please forgive me. I will do anything.” Tine whined in a way that brought a satisfied smirk to Sarawat’s lips.

“Anything…?” Sarawat challenged, pulling his guitar bag strap over his shoulder.

Tine let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes…. Anything!! I feel bad and I want to make up for it.”

“Okay.” Sarawat took a hold of Tine’s wrist and pulled him closer so he was practically whispering in Tine’s ear. “Buy me snacks and meet me in my dorm in thirty minutes. I want to teach you so more chords. It’s embarrassing that my boyfriend can’t play more than the eight basic guitar chords.”

When he released him, Sarawat was delighted to see that their close proximity had inspired a smattering of pink to spread across Tine’s cheeks. Tine took a moment to regain his grasp on reality and tore his wrist away from Sarawat’s grasp. “Fine. You got it. See you in half an hour.”

Sarwat watched as Tine stormed off in a flurry of whispered curses and excessive exasperated breathing and stomping. As much as he wanted to feel emboldened by the exchange, he knew that Tine’s interests lay elsewhere but that maybe, just maybe, he could refocus Tine’s gaze to someone who was already happy to be at his side.

**************

Sarawat was lying on his back, strumming his guitar lazily when a harsh knock sounded from his door.

“I gave you the key already.” Sarawat called out, not willing to move an inch from his comfy post. “Let yourself in.”

“Are you at least decent? The last time I came here you were completely naked.” Tine’s voice chimed out from behind the door.

Sarawat grinned at the memory and set his guitar aside of the mattress. “Do you want me to be naked? I can make that arrangement…”

“NO! NO! NO!” Tine burst through the door and some of the snacks that he had procured as per Sarawat’s request spilled across the entryway. “That is not what I meant!”

Sarawat chuckled and got to his feet, leaning down to collect some of the fallen treats. Tine leaned down and started to collect up the mess as well.

“You really are cute when you’re flustered.” The words fell from Sarawat’s lips before he could even try to stop them.

That’s the effect that Tine had on him. He had always been calculated, careful and quiet but then Tine had to go and mess that all up. Sarawat didn’t mind the change one bit. It made him feel braver and bolder than ever before. It made him connected to something. It made him feel like he actually wanted to be seen by someone.

Tine started to respond but Sarawat cut him off instead. Sarawat settled down onto the edge of his mattress and patted the seat beside him. “Anyway, thanks for the snacks. I’ll eat them later. Why don’t we get right down to it? We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“I will have you know that P’Dim said I have improved a lot since I joined the club.” Tine blurted out defensively as he sat down next to Sarawat.

“Sulking doesn’t make you a better guitar player.” Sarawat advised as he attempted to pass Tine his extra guitar.

Tine held up his hands and stuck out his bottom lip. “Wait! Can you play ‘Everything’ for me first? I missed it today and I really want to hear you play it.” “That was not part of our deal.” Sarawat responded but couldn’t help but feel a warm fondness blossom in his chest because of Tine’s request. “But… I guess seeing an expert play a song wouldn’t be a bad way to start a guitar lesson.”

Tine rolled his eyes as Sarawat settled the guitar into place on his lap. Sarawat bit his lip for a moment, recalling the chord progression of the song before letting his fingers strum across the guitar strings. He felt Tine’s hot breath on the back of his neck as Tine moved closer to listen the song.

As always, Sarawat disappeared into the music and let the notes lead him through the song. He saw out of his periphery that Tine was bobbing his head to the music and closing his eyes to listen even more closely. Sarawat poured everything into the lyrics, his feelings for Tine, the frustration at seeing Tine with Pear or even Green, the excitement and fear that he felt when they were close like this, the absolute black hole of possibility that opened every time they shared space together. He knew that Tine couldn't possibly understand this from a simple song but Sarawat hoped that some of what he was feeling was being conveyed through his performance.

His fingers lingered over the guitar strings after he played the final chords of the song and let his voice sink into silence. Sarawat closed his eyes and internally wished that he could somehow freeze time to remain in this moment but that just wasn’t how reality worked. He only had so much time left with Tine and maybe their wasn’t much point in ruining or tainting what they had with a sudden love confession.

“Sarawat?”

Tine’s soft words pulled Sarawat back into reality. As he opened his eyes, Sarawat noticed that Tine had shifted himself so that he was sitting in front of Sarawat so that all that was between them was Sarawat’s guitar. The sudden change in proximity startled Sarawat into letting out a small gasp of surprise. “Oh.”

Tine’s hands hovered for a moment before they rested on top of Sarawat’s guitar. Tine watched Sarawat with such an unreadable intensity that Sarawat had to look away to not trick himself into believing that something had actually shifted between them.

“That was…” Tine’s words were shaky and uncertain, very much unlike Tine. “That was… beautiful. I can’t believe I missed that earlier. I am so, so sorry.”

A fiery frustration lit up in Sarawat and he looked up at Tine again with a challenging glare. “You wouldn't have missed it if you hadn’t been chasing after Pear.”

Tine shook his head as if he, too, was frustrated with himself. “I know. I know. I don’t know what I was doing…”

“You were using me…. to impress her.” Sarawat explained plainly, dumbfounded again by Tine’s disregard for anyone but himself. “And I was - I’m still trying - to impress you.”

As soon as they passed through his lips, Sarawat wished he could take them back. This isn’t how he had wanted this to go. Not at all. He had wanted Tine to realize the gravity of his effect on Sarawat, the authenticity of the connection between them but this… this was embarrassing. This felt wrong.

The silence was thick in the room and Sarawat couldn’t help but wish he could rewind back to that afternoon. He should never have invited Tine to his dorm. He should have encouraged his friend to go after Pear so that they could end this ridiculous charade that no one was falling for beside him.

He needed to escape. He needed to feel nothing. He wanted to get away from his feelings - as he usually did. He moved to get up but Tine’s grasp kept him in place. Sarawat dared to look up at Tine, a desperate look on his face. “What?!?”

“You did.” Tine’s voice was small and his gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he was waking up from a dream. “You do.”

“I do… what?” Sarawat barely whispered, his heart racing anxiously in anticipation.

“Impress me.” Tine’s words came out with a chuckle, as if he was making light of the situation which was so annoyingly Tine.

“You don’t get what I mean.” Sarawat groaned. “You are so god damn oblivious Tin-“

Sarawat’s accusation was interrupted by the presence of Tine’s lips pressed against his. Sarawat barely had time to recover from the surprise as Tine boldly deepened the kiss. His mind was reeling and he wondered momentarily if this was another of Tine’s ‘love lessons’ but that thought was shattered as the kiss continued. Sarawat suddenly cursed the guitar that kept from being any closer. Tine brought his hands up behind Sarawat’s neck, much to Sarawat’s delight and guided the kiss confidently. Sarawat was suddenly thankful for Tine’s previous experience as he did not have much himself. But just as he was starting to get self-conscious about his kissing ability, Tine pulled away.

“I think you’ll find that I’m a bit more observant than you’ll give me credit for.” Tine murmured as he rested his forehead against Sarawat’s, a proud grin on his swollen lips.

“I don’t know if I would go that far.” Sarawat breathed out giddily before pushing back so that he fell back on his pillow. He needed a moment away from Tine to recover from the intensity of the kiss.

Tine pulled Sarawat’s guitar away from his lap and placed it on its stand before climbing atop the mattress and lying down next to Sarawat, as they had done many times before. Except this time it felt much different. Clearer somehow.

“Again. I’m sorry.” Tine explained and Sarawat turned to face Tine. “I honestly didn’t think that you actually meant the things that you were saying. I thought you were using this all as an opportunity to give me a hard time just for your own entertainment.”

“I mean, it kind of has been a form of entertainment.” Sarawat responded, brushing some of Tine’s hair away from his forehead. “Seeing what kind of things made you blush and let down your guard…” Tine nosed Sarawat’s hand out of the way. “Things like that?”

Sarawat suddenly became nervous again, questioning how quickly things had changed. “So… is this just some sort of extended apology situation? Like a ‘pity party for hurting Sarawat’s feelings’?”

“No. Oh my god, no.” Tine reached out and took Sarawat’s hands in his as if to reassure him. “Although I would throw a GREAT pity party.”

Sarawat ripped his hands away from Tine’s and affectionately flicked Tine in the head. “You are so full of yourself!”

Tine laughed but quickly his gaze became from serious as he recaptured Sarawat’s hands. “I don’t know when it happened but I feel something for you. I might be oblivious but I can’t ignore that there is a connection between us and I think it would be a complete waste if we don’t try to explore what it is.”

“But what about Pear…?” Sarawat blurted out before he could stop himself.

Tine grinned shyly. “The other day I stayed after practice to help Pear rehearse a bit and she totally called me out for the way I look at you. She asked if there was anything she could do to help and we came up with a bit of a plan…”

Sarawat fumbled over his words and Tine put a shushing finger to Sarawat’s lips before he continued to explain, “… we wanted to see how you would react to me leaving early from your performance with her and what you might want me to do to make up for it. I’m honestly surprised you didn’t ask to touch my boobs again!”

“You knew I would get jealous?” Sarawat stammered.

“I hoped you would.” Tine chuckled. “Plus, it was harmless because Pear is dating Earn.”

Sarawat rolled onto his back so that he was staring up at the ceiling, his mind positively reeling at the turn of events. “Turns out I’m the one who is oblivious.”

Tine gently guided Sarawat’s head back to face his, placing a quick peck on Sarawat’s lips. “Well, now, we can be oblivious idiots together.”

[phenomenalcosmicpowers]

Starlight Glimmer/Post-Secrets Of The Dragon’s Tear Thoughts

So now that Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear is finished. I can now sort of put some reflections on some of the things that I did. I did a lot to expand the lore of I Dream of Twilight Sparkle and/or give my sort of interpretation of where some characters could go after the final two-parter and tried my darndest to fit it in a way that wouldn’t be too farfetched if some details were actually canon. From Scootaloo helping out the Wonderbolts expand, Sweetie starting her music career, Dragons not having marriages, Moondancer having had a crush on Twilight, Where Spike’s egg was found and who his dragon mother was and what happened to her along with how his egg ended up in Equestria and get linked with Twilight in such a way given there was not any other Pony/Dragon companionship in the show ever. And of course all of the lore expansions that was revealed with Twilight speaking to Jennesis and Jinn, plus Applejack and family reuniting with her deceased parents (Obviously FiM is the kind of show that doesn’t let you say death. But there’s absolutely no way they’re alive judging from some of the faces and even a few subtle lines in the episode The Perfect Pear.)

But funnily enough, one huge part of the story that I didn’t quite expect to have. Was the entirety of Starlight’s part of the story. You see, Starlight Glimmer was a character I was always… kind of lukewarm towards. I could never quite get past how quick her redemption was plus from what we are told… she almost rebooted the timeline… just because her friend got a cutie mark and left (Which by that logic, Moondancer should have become a villain too. She’d probably have even connected more as a villain since at least she had a connection to Twilight. I’m not saying I would of preferred Moondancer be a villain as I like how she actually is. But having her episode where she only become a shut-in after Twilight didn’t show up at her party and moved to Ponyville sort of become detrimental to Starlight’s story that she went as far as she did after Sunburst moved). We never got any more details about that other then Starlight felt sad about that and it was somehow enough to start her turn to darkness not to mention never got an explanation for why she was so magically powerful. Even besides ridiculous stuff like turning kitchen utensils into a cake, she’s able to levitate herself without wings which we can assume is something Twilight can’t even do.

So Starlight kind of became a rather frustrating character. I never hated her per se, but it’s easy to see why she was sort of a divisive character when she’s sort of shoehorned as a recurring character with a rather weak turn-to-villainy story combined with a magic power that without the proper explanation I’m sure got her cursed out as a Mary Sue. And some of those actually had a point, unlike the people who thought Twilight getting her wings would instantly make her a Mary Sue. And even with some episodes coming up that might of promised some more Starlight backstory, it never exactly went that way. I am sort of thankful for that now, given it gave me free reign to do what I did for Starlight in the story. But stuff like Parent Map certainly only gave really small details like Starlight had a goth phase and didn’t even show a mother for her (Again thankful for that now since one of the big plot twists of the story depends on almost no one knowing who Starlight’s mother is aside from obviously her father who had a reason to keep her a secret)

When Starlight was dropped from being Twilight’s student in Season 7. That was something of a relief because the fear was that Starlight was going to become an Alicorn and she still wouldn’t enough backing to really support making her a Princess. Even if you weren’t a fan of Twilight becoming an Alicorn, there’s no denying that prior to Magical Mystery Cure we didn’t really know the ultimate goal of Celestia mentoring Twilight for. It didn’t seem right that she mentored her just to free her sister, save the world some more on occasion before, as she just spends her life with her friends. Even Lauren Faust’s vision was Twilight to succeed Celestia at some point, and in that context seems like it makes sense that Twilight became an Alicorn. Starlight becoming an Alicorn however risked being everything people feared about Magical Mystery Cure but worse since with how quick and with lack of explantation they did with adding Starlight as a recurring character that even has two-parters that star her instead of the Mane 6, that Starlight’s ascension was going to be when Twilight feels she is ready  despite having never given the audience everything we should want to know about Starlight, not to mention many of us still not quite forgiving her for nearly rebooting the timeline over… and I’ll repeat… a friend moving away.

So then, Starlight become a counselor in the school and had a few episodes involving that. And later, she is promoted to be Twilight’s successor to be Principal of the school. Which currently is how the show decided to keep as her canon role even up the more then a decade long timeskip in The Last Problem. Being a Principal of the School of Friendship is still a rather big deal. Though with the school only having been around for two seasons before the series ended it never really felt like it had too much of an impact so it kind of seemed like it gave Starlight a pretty mundane role that cools the fears of those who were afraid they were going to give a role to Starlight she doesn’t feel like she deserves without enough information about her. Though I imagine it may have been somewhat of an underwhelming choice for anybody who did like Starlight.

So Starlight’s legacy as a character goes like this: She’s Season 5’s seasonal villain that got quickly reformed in that season’s finale. Got important episodes in Season 6 and even gets to save Equestria alongside Trixie and Discord in Season 6’s finale. In Season 7 she’s stripped of being Twilight’s student to do whatever she wants. Though it was generally just slice of life with her own batch of friends whether it was Trixie, Sunburst, or Maud. And then she becomes a counselor in Season 8, promoted to Principal near the end of nine. Throughout her time on the show she’s sort of both an important protagonist throughout Seasons 6 and 7, but she never reaches quite Mane 6 or even CMC level in terms of working towards a clear goal or occupation. Other then I guess being tutored on the values of Friendship by Twilight we have no clear direction on where Starlight was supposed to go. So upon the School of Friendship, she’s free to essentially get employed under Twilight again but as a counselor throughout all of Season 8 and some of 9 until she’s given the reigns of the school after Twilight’s own promotion to sole ruler in Canterlot. So we’re left with a divisive character in the show that was never given enough to really tackle doubters, and perhaps underwhelming to her fans. So now the question becomes, is there perhaps a direction that could of been taken where Starlight could of possibly been fixed to a point where she may have worked into a more important role then she actually got that satisfies her fans that also at the same time has the backstory/information necessary to placate those skeptical of Starlight after her fast reformation?

As someone who just wrote Secret’s of the Dragon Tear where at least 7 of 32 chapters are centered around exploring something in regards to Starlight’s character and/or her family. I think I can say firmly: Yes. After writing this story, Starlight’s no longer a character I feel lukewarm/don’t care for. She quickly became… perhaps one of the biggest missed opportunities of the show. I believe now that Starlight could have been a great portion even if her turnaround was rather quick. What I did in the story I feel like provides a good baseline for not just making Starlight more sympathetic/understandable. But maybe even have it make sense that she perhaps eventually reaches an important role… even possibly becoming an Alicorn Princess in the future. Which is something of a turnaround for myself, since I would of groaned if she had been put on a path to possibly become a Princess in the show… but with what I came up with this story…. I couldn’t find it myself to stick with the idea that she only decided to stay a Principal and that’s it. Now, I’m not going to say that everything I did in the story would of had to been followed to make it work. Even just the concepts being similar or at least only a few of these being applied in some fashion could of worked to make Starlight better. So I’m going to sort of bullet point some things that come up in the story in order of which we first learn about them. Starting with…

I. Starlight’s relationship with her father/Firelight

Now obviously, Firelight is a father that loves Starlight very much. That’s obvious in the episode The Parent Map. Perhaps to the point where it’s overbearing, still calling her childish nicknames despite being grown-up. But nonetheless we can plainly see Firelight is a loving father… that said a loving father doesn’t necessarily always mean a good father. You can still have a complicated relationship with a parent that loves you. They treat you as well as you can, but perhaps they keep secrets from you. Or they’re naive to your intentions and/or what you’re doing. Even putting aside Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear for a moment, despite Firelight being so loving Starlight still became that vengeful pony that took over a town with a cult and would reboot the timeline just to get revenge on ponies for foiling her plan that she concocted all because of Sunburst’s moving away. Obviously, something went wrong if her father couldn’t have told her daughter what was right or wrong. It’s likely Firelight was just too naive to even see what his daughter was planning. Firelight should have been the first one to at least try to help Starlight out before she did anything related to that cult. But unless he was utterly complicit in Starlight’s plan, which we’re given no evidence that he was… clearly Starlight was able to hide much of her turn to darkness to her father. I have to imagine that at the very least Firelight may have had to at least see a hint of Starlight’s disgust with cutie marks, (More on that soon) But either Firelight perhaps just naively thought Starlight would eventually understand cutie marks on her own, or something about her cutie mark he knew about but he decided to attempt hiding Starlight from it as what happens in Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear.

But once again putting aside the story for a moment, it might of been interesting to learn what was Firelight’s role in Starlight’s past. Exploring that would have been an interesting direction for the show to take to give a little more depth to her backstory. Now it isn’t just that she turned to darkness because of Sunburst getting her cutie mark, but also she had a father that while he still loves her, didn’t quite inquire enough to try to stop her early on. Obviously the danger in that is telling to keep too much of a watch on your daughter to the point you helicopter them over all the time. But also it is imperative for a father to help out if their children are feeling some sort of resentment about something before it snowballs into something later. And without a mother (More on this soon as well), it’s possible to get to maybe Firelight’s side of the story in that being a single father was hard for him. On a side note we’re not even sure if Firelight is even aware of what Starlight did with the town or the time travel. That could of been an interesting thing alone to explore.

II. Starlight’s Cutie Mark

Seriously, we never got Starlight’s cutie mark story ever. That felt like one of the most important things to learn even if it was understandable why the staff didn’t want deal too much with family issues for Starlight (After all it took 7 seasons before we saw Applejack’s deceased parents, and even then they still had to go for a “Do not say death” sort of thing). It even seemed like Season 5 had like THE perfect set up for Season 6 once there was more Starlight episodes: Having the CMC who had just gotten a group talent of helping others with marks including Troubleshoes potentially being the big foreshadowing episode that would indicate the CMC would be capable of helping adults too with this seasonal villain who’s motivations were cutie marks.

But… we just never got it. It might be perhaps the biggest reason Season 6 mostly fell flat for me. Some say Season 8 is the worst season of the show and I can kind of understand why, but it feels like the School of Friendship actually does something by the end of the series that’s sort of worth it and the Student 6 were generally fun characters. While Season 6 fails at what should of been easy lay-ups from what Season 5 seemed to be setting up. It’s probably fair to say Season 6 had more interesting/quality episodes perhaps, but in terms of the general over-arching part of the series. Season 8 felt like it had a purpose while Season 6’s job was to endear Starlight to us after the Season 5 finale… and it feels like it failed at that for the most part. At least in my opinion, I know obviously Starlight had fans and still has them now and I don’t mean to stomp on any valid reasons for liking Starlight even back then for one reason or another. I just felt like I needed more to really understand Starlight’s role. And it took until writing this story and filling many of the holes left by Starlight’s part of the show to understand that Starlight had potential, she just never quite reached it I feel. And even fans of her I feel like may feel underwhelmed with what they overall did with her. Starlight telling how she got her cutie mark should of been the priority of the first two-parter if not the next Starlight episode after or at least near the end or even the Season 6 finale. But instead we never get it despite how relevant it feels like it would of been to find out.

The first priority of whenever the writer’s meeting were when they started pitching ideas for Season 6 should have made showing how Starlight got her cutie mark as the #1 priority. They reformed a villain who’s entire motivation for villainy was a friend who moved away because they got their mark. It’s almost hard to believe that the writer’s chose to ignore the entire time to the point that maybe behind closed doors for some reason Hasbro didn’t want Starlight’s cutie mark story for one reason or another. It should have been as clear as day that the next course of action was to share that story cause the idea of a pony who does’t like cutie mark but getting a make that perhaps refers to their high talent would have been interesting to be explored into. And potentially gives the CMC after getting their Cutie Marks their most important scene in the show in letting us understand Starlight’s motivations and/or how she felt about getting her cutie mark and even a better understanding of what she thinks it means and whether it’s dissonant from what it actually means or not. I hate to sound like the demanding fan, but it just should of came up before stuff like Starlight meeting Trixie, saving the world herself, all her new friendshipping episodes in Season 7, and her counseling/school episodes in 8 and 9. Those stuff had a right to happen but for some reason we just never got the single thing that felt like that was important to know.

So I definitely went to rectify it even if it’s rather simple and a little bit of a copycat since it’s similar to how Twilight got hers and kind of too convenient that the thing that would give her cutie mark was also with the book that would introduce Starlight down the path of her ideology on Cutie Marks. Though coincidental timing of Cutie Marks happen quite a bit so it wouldn’t be farfetched. But I understand if perhaps I have it a little too simple for someone who complains about the show never getting to it. But even if you feel I did Starlight’s cutie mark story wrongly. I wanted to at least give a good try at it that the show never took the steps to.

III. Starlight’s missing Mother / Sunset Shimmer’s role in Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear

Now, obviously the show would of never gone with the direction my story went with Sunset Shimmer being Starlight’s missing mother. Sunset had been already established in Equestria Girls, and even though arguably Sunset should be quite a bit older then Twilight if say she had went through the mirror sometime before Celestia discovered Twilight. Her being in high school would of made the issue of Sunset being Starlight’s mother… VERY, VERY, Awkward without having to explain complicated time discrepancies between portals to kids or more likely parents who may think the show is promoting teen motherhood. Luckily, the events of the Equestria Girls movies have never been canon to Genie Twilight’s universe outside of Genie Sci-Twi in a blog entirely about genie MLP characters in different universes meeting up. So it entirely freed up not just to give Sunset a role in this story, but plausibly old enough to be Starlight’s mother. I think of the Mane 6 of at least around 25 or so by the end of the series. So keeping in mind that in Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear. Sunset disappeared about 8 or so years before Celestia discovered Twilight and how Sunset was about Twilight’s current age at the time. If Sunset had been still alive in my story, she’d have been at least close to her 40’s. Plenty old enough to have been Starlight’s mother.

It really felt like an eureka moment in about October when I found out I could possibly link Sunset and Starlight in a way that’s feasible enough to make her Starlight’s mother. Cause it’s an entirely unique relation between the two. When Sunset and Starlight are in the same conversation or sentence. It’s often about which character is better in fan arguments (With Sunset generally being more popular since she’s probably the most well-liked thing about Equestria Girls where as Starlight has always been a source of divisiveness in the main show), the one time that Starlight appeared in an Equestria girls special, or… shipping… (Which I know anybody who reads my story is about to make every single art and/or fan fiction about Starlight and Sunset hooking up very, very, very, very, VERY, awkward). But Sunset being Starlight’s mother would at least give a plausible explanation for why Starlight’s so good at magic since she likely inherited the strong magic genes from  one of the few other ponies to catch Celestia’s attention enough to make them her protege. Plus, it’s fun to think of a family that decided to rhyme their last name, I naturally wrote that as something that Firelight proposed to Sunset. So that’s why at least in Genie Twi’s universe, you have Shimmer and Glimmer. In most Alt. universe fics involving Sunset being a family member of another known canon character it’s usually either she’s Celestia’s daughter, or Sunburst’s sister. I did have to make it so she is related to Sunburst, but she’s far too old to be a sibling to him in the story. And that’s when I decided to connect Sunset to Sunburst’s father… Sunspot… who was also coincidentally missing from The Parent Map. Though apologies to any Starburst shipping fans for sinking your ship in my story by making Starlight and Sunburst cousins all along.

But anyway, I’d even say if you look at Sunset and Firelight together you could kinda see why they could of made Starlight. I guess to be fair, it doesn’t really look like Starlight got any of Sunset’s physical traits. As appearance wise it definitely looks like she got a lot of her father, though maybe at the very least Sunset’s genes lightening up the purple into the pink/light-purple Starlight is. But I think at the very least there’s some similarities personality wise that worked such as their temper. Now, the Sunset in Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear was never a villain so they can’t relate in terms of feeling guilt for what they’ve done. But perhaps another trait they share is empathy, in that Starlight’s past experience allows her to personally talk to others as a sort of comfort that someone once felt like them about some things, which is probably at least part of the reason she’d made counselor. And as for Sunset, her whole flashback power from Legend of Everfree and onward is how she finds out motivations and is able to talk to them to understand them. And the EQG staff have even said that if Sunset had an element, it’d be the Element of Empathy. Obviously part of that is Sunset having her own experiences as a villain, but I still kind of applied it to SOTDT’s Sunset when she hears Starlight admit everything about her time travel incident where she’s at first quite disturbed that her daughter would do such an act, but hearing how the fact her death had such an impact on Starlight where there were quite a few things outside of Starlight’s hooves that if even one thing changed might of made it less likely she did what she did. And the cult thing is partly Sunset’s fault for leaving the cult book in the house (Even if she did kind of do good at hiding it by having it randomly behind a wall she couldn’t have known was ever going to be broken into) allowed her to understand the circumstances of Starlight’s life to get to that point of desperation.

As she says, it didn’t make what Starlight did justified but thanks to Starlight being able to come clean and willing to become a better pony is enough to get empathy, especially from a perspective of a mother to a child who would of likely been able to stop Starlight if she had been around. Everything Starlight did is now found out as an unfortunate circumstance from the rather bad luck she had in life in things she could not control. She couldn’t have prevented her mother’s death, her father refused to tell her who her mother was that would of probably gotten her to go to Celestia’s school had she known at the time she got her cutie mark thus reunited with Sunburst and having less of an issue with cutie marks when it would of turned out it was indicative of her potential in magic skill, but instead without a single mother figure and boredom of being alone in the house she accidentally discovers both the book that would indoctrinate her for years to eventually starting the Our Town cult and her mother’s spell book that would give her the cutie mark she received, thus begrudging her own moment of gaining her mark when it should of been a good day for her and with an overprotective father afraid of Starlight following a path he doesn’t want her to go on, for fear of Starlight going missing at some point too. It just deepens Starlight’s road to darkness. So instead Starlight’s raw power was set on a path to endanger Equestria, rather then potentially becoming at least a powerful ally if her father had allowed her to go to the school. Again, doesn’t make almost rebooting the timeline justified but at least made it more understandable why she fell so far to almost do it rather then it seemingly only be about the fact a friend moved away.

But anyway, ignoring Sunset in the story for a moment. If there was an interesting idea for Starlight’s mother it certainly would of possibly been a very interesting episode of the show. If Starlight’s mother is dead, then you have kind of have a way for Starlight to bond with Applejack over. I naturally had to have them talk about it even at the point of the story where it was still unknown who her mother was. Cause whether it was a missing or a dead mother, they both don’t have a part of their lives that their friends do. So having Starlight bond with a part of the Mane 6 other then Twilight would of certainly been interesting. Of course, if Starlight’s mother is still around. Perhaps part of Starlight’s story could of been about a messy divorce, and/or even a rather rough relationship with her mother akin to Diamond Tiara and her mother. This is of course assuming that Starlight wouldn’t have just had a normal mother that just happened to not be there for the Parent Map which might of been the way they went if they went ahead with showing who her mother was. But yes, Starlight’s mother is another part of Starlight that could of had plenty of potential to help endear her to fans. As for me… I just ended up making myself if not anybody else look awkwardly if I ever see shipping stuff between Starlight and Sunset in the future knowing that in my AU, that would be incest. Oof.

IV. Starlight as Twilight’s Student / Starlight’s Future

Now after talking about Starlight’s cutie mark and family issues. Kind of going back a little in Starlight’s first role after being reformed in becoming Twilight’s student. Naturally, this is the thing that got people worried that they were going to put Starlight on a path to become an Alicorn because naturally Twilight picking a student would have you believe that’s where things are going since that’s where Twilight ended up. Though once Season 7 rolled around, Starlight actually graduates in some fashion and is just no longer Twilight’s student. Which while it came as a relief personally, it also kind of makes the whole thing weird to just cut out Starlight’s role as Twi’s student after she was for literally only one entire season. Without the proper backstory, it just became a lose/lose situation. Either Starlight gets a role she doesn’t feel like she’s earned or her role as Student just underwhelms in comparison to the other two times we’ve seen an Alicorn teacher and a unicorn student (Whether that was Sunset which ran away from Celestia’s guidance started a spin-off series and became a well-liked character in her own right from Rainbow Rocks and onwards or Twilight naturally having earned her status over saving the world a few times and getting better at magic.) Though the former also has other problems like it’s just hard to think of how to fit Starlight in with the Princesses on her own without the proper history to back it up.

But that’s where I get back into my story, where in the epilogue. And also the post this thoughts is being linked, after having met her mother which has helped made her realize who she is. She realizes that she may have been in fact destined to be in some sort of duo with Twilight. Cause going by the timeline of events: Sunset wasn’t too far from possibly one day ascending to Princesshood, however she stepped down before then, and thus Celestia had to look elsewhere. Before she found Twilight, she concluded that perhaps Sunset’s foal (Which she noticed Sunset was probably pregnant) might inherit Sunset’s power and she can begin anew from there as it would be when that foal is grown up when her sister’s banishment would end. But in a twist, Celestia goes to Saddle Arabia and gets a dream of getting the right pony to hatch Spike’s egg. Leaving it as an exam at the school first in case there were students there that could hatch it, but if they all failed she would seek out Sunset and hope she’s willing to let whoever her child would be to try hatching the egg. But instead, Celestia discovers Twilight first. But with Starlight receiving a mark that recognizes her raw power similar to Twilight from her mother’s spell book. If she had known about her mother and/or didn’t have a grudge against cutie marks to understand what her mark means, she might have gone to the school where waiting for her would be Celestia who already had Twilight. Perhaps leading to an intense magic duel between two gifted fillies, before ultimately it’s broken up to where Celestia can’t let go of Twilight because of the dream she had. But if Celestia is aware of Starlight’s history, she would of been nice enough to keep Starlight around in respect for her former Protege, especially if Celestia had known that she was deceased or even still just missing. Thus sort of having Twilight and Starlight grow up as co-proteges under Celestia. Now from there, it’d be hard to really figure all the what ifs of Twilight and Starlight being co-students from the very beginning and whether it’d change up the whole Elements of Harmony deal. Perhaps similar to how Celestia and Luna were able to harness the Elements just being two ponies. Maybe there wouldn’t be a Mane 6 at all and Twilight & Starlight would each carry 3 of the elements. Or the Mane 6 still happen, but Starlight being the sort of junior student is not one of the Elements though she still helps however she can when Nightmare Moon returns.

But of course this is a hypothetical situation that doesn’t happen at all with many things getting in the way, but kind of thanks to the idea that Luna is retiring at the end of Season 9 too it offers a sort of opening where it seems weird that Celestia and Luna is just dropping both the Sun and Moon on Twilight’s shoulders as a sole ruler. There’s no doubt Twilight would be capable, as the Last Problem shows. But nonetheless while there was a period of 1000 years of Celestia being sole ruler after Luna was banished. It wasn’t the norm, so to go from the beginning of the sisters reign with 2, down to 1 because of banishment, back to 2, but then 1 again since both sisters were retiring may seem a bit odd. So in a scenario where perhaps Starlight feels compelled to use her strong magic for the good of Equestria alongside being able to follow in her mother’s footsteps she’d want to be the student of who’s ever going to be the reigning monarch for a long while, and while she certainly doesn’t want to force it and let Twilight decide, whether she’s a student for life or eventually is chosen to sort of be Luna’s successor in terms of being the younger Alicorn. And with Celestia and Luna both retiiring, that means falling under Twilight’s tutelage once again but a bigger scope then the one throughout Season 6. She could still be Principal even as she has the status of Twilight’s student, as we saw Twilight did plenty of things, while known as Celestia’s student. And like is pointed out, being a Principal in a school where non-ponies are allowed to attend is actually somewhat the perfect warm-up for if Starlight eventually becomes a co-ruler with Twilight. She would have basically seen what are multiple ambassadors in terms of students from other nations, their parents, or whatever guardians brings them along to attend the school.

So, it gives a legitimate reason for Starlight to perhaps become Twilight’s student once again. There’s still going to be a due diligence in Starlight learning from Twilight for a good amount of years. In fact it’s likely I won’t explicitly share the result of going back to being Twilight’s student until whenever I decide I feel it’s time for me to close down I Dream of Twilight Sparkle (I don’t know when that will be, it will probably at least go until the end of 2022 Where perhaps I’ll end it officially after what will be 10 years since the blog began. Though also may depend how G5 is). Likely for the rest of the time until then Starlight will only be a student again. I don’t think I plan on showing Starlight’s moment of ascension if it happens as I’d like to think that Twilight and Starlight both mutually agree to make sure enough time has passed and Starlight has the experience after years of being the Principal of Friendship and/or enough missions that Twilight might send her on. And while Starlight hints she’s likely not to, it’s also Twilight giving time for Starlight in case she wants to back out if say she finds herself with a feeling like her mother to instead raise a family.

Basically after going through the effort to give Starlight such a role she has in the story. It didn’t feel right to leave her as just the Principal of the School of Friendship and that’s it. Another shot at being Twilight’s student I feel makes sense in a scenario where to honor her mother’s legacy and use the magic she inherited to it’s fullest potential is to once again be a faithful student to the ruling Alicorn.

And this is a rather huge step for me since I used to just not care too much for Starlight. And some of her episodes kind of made it harder since for one or another they were sort of problematic from No Second Prances where I feel Twilight probably should of been more lenient with Trixie, To Change a Changeling where Starlight messes up but it somehow works out anyway, and then there was A Matter of Principals where Discord might have been at his most infuriating yet Starlight actually forgives him near the end. With episodes like those and with the lack of more details about Starlight’s past it’s easy to see why Starlight was divisive. Though with this story, Starlight seems to me now like a pretty mishandled character that could have worked with the right direction, but just could never meet the potential that she could of had. Obviously maybe part of it was that the staff maybe knew Starlight was sort of shoehorned so they wanted to make sure there was still plenty of space for episodes about the Mane 6 or other characters that the fans have watched since the first season, as well as whatever ideas they wanted to do for each season until they got the word that Season 9 would be the last. But even considering that it feels like it could of been plausible to replace the more slice-of-life Starlight episodes with something that explains her a little more then we got. As besides from the Season 5 finale the only things we learn about Starlight’s past is a little more of her friendship with Sunburst, where she grew up, who her father was, and she had a goth phase as a teen. If I’m missing anything else they hinted or shared about Starlight’s past let me know, but there just wasn’t a lot for a character that feels like she needed it.

I’m not saying my story is the only way for Starlight to have been fixed. But just at least mentioning some key elements that would have helped. Change a few things around of the keys I laid out even if it of course it wouldn’t be the exact same or couldn’t be the exact same for obvious reasons (Most big of all Sunset who once again despite it probably making sense that she’d be old enough in the pony world if she was grown up when she went across the mirror the first time, is still a high schooler in Equestria Girls)  and either way it certain would of helped. While I’m sure there’s probably many fanfics about it already, even something as simple as turning Starlight and Sunburst’s relationship into a shipping story (Obviously not in Genie Twi’s AU though, since they’re cousins) where Starlight reuniting with Sunburst makes her rekindle a little more then just their friendship. Where it shows that perhaps Sunburst leaving was secretly a little more then just Starlight being heartbroken about her only friend leaving. Even if that’s the only change it would of helped. So in a way, I’ve come to like Starlight Glimmer much more then I used to but kind of in a way that she’s now a disappointing character if you don’t have anything to fill in the gaps and only go by what’s shown about Starlight in the show. But when those gaps ARE filled by some sort of fanon, suddenly she can actually be quite interesting and now I have a Starlight that I feel like I can get to like and shape for myself where even if she did all the same things the show Starlight did, it at least feels to me I thought of a satisfying enough reason for why it all happened. She doesn’t have to be completely forgiven about the Time Travel thing as that’s probably her biggest sin, but the important part was that Starlight could feel shame and remorse… which gets into my last category

V. Contrasting Starlight with the Villains Post-Reformation

With Starlight no longer a villain after Season 5 and on the side of good, it will come time for her to face some villains of her own. Though the first thing she faced wasn’t exactly a villain but just some dangerous winter storm that would envelop the Crystal Empire if the Crystal Heart isn’t fixed in time. Which is understandable since that episode is generally about Starlight reuniting with Sunburst after having been told him leaving was Starlight’s motivation. They again unfortunately go too deep on that, though still least shows Starlight has some kind of almost PTSD-like feeling prior to seeing him again. It wouldn’t be until the Season 6 finale before Starlight faces her first true villain with Queen Chrysalis on a revenge plan after Canterlot Wedding. I think generally Chrysalis and Starlight was a pretty good rivalry, that lasts for the entire rest of the series even after Starlight tried to have her own moment of reforming a villain in a similar reaching-out-the-hoof fashion to her own. Only for Chrysalis to just slap it away.

Though Chrysalis is actually the only one Starlight ever gets to directly fight besides of course the big final fight where there is an entire army of ponies who attack the trio of Cozy, Chrysalis, and Tirek. Starlight only gets manipulated and trapped in the ball of magic by Cozy, Starlight is one of Sombra’s hypnotized army and in the final two-parter she gets a brief fight with Chrysalis where she’s defeated by the much more powered-up Chrysalis before she’s the first one Discord tricks Tirek into freeing to help the Mane 6 escape. Perhaps it’s another disappointment in that while it was kind of still interesting to have Starlight have this rivalry with Chrysalis. Starlight didn’t have much of a connection to the others.

And this is the point I again get to a part of my story, where I actually made Cozy Glow perhaps one of the central figures of Starlight’s past being a part of the family that are responsible for the death of her mother (Even though of course they didn’t come out unscathed since Cozy’s parents both died in that confrontation too, and Cozy was sent to the future by the unpredictable effects of Sunset firing magic with a broken horn). I’ll kind of admit it is sort of stretching things to just try to tie things together as much as possible, but Cozy Glow is a character we know even less about then Starlight. And despite being a little filly, she’s treated like this ultimate evil on the level of Tirek since she’s sent to Tartaurus. Which confuses a lot of fans who are used to this show usually reforming the villains. Which is probably why it was a good idea to actually sort of make it so that she definitely did deserve the fate she got by revealing her upbringing would make it impossible for her to be reformed. Just outing her as a complete psychopath that no friendship lessons were going to change her, as unfortunately there are people in real life that just can’t be changed and the only proper answer is some kind of justice for them that discourages others from following their path. Cozy’s just a filly, but when she’s indoctrinated by those just as psychopathic, at least in the Genie Twi AU it would take outright brainwashing.

Having Cozy have a role with Starlight’s Mother’s death also sort of makes the moment Cozy seeks counsel from Starlight with more hidden sinister background to it all. It’s partly Cozy’s fault Starlight ended up doing what she did since after manipulating Sunset into believing she’s not like her parents, she drops a rock that breaks Sunset’s horn, nerfing Sunset’s ability to do much against Cozy and her mother. Cozy gets some form of comeuppance in that she gets the ultimate bad luck in being sent through time by Sunset’s blast, but injuring Sunset’s horn allows Cozy’s mother to grab Sunset and put them in a suicidal free-fall that’ll kill them both since she doesn’t have the wing power to save herself and Sunset would have to hope she’s lucky enough with her injured horn. Resulting instead of both getting exploded after Cozy’s mother tries covering the hole of Sunset’s broken horn before they even hit the water. Though Cozy is likely sent conveniently at around Season 8’s time chronologically where she probably somewhere caught wind of the School of Friendship and started her manipulation on the CMC and of course Starlight. We’re also never given an explanation for how Cozy knew what she would do would happen in the Season 8 finale except I guess we have to assume that in canon it was something she learned from Tirek. But in the Genie Twi AU, it’s also a plan that her parents wanted to do and what Sunset aimed to stop before she retired for good. As we shouldn’t forget that removing the magic from Equestria is still a devastating move, we can debate that Starlight’s time travel is arguably worse and in some ways I’d even agree with that but nonetheless has a huge impact. And in a story where it’s states that all life is Magic too through their souls, that doesn’t just make Cozy a power-crazy psychopath but a GENOCIDAL psychopath.

Cozy’s magic sucking thing can’t actually suck in soul magic since otherwise Cozy herself would fall under her own plan most likely, but without usable magic the world would quickly become unhappy and dark magic would spread everywhere. I even made it so it’s particularly related to Starlight by implying that the wasteland we saw in the Season 5 finale was if Cozy succeeded. Obviously Cozy hadn’t been met at the time of that but given we saw the futures where Chrysalis, and Tirek won. Even if at the time Cozy didn’t exist conceptually, it was the perfect thing to apply to tie Cozy into the overall arch of the series. And while Sunset sending Cozy to the future just before Season 8 may be a little forceful in trying to tie things together it does result in the idea that time travel really messes up Starlight’s life in how it brings her unknowingly face to face with one of her mother’s murderers and how she’d end up using it in her most infamous scheme. I doubt Cozy in the Genie Twi AU knew for sure that Starlight was Sunset’s daughter but it does still sort of retroactively make any meeting between Starlight and Cozy in Season 8 more sinister and/or tragic with Cozy almost sending Starlight away with wherever all that magic was going to go in the Season 8 Finale. But if Cozy were to ever escape from being in stone and found out, she’d no doubt flaunt her role in ruining Starlight’s early life. The lengths of which psychopathic people go to torture the people who get in their way knows no bounds. Cozy’s effect on Starlight’s life implied in Secrets of Dragon’s Tear making her overall the central figure responsible for what Starlight ended up doing. Cozy and her parents confrontation with Starlight’s mother caused her death and in a fashion where no pony would know what happened thus causing the domino effect of Starlight’s fall into darkness and delaying her finding her destiny of being in a duo with Twilight.

Thus many of the events of Seasons 5-7 in the Genie Twi AU are now retroactively because of Cozy’s actions, giving her a much broader effect and really outs her as actually among the most evil the ponies have ever come across even though (Alicorn ascension aside in the final two-parter) she’s really not that strong herself compared to the likes of Chrysalis and Tirek. It’s even implied that if the trio had won, there would of likely been a situation eventually where Tirek and Chrysalis would have to team-up together to fight Cozy. In a bleak situation where any remaining ponies would likely have to side with Tirek and Chrysalis for the best shot at taking Cozy down. These revelations bubble up the anger in Starlight so much, she almost decides to kill Cozy despite having been told that killing the villains is a bad idea. As for at least a brief moment, she falls under a little more darkness just because it was Cozy’s fault she fell into darkness in the first place. Twilight and Sunset manage to prevent her from doing so, but it makes Cozy more central to Starlight’s life then Chrysalis. With the benefit of both Starlight and Cozy getting an upgrade of the overall part of the timeline then they ever had in the show.

VI. Conclusion

If I may to back a bit to the teacher/student thing with Twilight. It sort of makes it that Seasons 1 through Season 4 is the tale of Twilight’s rise to becoming the Princess of Friendship. Season 5 is this transition period where it gives some of the aftermath of Twilight’s rise while introducing Starlight who does some awful things for a seemingly weak reason but actually hid something a bit deeper. While Seasons 6 through 9 if you include the events of Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear into the timeline into Starlight’s portion of her own even if that includes a few oddities related to the show’s handling of Starlight having to return to being Twilight’s student, and nothing much of importance happening aside from becoming Principal of the School of Friendship with Starlight until after the events depicted in the show. I would say that if much of the stuff that is revealed in the story was at all canon it probably would of come up sooner then they actually did so I understand that if there’s any criticism’s of the story in trying to tie things together too much is including stuff that perhaps characters would of certainly talked about them sooner then they actually did. Though to be fair much of the subject matter is something a little too dark for the show after all again it took 7 seasons before we got to see who Applejack’s deceased parents were and even then they had to kind of skate around the fact by not saying how they died, they still did a masterful way of sort of implying they were deceased without telling us how in The Perfect Pear. I’m sure that if some of my stuff hypothetically was vetted by Hasbro execs they would outright reject the whole part of Cozy Glow role in the death of Starlight’s Mother (Whether it was or was not Sunset). But as is I feel like I did a decent job at fitting in much of the lore previously established that’s exclusive to the blog with answerig many questions that were left unanswered after the show. Starlight in particular I’m glad I was sort of able to turn into a character I previously didn’t care too much about, into a pony I could root for even if that’s kind of cheating since I wrote her myself in the new direction  I had many reasons for wanting to write this story, bud I was just super surprised at just how invested I got into expanding Starlight’s part when I was steadily always having concepts thinking about when I’d eventually write in this story expecting to be mainly finally giving the Dragon’s Tear more of a purpose then just the miracle item that saves Spike and the others in Return to Saddle Arabia. I really went ambitious with this story to include as many characters as I wanted including each of the Mane 6, Starlight, and the Saddle Arabian OCs each having their own chapters that provide a direction I think they could go for after the events of the final two-parter.

Obviously Twilight and Spike still generally have the biggest portion of the story especially after the Spirit summoning gets introduced since it couldn’t happen without Spike at that current moment but Applejack also has a pretty large role in the story in that she has that heartbreaking meeting with Grand Pear at the end of Chapter 2, invites 2 of the 5 performances at the ball, somewhat debates with Twilight about the dream, bonds with Starlight over having no representation in the club of mothers meeting at the ball, and then finally having a dramatic moment to seeing her parents again and introducing her friends to them. Which then sets up a more quick way of convincing others that this spirit summoning stuff is real being she’s the element of Honesty. Twilight and Spike learning about how their paths became entwined, Starlight finding her mother who’s very identity also held the keys to her destiny, and Applejack’s lamenting the lack of her parents but eventually seeing them are perhaps the big 3 parts of the story and I’ve sort of proud of the way I sort of entwined them all together with the Spirit Summoning part which could potentially have some interesting ideas that could be explored upon with enough asks afterward. With the show over, there’s no more main source to respond to at least until G5 starts but this certainly could help not just bridge the gap till’ then but have a sort of interpretation of the events of Friendship is Magic in a unique way that I hope others enjoy. I certainly had fun writing it, and there’s enough left open to still continue on as the sprite comics return. I even went ahead on improving the Starlight sprite that I admit I sort of half-assed before, along with sprites for Sunset along with Pear Butter & Bright Mac. Jinn as well too! Thanks to anyone who read the story and/or read my thoughts out here. Seeya!

[moonfire0mermaid]

‘I Am the Guy’ - Pt. 1

Author’s Notes: 1. I’m not totally sure what this is, if I’ll continue, etc., but it was inspired by the great #bourbon_neat’s “seducing your best friend’s dad” audios on Soundgasm - Part 1 and Part 2. While I took some creative liberties here, the events that happen in those audios make this story go, and I’ve indicated with an asterisk (*) in the text where they’d fit chronologically, should you want to have a multi-media experience. 2. I’m challenging myself to crank out content in an effort to just shake out the writer rust. This is super unpolished. 3. In the aforementioned audios that inspired this, you’re the main subject. In an effort to keep that immersive element in this drabble, I refer to the corresponding female character as She or Her in bold. It can get confusing, so I decided to go overboard with identification. 4. ENJOY! 

________________________

It was the stray volleyball that did it, all those years ago. She was moving in, Kimmie Johnson was walking out, and Her ball fell out of the big box of sports supplies she was lugging into the new digs.

“You play?” Kimmie had asked.

“Yes,” she had said, beaming. “I’m trying out for the team once school starts.”

And that was that. Even though they were freshly 18 and met at a time where friendships fractured after graduation – and hell, She was new in town – the duo spent nearly every waking hour together. Sleepovers, post-volleyball yoga, college applications, just hanging with each other’s families.

She especially took a shine to Kimmie’s dad. His insights about life were interesting, she thought, and he was kind and funny. He asked good questions and seemed to care about her opinions. He was a good guy.

It was something She’d try and remind Kimmie during conversations about the Johnson’s seemingly strained marriage. Kimmie was frustrated that the obvious cracks in her parents’ relationships were brushed under the rug, and that she was kept in the dark on important family matters. As a result, Kimmie would routinely lament her parents and the frigid situation at home.

“Go easy on them. Your dad, especially. It seems like he’s trying,” She’d say.

“Yeah, you’re just saying that because you’ve got the hots for him,” Kimmie spat.

She would just blush. Kimmie was right; She had an awful crush on Kimmie’s handsome, thoughtful father. She hoped Mr. Johnson didn’t notice how often she stared.

___________________________

Soon after, life quickly changed for the girls. Both decided on a gap year, which they had planned to enjoy together. It was not to be.

A month before the end of summer, Kimmie was sad to learn that her friend’s mother became ill and her father was being relocated cross-country for work. As a result, She would be following her family to help around the house, giving them time to find quality in-home care. Then, She’d return back to town to go to the nearby university with Kimmie.

Meanwhile, Kimmie would work the long year of separation at the volleyball clinic, trying to make sense of the newly announced divorce of her parents alone.

Saying goodbye was worse than they anticipated.

“We’ll miss you, kiddo,” Mr. Johnson said when She came by Kimmie’s house to say goodbye. Crying, She’d spent the 15 seconds in his arms realizing that her sadness was not just about leaving Kimmie.

____________________________________

The year passed quickly*, and the two girls were thrilled to be finally reunited and starting their college career together. But the time apart had changed them, and Kimmie especially was disappointed to notice her friend was often distant, busy and distracted.

“I’m seeing someone,” She finally told Kimmie. “And I’m … it’s insane, this connection. He’s gorgeous and kind and thoughtful and wise – ”

“’Wise?’”

“— Yes, wise --- and the sex, I just –“ Her bashfulness kept her from continuing.

“What’s his name?” Kimmie asked.

“His name?” She hesitated. “RJ.”

Kimmie was both excited and wary about the developments, as only a friend who fears being replaced can.

___________________

Those fears were not completely unfounded.

“I’m pregnant and I’m keeping it,” She told Kimmie with wide eyes. She looked strange, her face a holograph; fear, exhilaration, delight, and embarrassment manifested there in turn.

Kimmie could barely hide her despair. It was only a month after the Her confession regarding the mysterious beau. So much for the future of their beloved friendship. Who was this guy? Kimmie hadn’t even met him. Their lives would diverge spectacularly.

“Congrats,” Kimmie said tersely, swallowing all her objections. She looked so happy, joy being the emotion that finally settled on her face. But that didn’t keep Kimmie from stewing. It just was three months to the day that they’d gotten back in town and less than a month from when She had told Kimmie about the existence of RJ. This had all happened so fast.

“He must be some guy,” Kimmie thought.

______________________

“Girl! When am I going to meet this RJ?? You are CARRYING his BABY and you’re nearly seven months along! How is it that your bestie still hasn’t met the father of your child?”

She looked down at her bump, cradled between her two dainty hands. It – along with the rest of her – was weirdly small for someone so far along in their pregnancy.

“I’m just – we’re taking it slow.”

Kimmie snorted, looking pointedly at the crest of Her stomach.

“I know. I guess – I’m enjoying this just being the two of us, for now. Everything got so hard core so suddenly, so I’m just trying to make everything else as uncomplicated as possible,” She replied.

“How is me meeting RJ complicated? I want to meet him. You’re my best friend. If our relationship is going to continue – and it will, it has to  – I need to know the guy who knocked you up. It’s important to me.”

She bit her lip, thinking.

“Why does she look so nervous?” Kimmie wondered.

“Ok. You’re right. Next week, let’s meet at that restaurant your dad always takes us to. The one with the great Rueben? I’ve been craving one like crazy.”

Kimmie smiled, relieved. “Portside. Sure! Next week. Text me the time that works for you. I’m excited.”

She, on the other hand, looked terrified.

_________________

Kimmie checked her phone again.

“Where is She?” Kimmie wondered. “She’s never – ”

Kimmie’s thoughts were obliterated by the sudden appearance of her best friend. At least, that’s who she thought it was.

It had been a week. Just seven days. And in that time, her friend’s body had completely bloomed. Being pregnant, that was hardly a total shock, but the swiftness of the change was startling – especially considering that She had, until recently, been carrying so small.

“Act normal,” Kimmie told herself, rearranging her face to as neutral an expression she could muster. It took effort, and Kimmie was glad She noticed her yet; it allowed Kimmie the extra time she needed to fully observe the extent of her friend’s transformation.

There was the belly, of course, which had popped so powerfully that Her spine curved to accommodate its girth. It had become so conspicuous that Kimmie wagered had she not known who this woman was, she would assume She was due any day. Indeed, Her hips, legs and ass had ballooned proportionate to Her core, demolishing the girl’s (once enviable) hourglass figure and replacing it with pronounced pear shape.

“She already looks like a mom,” Kimmie thought to herself.

Those weren’t the only changes, Kimmie noticed to her disappointment. Jutting out from the apex of her friend’s stomach was the outline of Her fully popped navel, thick and rubbery like a third nipple under Her swollen fingers.

Speaking of nipples, Her breasts had blossomed into massive, milky teats at least two cups bigger than her typical size. Even though Kimmie could see the outlines of a bra underneath Her clothes, it did little to conceal Her hulking nipples, newly elongated and stout like bottle caps on Her chest. There was an ache-y neediness about them; to Kimmie, they screamed, “suck me dry, they’re so heavy it HURTS.”

Her heavy waddle – which She did NOT have to resort to when Kimmie had seen her just those seven short days ago – was a co-conspirator with Her attire in making Her look completely wanton. Every jiggle of her massive tits; every breath that stretched her belly; every shake of her thigh and ass; every step of her swollen feet in strappy sandals; every line of her heavy-duty bra and tiny lacey thong was given a spotlight by the forward thrust of her gait and the skin-tight pencil dress that somehow made it up and over the collection of globes that was once Her body. It didn’t help that moving required the forward thrust of her monstrous core, requiring her to splay her hips forward and balance a hand on the small of her back, a swollen rudder for her ripened form. 

“Why is she WEARING that?” Kimmie thought to herself, willing herself not to blush with the secondhand embarrassment.

It was then that She finally noticed Kimmie, her bloated face contorting into a nervous smile.

______________________

After having to move their seats from a booth to a table (She couldn’t fit), waiting through Her three bathroom runs, and ordering an ungodly amount of food (“I’m eating for two, you know,” She had wryly, with shy pat of her tummy), She and Kimmie were finally settled.

“So! I can’t wait to finally meet this guy. RJ! Finally!” Kimmie said, trying her best to normalize their conversation. She was met with silence.

“Um – you ok? Still glad you’re gonna be a baby momma? That dress sure doesn’t make it seem that way.”

“I know, right? RJ, he’s particular. He asked me to wear it today, otherwise I’d be in something elastic and stretchy and that lets me breatheeeee.” She laughed and rolled her eyes. “I mean, I’m huge now. It happened overnight. And it’s a strain on me, in a lot of ways, and the baby shit is happening quicker than I had planned. I mean, I’m a freshman in college, for fuck’s sake.”

She was babbling.  

“But this guy – RJ – he’s the love of my life and Kimmie, I want you to know that I -- ”

Kimmie was suddenly distracted from Her ramblings by a familiar figure waving and quickly approaching the table.

“This must be him,” she thought, only to realize with surprise it was her father, Randy. He hadn’t told her he was ordering out for lunch today. “He could’ve at least asked me if I wanted anything!”

“Dad! Hey! What are you doing here?” Kmmie said with a smile. “I’m about to meet the boyfriend. The one who She’s having the baby with! I told you She was pregnant, remember?”

He grinned, sheepishly, taking a seat at the table.

“That’s why I’m here, actually.”

Randy’s hope that his daughter would put two and two together quickly was immediately dashed.

“Oh? You … know the guy, or …?”

He swallowed a nervous laugh as he reached out his hands – one to clasp Her’s, the other to place possessively on her ponderous belly.

“Kimmie honey, I am the guy,” he said.

[twitchesandstitches]

Boys Night at The Hellscape

Steven Universe, Equius Zahhak, Grimlock, and a traveler named Riddle who often comes along with the Fleet attempt to have a boy’s night out but wound up in a hellscape, where it seems an army of fiends wants to fight them!

Steven wants to talk; Grimlock wants to murder the shit of out the fiends for giggles; Riddle is just so done with all this, and Equius is doing his best to keep these ruffians sensible. And there’s the minor problem that Molog Bal, Daedric Prince of Schemes and Domination, apparently has a vendetta against the Fleet, but that is a Later Problem.

(Riddle is an OC from a friend of mine that I’ve been meaning to do something with, for a bit.)

The sky was no sky at all, a flat shade of… the eye hurt, trying to look at it, because there was no sky, but mountains twisting up and continuing, at such a horrifyingly vast scale that it occupied the trillions of miles that would have filled the sky. Clouds of acid dripped their sulfuric rain down and melted the unwary horrors beyond, rivers of vitriolic fluid sluicing down.

The ground, the mountains, and everything else looked disgusting. Grimlock reached down and pinched a bit of it, rubbing it between his metal claws. It made a red smear, stinking a familiar coppery scent. “Blood,” he said. “It’s all blood.”

Steven Universe, a huge and rather feral man built on the same broad lines as his infamously imposing mother, made a fade. Considering that he was over eight feet tall, packed more mass than you found in a group of humans, and had a mouthful of recursive tusk/fangs, it was strange how cute the expression was. “Oh boy, that’s nasty.” he leaned down and sniffed it, looking sick and irritated at once. He pinched at a rock, which came apart into little bits, and he spat into his hand, mixing up the gravel… and blood streamed out. He wiped it away. “Ugh, it, it feels wrong.”

“Blood of the damned,” said the third of their party, a man named Riddle. Of average size, a chunky pear-shaped body and a distinct resemblance to a famous wizard tyrant (though lacking his serpentine features), he wore a complicated battle harness that resembled a fancy spandex suit. Compared to the others, he looked deceptively small. “Blood of the damned. The entire plane is made out of all the blood shed by evil plans ever since time began. Rivers of the stuff, flowing here in some… weird, metaphysical way. And it makes more world.”

The fourth of their group, and the last, studied it pensievely. He was a troll, and thus a little over forty feet tall, standing tall on digitigrade legs he had modified to look like hooves. Cybernetic implants ran all over his body, and his arms (big even on his massive, hyper-masculine build) were entirely robotic hydraulic wonders. He was Equius Zahhak, rumored descended of an ancient troll known in folklore as the Blue Arrow, and he had been the designated ‘sensible person’ of this little field trip.

It was custom amid the Fleet for at least one person to do their best to try to be a rationally-minded and logical sort, just to rein in the impulsive behavior and frenzies of berserker-ness that permeated the average Fleet child. Equius was content in this role.

“That portal,” he said solemnly, “Should not have sent us here.”

“Nope,” Riddle said. Equius gave him a somewhat wary look, thinking about how he tended to just turn up as a passenger for a bit. Frequently. He was often seen in the company of Miss Wicke, a senior scientist and Pokemon caretaker and one of the Fleet’s strongest mothers, and he was likely the father of many of her children. They seemed to keep it more or less private.

Riddle was a mystery. He turned up now and then, with unusual powers quite unprecedented in the Fleet or among any they had encountered, coming with them for a time. And then he would leave. In the chaotic nature of the Fleet this sort of thing happened a lot, but usually not with passengers living among them; they came for festivals or hitching a ride, and settled down or went on their way.

He was, in short, apparently very well named. Equius distrusted him, in a polite and respectful way, but then he distrusted almost everyone that wasn’t from the Fleet. He saw himself in pretty much the same role as the Big Daddy creatures they had liberated from the Miscella core world; protectors and guardians, and he kept a keen eye on all potential uncertainties.

Steven was less encumbered by fears and he extended to pretty much everyone a universal love and acceptance that was a Fleet model of behavior; everyone strived to be as perfectly nice and kind as him. His continuing dislike of this place was pretty obvious. “Um, I don’t mean to say a swear but… we’re in Hell. Aren’t we.”

Grimlock glanced up. Flying above them were vast reptilian things like serpents but, instead of scales, faces sewn into their sides screamed endlessly, weeping tears that fell from their sides in a stream of a noxious fluid, best not to speculate on what it was. Various winged figures flew, not dissimilar to many bipedal reptilians but somehow… wrong, as if putting on their form could not hide the fundamental horror of their nature. Various parts of the ground liquified into rivers of blood that was also burningly hot, so hot it should have boiled but was magically preserved into a kind of lava. In the distance there were buildings of black metal and spikes, upon which were impaled people being tortured in terrible ways for their great sins in life… and vast war machines, powered by the toils of the damned, moved onwards to a background noise rumbling low and deep.

It sounded like screaming. So many voices screaming together it reached a thousand pitches so low it was a pressure more than a sound.

“Yup,” Grimlock said. “Definitely Hell. Well. A Hell. Dunno about there being a single one.”

Riddle gave him a look. “How do you know that?”

Grimlock returned the look. For a robot who was infamous for his emotional outbursts, assuming he wasn’t just faking them on the spot, he could do a really good enigmatic expression. “How do you know more than they do?”

“I’ve been around. I’ve heard stuff. You?”

Grimlock indicated the land as some awful frog/dog hybrid burst out of the ground, jaws wide and filled with hooks. He grabbed it and twisted its head off without even looking, and set the body on fire with a arm-mounted flamethrower. “Did a few stints with the Dinobots in a few places like this. We got real lost and stuck and just had a fun ol’ time beating the scrap out of every damn thing in sight. That’s a pun, by the way. Damn, and they’re the damned… eh, whatever.” he paused, lost in memories. “Happened a few more times, and then we stayed on purpose, killing all the fiends we could, working our way up to gutting an evil murder god or something. Be a good trophy. Heh… like to see Pearl manage that.”

Steven frowned. “Don’t talk mean about my sword mom.”

“Yeah, okay. Point is, they sealed us up for a few hundred years until we busted loose and got right back to killing. That was fun!” Grimlock joyfully snarled out a plume of flame, thrilled by these memories of righteous slaughter. “So… freeing! Fighting literal embodiments of pure evil! Monsters without pity, or remorse, that deserve none! Actual evil incarnate! No second thoughts, no worry about the moral implications, just ripping apart things that deserve to die. It’s real freeing fighting something like that.”

Equius nodded. “I suppose I can imagine the appeal.”

Riddle grimaced. “ Every time I hang out with you, Grims, you wind up getting nostalgic over murder or something. Don’t you have non-stabbing hobbies?”

“Well, I run a scrap heap art show back on the Fleet,” Grimlock noted. “But that’s not too cinematic.”

Steven, alone, looked to the hellscape beyond, including the pseudo sky. “Something big is coming,” he said, looking queasy. “I don’t… guys, this feels wrong.”

Grimlock sidled in front on hm in a wholly protective and unconscious way. “Stick with me, kid. You stay tanky, I’ll keep the rest of you safe.”

Riddle scowled. “I can fight fine, too.”

“Prove it, meaty!” Grimlock laughed, positively daring him to respond in kind.

Equius sighed. “Can we please stow the bravado-”

“NEVER.”

“-Something is coming!”

A great cloud of rotten dust came up as approximately two thousand feet came marching up, and they squinted at the mass slowly approaching them.

Fiends. ‘Demon’ was a bit of a generalist term these days, often referring to any supernatural being that was broadly humanoid, had a combination of horns or tail or wings, but it didn’t quite refer to evil creatures anymore. Demon was a general description. Fiend was more suitable for describing things that were, quite simply, elemental beings of concentrated evil in the same way that frost giants were elemental cold. They were wickedness, malice and the pleasure of hurting people given a voice and will.

They came now, a huge army that was organized reasonably well, if along old-fashioned paths. At the front were the smallest ones, twenty-foot high beasts suited towards speed, carrying supernatural analogues to firearms fused to their forearms and extended carapaces on the other that served as shields.

Behind them were the dedicated long-range fighters; monsters that were mostly gun or cannon, their jaws gaping and shoveling up all the blood-stone they could get, digesting it into ammunition. Others resembled bows, twisting themselves into gruesome shapes so that imps could slot in arrows over twenty feet long and thick as trees.

Close range fighters, riding dreadful flesh-eating monsters and ready to ride in and leap upon the foe: bloodthirsters, fiends hungry for the thrill of battle and emaciated with the bloodlust. Larger creatures, and at their feet moved the more mobile fiends and those serving all the other purposes of warfare, and these grew progressively bigger, living siege engines and equals to mortal machine-titans, growing bigger and bigger until the largest towered over the entire army, roaring defiance at them.

The army stopped, staring at them.

Shortly thereafter, a tall and spiky fiend that seemed to be mostly folded tendons in elaborate armor, and a sword as big as he was, rode up on something that looked kind of like a horse but mostly like a mix-and-match of various deadly creatures. “Good day, mortals,” it said cheerfully.

“Um,” Steven said, perhaps surprised to see a talkative fiend. “Hello.”

“Don’t talk to the fiend!” Riddle hissed, nudging the much larger man. “What if it enspells you!?”

“I know but… I’m not going to be rude!”

“I am a fiend,” the speaker stated, apparently interested by this debate. “Who cares about my feelings? I don’t even have any. I just assume the appearance of them for interaction purposes.”

“Okay but that’s still no reason to be rude.”

“Bored now,” Grimlock said. “Gonna kill it now.”

“Please, wait!” Equius snapped.

“I gotta. He’s just too annoying to live.”

“Let him say his piece, please?”

“Oh, fine…”

The fiend cleared its throat, dislodging a few gross bits. “I speak on my behalf, the great and mighty Daedric Lord; he who is the Lord of Schemes, Architect of Domination. This realm has, happily, fallen to his conquests and, aha, perhaps so shall you. I suppose you are wondering how you arrived here when, no doubt, your portal excursion was to bring you somewhere more palatable to your tastes?”

Riddle’s mouth opened. “How do you know- oh. Oooooh. You messed with our portal, didn’t you!?”

Grimlock growled, a primordial noise out of nightmare that made them all feel extremely uncomfortable. Even the fiend looked uncharacteristically concerned. “Ah. Well… it was naughty of me, but my lord greatly wished to test his powers against your own! For you see…” He wiggled a finger at them, scoldingly. “Your mother fleet has done much to frustrate his plans!”

“Okay…?” Steven said, warily.

“Going about all the multiverse, interrupting tyrants in their plans to dominate. Interfering in ancient schemes without even meaning to! Blundering right into planets and upsetting careful plots by liberating the populace and then breeding with every single sapient species, and making new ones on the spot! To say nothing of all this dreadful liberty coming across from you introducing new technologies into places that were being perfectly miserable and isolated without them.” It sighed. “I expect the Enemies in the Upper Planes are quite pleased with your lot but… really. This is just bad manners!”

“I hate this guy a lot,” Grimlock said flatly. “I’m going to step on him now.”

Riddle, however, looked thoughtful, as if remembering a report he had seen somewhere. “...Recently conquered a realm… Lord of schemes and domination… oh, shit. You’re working for Molag Bal!”

The fiend looked impressed. “Oho, you caught that one right away.”

“Who?” Steven said.

Grimlock looked surprised. “Don’t tell him anything!” He hissed to Riddle. To Steven, he said, “You’re better off not knowing!”

But the fiend continued. “You see, my lord wishes to match his military might against the power of you four. After all, against one of the last knights of Cybertron-” He indicated Grimlock. “A walking tank boasting impenetrable defense-” This was said to Steven. “A fascinating anomaly such as yourself,” This was to Riddle. “And of course, a blueblood troll with ample boosts to his strength, and gear to accommodate it! Why, this should be a most entertaining diversion for you, yes?”

“Flattering me won’t save you from ending up dead,” Grimlock said indifferently.

Equius sighed. “Then, you will attack no matter what we say. And I expect we cannot leave, one way or another, until this is done.”

“But of course. And you did intend on having a… what’s the term… boy’s night out, yes?”

“...Right. Okay.” Equius drew from his belt a pair of gauntlets that interlocked into his arms. Quad shotgun barrels extended out from each knuckle and loaded up with trick ammunition and projectile gadgets, while the forearms deployed mechanical repeater crossbow arms. The punches stored up energy, the crossbows released it into his very finest shots. “Not at all what we had in mind, but I see no alternative.”

Steven grimaced, his arm swelled up and in a flash of light, producing a curiously organic-looking pink shield, it’s face adorned with the image of a lion. “No one ever just wants to talk things out!”

Grimlock drew from his body an integrated sword as massive as he was tall, its appearance volcanic, it’s black blade bursting into flame as his heroic spirit flooded into it. The Blade of Simfur itself, said to have been wielded by the chimeric machine-god Onyx Prime, passed down through the line of kings of Simfur. “You really think you can talk to fiends.”

“I have to try. No matter how hopeless it seems.”

“...Heh. I gotta like someone that’s ridiculously brave.”

Riddle spread his arms, and magical mandalas materialized around his arm, absurdly complex and ready to summon forth the spells of his choosing. They flickered red, trying to tap into the energies of the multiverse and having to make do with the essence of this hellrealm; he looked queasy and disturbed feeling it flow through him.

The fiend raised his weapon, and brought it down on Steven. “Then let the game commence!”

The sword broke against his shield, in a massive shockwave that knocked him off his steed. Steven sighed and jumped up, and laid a hand against the fiend. Then he grabbed and somehow threw it straight off the ground, into the air, and Grimlock’s fist slammed into the ground while meeting the fiend in route.

Grimlock’s punches were entirely capable of smashing through mountains and planetary cores. The fiend was reduced to a bloody smear. “‘Bout damn time,” Grimlock grunted.

And that was the signal agreed about earlier, unknown to them, and the two thousand fiends charged, in orderly fashion, and the four heroes charged to meet them.

It really wasn’t fair to the fiends, of course, but when you dealt with people who benefited from the powers of the Endowed Fleet, what could you do?

[rookinvestigations]

29 Cantlan

  Too long and strange a day to write down. If there's a myself in the future reading this I might as well paste tomorrow's newspaper into this journal, as I'm sure it'll summarise the important bits in case I, ha ha, happen to forget enough great swathes of my life to need a reminder. (Why else keep a journal? It isn't as though I particularly enjoy staring my feelings in the face.) Suffice it to say that it started very routinely and somewhere in the middle went very wrong and by the end of it I'd watched several people die and watched a monster rampage through the city while I and the rest of my guard company tried to lure it to the top of a bell tower where we could subdue it until we were able to kill it with the sound of the cold iron bells. Also we attempted to investigate a murder which turned out to be a little more complicated, pried a Vistani merchant out of the grasp of his racist neighbours who wanted to pin the murder on him and eventually got eaten for their troubles, I had a grand idea I might get to set my life back to rights for all of about ten minutes before everything went sideways, a history book legend showed up out of nowhere to rescue one of the company and then order us around, I acquired a handgun through less than ideal means, we met a living box, Bob the Crow introduced herself to us (how have I lived in Foxmarch for so many years without ever being flapped at by Bob before? Have I been making too much trouble or not enough?), and I completely failed to learn to ride an enchanted broomstick or punch one silver-tonged asshole in the face. Also I caught sight of the Volpe just as the battle died down, watching us from one rooftop while we fought on another. He did, I belatedly realised, send over a small amount of help, mostly in the form of flung rope when one of us nearly fell, but at the time I was too occupied to notice much, and I don't understand why he didn't help us any more, unless he's really in the vigilante business for the usual reason of hitting people and didn't see this as important enough to risk being social and blowing his cover. I don't understand him at all, much as I've pored over Montcalm's documentation of his efforts. Part of me wants to shake his hand – every slippery Undercity backstabber and extortionist off the streets is a win – but part of me is too wary.

  After all of that there was a funny sort of adrenaline still howling through my veins which made it very difficult for me to comprehend the very normal idea of “calm down” – I remember suggesting we take our victory celebration to the nearest pub, and a few of our party took me up on it, but conversation quickly turned to not-conversation and a lot of staring exhaustedly into tankards while the rain dripped out of our hair and I don't really remember most of it now. All the bravado leaked out of us with the rainwater. I took my leave early and walked home in the dark. It was still raining.

  When I got into my flat I was chilled to the bone and shivering, which didn't seem right as it's Midsummer Eve and the weather had been primed for it, even with the rain. I set my new handgun down on the desk and stood in the middle of my flat still wearing my coat and dripping water into my eyes and completely forgot how to move for a minute, or maybe ten. It occurred to me from a very long way away that I might have burrowed into company I would have otherwise shaken off because the idea of being home alone with the night I'd just had all over me was a little too much to face. I don't know anyone I can be alone with, except Mrs MacGruan, and certainly no one I could ask over to my flat in the middle of the night, not that I'd want anyone to see me in a less than coherent state. From the far away observing place I watched my body crumple, one hand braced on my desk, and begin to weep. Which was appalling, I haven't shed a tear in actual years. It makes me feel undone and helpless and very small and I've had enough of feeling undone this past month. It occurred to me that I might be in some sort of shock but I wasn't in much of a place to do anything about it. I remembered that you needed hot drinks for that sort of thing and maybe getting un-cold, but I couldn't get out of my horrible crying body and make it do anything useful. I just kept thinking about spending half the night completely useless, watching people die and running back and forth barely able to help or think or plan. I've never fought anything bigger than a street scuffle or been in a scrape that required anything more frightening than a knife and a full-scale battle on a public roof is a little beyond my ken. Even that ass MacMalperdy had, in the end, risked his neck – quite literally – rescuing Molly while I darted back and forth unable to decide what to do. (I owe him that missed punch but it seems untoward to hit a man who's just come back from the dead, if that is what happened. Then again, if I ever run into him again I'm sure I'll change my mind the moment he opens his conniving fast-talking mouth and I remember immediately why it wanted punching.)

  After a very long time I managed to make my body stop crying and went through the curtain to the other side of the room to start a fire and lie down in my chair. Even the thought of smoking seemed like too many complicated hand movements to manage. But as I threw my coat over the chair as usual the pocket moved and I remembered the little scrapworms from the carving and awakening of the trunk made from sapient pear tree I'd let crawl down off my hands into its safety so many hours ago. My heart stopped for a moment, fearing they'd been injured in the battle when I hadn't been thinking of them at all, but when I stuck my hand into the depths of the pocket all three of them scuttled up my palm, one of them running around my wrist into my sleeve. They felt a bit like caterpillars and a bit like being rubbed gently with a tiny bannister railing, only a little fuzzy, the way new rough-hewn wood is. I felt very badly about having nearly forgotten them and selfish for having taken them with me – but then no one else was going to. Maybe they'd have liked to skitter off into the woods, but the city might have been a little much on them. I cupped them in my hands and begged forgiveness for their rough night. “My name is Rook,” I told them, and the one in my sleeve wound back down and poked its head  out – they haven't got eyes or anything but they move and behave as if they've got a front part – “and I'm going to take a little better care of you than I have been. If you'll have me,” I added. I could always leave the window open and see if they wanted to go... be part of a tree again somehow. I don't know. One of them seemed to nod at me, swaying, and the third one reached up and sort of slithered at my dripping hair. It was, I realised, absorbing the water. The smallest one, the one from my sleeve, reached up and butted its not-a-head against my wet face, very gently. It siphoned all the tears and rain from my face and I stood there with the outside wind still howling in my ears in my bones and let it.

1 Samonan

  I've left a saucer of water on the windowsill for the scrapworms which appears to be well-recieved. It's the only sunny spot in the flat, not that I've seen the sun through it in some time, but I went in to work later than usual on account of profound and earned exhaustion, so when I left the scrapworms they were preening and coiling towards the light.

  It appeared that nearly everyone got a late start and several of the usual party was missing. Though I don't blame anyone for staying home as the outside of the Tolbooth was absolutely thick with journalists and broadsheeters. I'm going to need a bigger hat if I'm going to hide from them. They were all clamouring for us to give statements about last night, but I'm very good at snarling until people stop asking me to talk about something and I got in without having to punch anyone (not a good look in a guard sash). Montcalm, to his credit, finally managed a facial expression, and it was one of such total bewilderment that my dour mood parted just enough to let in a warm smugness at seeing the granite block get caught off his feet for once. He was so baffled that he kept getting side-tracked giving us the run-down, although some of that might have also been the journalists shouting for us from outside. Instead of throwing us out in disgrace for destroying a lot of buildings and failing to prevent several deaths we've ended up city heroes, and we've been given a letter of thanks from the Margrave. He issued several letters of commendation, but my utter uselessness in battle has at least escaped me that. No one in the Bends, much less the Fire Pit, would trust an investigator with a Margrave's letter of approval, in the vanishing chance I have a career again after this anyway. I have to think as though I might or I don't know what I'm going to do.

  Horribly, we have been punished for our heroism by being put on paperwork duty, which makes sense as we can hardly go out patrolling with everyone in the city out to clap us on the back and beg us to confirm the increasingly weird rumours and embellishments I'm sure are already sparking up. Montcalm's refused to give any of our individual names or descriptions to the press so this may die down soon but I've... met journalists. Anyway they know we're fresh meat and haven't been press-trained (well, most of us – I imagine Molly's learned how to say “no comment” in a tight spot with the best of them), which is problem enough till the novelty dies down I reckon.

  On all of these notes, Tolbooth canteen coffee is about the only reason I yet live. That tang of tar and alley mud is almost beginning to taste comforting.

2 Samonan

  Attempting to return the merchant Kerim's loan of a broomstick went differently than expected. I liked him more than I've liked most people in some time, maybe because we seemed to understand how to talk to each other better than most. Then I made an unexpected misstep but I'm not entirely sure how. Maybe it's best I don't look for people I might be able to talk about home with. There are a lot of good reasons I've avoided it so far.

  He did, in the end, sell me the nicest weapon I've ever owned – a dark mahogany sword cane with a grip in the shape of a raven's head, gone dark lake-at-night silver with age and handling. It unsheaths like a dream – if you dream a lot about bladed weapons, and I do – and I do feel a certain delight in the sharp-beaked shape of my nearly-namesake keeping watch over my blade. “Is bird, like you,” Kerim told me, as if he particularly wanted me to have it, and while I know it was mostly friendly shop banter to get me attached enough not to be able to walk away I felt a little clench of fondness at it, and once the cane was in my hands it felt like part of the reach of my arm, though time will tell if I fight any better with sword or cane than I've failed to fight with knives and gun. Something uncomfortably persistent in me is very certain that I haven't seen or fumbled my last large scale battle.

3 Samonan

  Well clearly I've made several mistakes.

4 Samonan

  I've made a lot of mistakes and agreeing to be hit repeatedly with blunt objects may be my worst one yet.

 5 Samonan

  Actually the worst mistake I've made was POSTING MY HOME ADDRESS ALL OVER THE CITY. Young naive Rook, trying to get an investigation business off its feet, blithely pasting flyers on every noticeboard in Foxmarch and a few underneath, why did you never take a moment to think of JOURNALISTS and trust to word-of-mouth instead? Montcalm may have kept our names out of the paper but unlike everyone else I'm findable, regardless of whether or not anybody knows I was involved in the big thing they're all after scoops about. I am going to have to get a guard dog, or maybe some large traps, in the event that opening the door and snarling “fuck off” and then slamming it begins to wear down its usefulness after the eighth go-round. I would like to sleep someday.

6 Samonan

   Bob the Crow has been watching me, though I'm not sure why – I've found grey and black feathers on the windowsill outside a couple of times when I've gone out to have a smoke, but I wasn't quite sure. Even though it seemed a little too pointed to be a coincidence, I've been jumping to and from enough things recently and didn't want to add “conclusions” to that list. At any rate, I saw her properly when I was smoking after my run-around with Rigna tonight – she lit on one of the nearby roofs and didn't seem at all abashed when I caught her eye, not that Bob has probably ever been abashed for a single moment as long as she's lived. She just tilted her head at me and cawed once and waited for me to finish my pipe, and when I shook the ashes out into the street below she nodded and flew away as if she'd got whatever it was that she came for. I suppose she's keeping an eye on all of us since we dragged a mimic nearly to her nest and are making quite a commotion in her city. Still when she looks at me like that I feel like she's waiting for something, a question or an answer or an action, that I don't know if I have to offer or the faintest idea of where to look to find out what it's supposed to be. Hands empty and found wanting as always. What is it that I always seem to be missing or failing to to answer? 

8 Samonan

  Several people have clearly noticed my new and ever-changing collection of bruises but no one has appeared to want to bring them up. I suppose they all just think people have been taking a dislike to me even more than usual. I don't think it's a secret, really, and I would answer, I think, if someone did ask, but it does feel a bit weird to say, sorry I'm limping again, a centuries-old Auf general has taken it upon herself to make me passably shit at fighting instead of dismally shit at fighting so her eyes don't bleed every time she has to look at me. “Pain is a lesson of its own,” she's informed me coolly, more than once. “You must learn to withstand it so that the fear of it does not dominate you, and learn to endure it so that it does not slow you down.” But I'd reckon she's never had to do paperwork for hours with ribs that seize up every time one tries to breathe.

13 Samonan

  My old schedule was unbearable but my new schedule is becoming untenable: waking before dawn half the week so Rigna can hit me with a broadsword or make me run over the rooftops with barely enough time for a mid-morning meal before my guard shift begins and stretches over the next eight hours while my body slowly collapses into a scream and I stumble home to try to eke out any time to myself, which mostly ends up being elbowing a nosy stranger out of my hallway, watering the scrapworms, and falling asleep still sitting up with a book or a pipe or a pack of cards still in one hand and waking up at dawn again a wasteland of muscle cramps only to realise that in the midst of everything I'd forgotten to eat dinner the night before. And then I take my creaking and furious body over the rooftops to the mostly empty floor over the Grand Emporium to go get pummelled with obscure weaponry while Rigna shouts at me that my posture is awful and my form is worse and she's seen a goat with a broken leg fight better than I am till I get so angry that I either hurt myself or finally manage to do something nearly correctly. Then I limp downstairs where Kerim looks altogether too amused to see me trying to hold my bones in but usually offers me a consolation prize of showing off some weird trinkets he's just gotten in from a city I've never heard of and sometimes sharing a bit of tobacco or tea so I can remain upright long enough to push myself back down the street to the Tolbooth for my shift, bleary-eyed, bruised, and bloodied. Once in a while he tells Rigna to try not to knock out my eyes or break all my ribs, which I appreciate.

  The rest of the days I get to sleep in to what I once thought miserably of as my too-early shift start time and then I spend my evening dodging blades and bludgeonings instead. Rigna gives me every third day off but the Guard certainly doesn't. Once my day off from training coincided with one of my weekend days off from the Guard and to my disgust I spent nearly all of it unconscious. If only I could have used up all my need for sleep in that one go. I barely feel like me anymore without more than a few stray moments to choose my own actions, but then again, when I do stop having things assigned to me – all I've got is the howling wilderness of my own head to contend with.

  Today I fell asleep right in the middle of a stack of ordinances, which I've been furtively doing for weeks now but previously I'd managed to be much more discreet, and never slept for longer than ten minutes at a time. I woke with a paper stuck to my face and Captain Montcalm trying to shake me awake. He informed me in that voice that usually cuts right through me that he couldn't have any of us sleeping on the job, but having been up before dawn for several days has made me delirious. I smiled up at him beatifically, said, “I'm a hero of the city,” and laid my head right back down. I'm going to get nothing but comparing health and safety regulations for local buildings till I'm dead but it was worth it to see his face twitch an expression away before it could surface. And for the next seven minutes of sleep before Chief blinked over and barked sharply in my ear till I sat back up. Mostly the latter.

[yaelsstory]

Product Of A Murderer - Chapter 6

I’m sorry for spamming, guys. I’ve been neglecting this Tumblr-blog. For a little while, I’ve been thinking about erasing it as I raised the bar too high for myself, but I got over that. As  I’m trying to get it back up to date, I’m posting all the finished chapters at once, so I can post my new chapters at the same moment as I post them at AO3.

So please accept my apologies, I’m doing it to feel more comfortable, so I don’t have to stress out about this :)

Summary: Yaël, a twenty-four years old girl with the powers to control the four elements, lost all her memories after a terrible incident. While trying to get her memories back, she somehow befriends Wade Wilson and Peter Parker. It’s a bumpy road,  because after being gone for almost a year, everyone thinks she’s dead and there are many different reactions to her comeback. That …and while struggling to remember her life as it was before, she discovers that she isn’t who she thought she was. Maybe there are a few things she doesn’t want to remember at all… .

Note: This story is the third part of the Sweet Child of Mine-serie. You can read the other parts of this serie on AO3 on my account (Caspinn) or on my friend’s account (kalkoenvsneoklak).

If you want to read more about the story of Peter, Tony and Steve, you should read part one of the series: Being a Stark.

If you’re interested in the story of Natasha Romanoff and James “Bucky” Barnes, I suggest you to read part two of the series: Golden Locks, Silver Arms.

The next day, too, Yaël went to work. She even did some extra hours to please Diego. It rained all day, which sucked for someone who had to work outside. She surely hoped she wouldn’t get a cold again.

A few hours later, she walked back home, looking muddy and completely soaked. Her shoes made squishy noises as she walked into the hallway. Once she opened the door to her apartment, she sprinted into the shower, leaving her clothes on. After that, she hung her clothes to dry, put on a gigantic T-shirt, panties and nothing else.

She laid down on the fluffy rug with her cello and started tuning on the strings. After she fiddled with the instrument for a while, she got up and got a book and a blanket and installed herself in her sofa.

Yaël opened her eyes and stood in the familiar forest once again. Okay, so she fell asleep, oops. She’d surely have a sore neck the next morning from sleeping in the sofa.

“Welcome back.” There he was, the black-haired dude. This time, he had a braid tucking his hair back. It looked kind of awesome, though.

“Cool hair!” Yaël grinned.

“What? Oh…You once did this to me, actually.” He said with a smirk. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

Yaël noticed there was no cage this time, she was free to move, probably because she broke it last time. Wait, that’s not logical at all, because it was a dream. But dreams never had any logic, did they? And where were all the other people by the way? Why were they in the last dream but not in this one? Would this guy have something to do with it?

“Why would I braid your hair?” she asked him casually while following. He was walking towards the little house where he walked out a while ago when she dreamt like this.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of a habit to have braids around here. I think my unbraided hair annoyed you.” Here? Where is here? Where were they? Yaël looked around, but all she could see were trees and darkness. As she looked up, she could see the lines of a few towers and turrets from some kind of castle far, far away, like she had seen before in these dreams.

The closer Yaël got to the cottage, the older it started to look, but also well maintained. Someone had taken care of all those flowers around the small building. Someone must’ve painted these shutters a thousand times and someone must’ve spend hours of keeping the ivy, curling up against the walls, in control.

Why could she almost see someone do it?

The man held the rounded door open for her. The light coming from the house looked inviting. Yaël’s mouth fell open as she walked in. The interior looked cozy and warm. There were plaids and rugs everywhere. An open fire warmed up the room and, together with a few candles, lighted it. There were no signs of electricity or modern devices of any kind. The bed was placed behind a big sort of curtain which served as a door and stood open a bit so Yaël could see it.

“I used to live here…” she mumbled to herself. The man, who decided to sit down for a minute while she looked around, stayed silent. “Who lived here with me?” Yaël turned around and saw that black-head eating a pear from the big basket of fruit standing next to the old, comfy-looking chair he was sitting in. So he was kind of stealing her pears now?

The man swallowed a piece of the fruit before he answered. “You lived here with your father a long time ago. A very, very long time ago. His name was-“

“Cem,” she interrupted him, remembering bits and pieces of the story. Cem, her dad, had been a big, muscular man with a grey beard, long, grey hair that was almost always braided and happy wrinkles of laughter under his eyes. His grey hair fitted with his blue eyes, blue because of being able to steer water, like a piece of art.

Suddenly, a memory came across Yaël’s mind, which made her flinch her a bit. She suddenly understood what the man meant with a long, long time ago, since her dad had died a long time ago. A very long time ago. Her dad had been coughing for a whole while, and after some time, the phlegm turned into blood. He died of some form of tuberculosis and Yaël stayed behind, alone.

Her mother, Agostina, had never been in the picture. She died when Yaël couldn’t even walk yet. Apperantly, Yaël had a younger sister, Nilla, who stayed in town when her father decided to move out. But why? Why did a young kid like Nilla decided to stay alone in a town? And why did Cem decide to move out of that town?

“You’re frowning, that doesn’t look pretty on you,” the man mumbled nonchalant while still hanging in the chair.

“Do you know why we moved into the forest? I mean like, there’s nobody else living here.” The man stood up and walked around.

“You once told me you were banished from town,” he answered while he fiddled with a plaid hanging against a wall and held his other hand behind his back.

“Why?”

“Because everyone thought you were ‘damaged’-“

“For having these weird powers?” she interrupted him.

“For having no powers at all.”

What?! “That doesn’t make sense, I can steer the four elements!”

He let the plaid go and turned to her, standing with his both hands behind his back.  Every move he made, was gracious, like he was royal or something.

“There was a time you didn’t have those powers,” he answered “I even met you when you still had no powers. So the king saw no use in you, and banned you as he was afraid you carried a disease that could infect others. He also wanted to make sure this way that you’d never reproduce. Because how could you have kids if you never came in contact with any men, right? And Cem didn’t want to send you alone in the woods, so he came with you and built this house, all on his own.”

“Then why didn’t my sister come with us?” Yaël felt like she knew the answers to all of her own questions, but she wanted him to tell it to her. She wanted to hear everything, so she was sure she wasn’t imagining stuff, even though he was just a part of her dream.

“Oh, but Nilla was very talented with her power: fire. The king kept her, so she’d work for him. She still does, I guess.”

“Wait, so, if I understand this correctly, I lived in a country where all people could steer the elements?”

“Well, everyone could steer one element, no one actually could do what you do: steering all four of them. Your dad steered water and your sister fire. Your mother had heterochromia, so she was one of the few people who could steer a bit of fire and a bit of air.” What was this town, or land or whatever? There was no place on earth like this one, right? Where there countries filled with people with powers to steer the elements?

“So…where the freaking freck on earth are we? And why can I steer all four elements if nobody else can do that?” The guy smirked at her.

“Oh,  my dear, we’re not even on earth… And your second question is a bit harder to explain.” No, that’s impossible, right? Well, at least, that would explain why Yaël still didn’t know half of how earth worked. Like the voting system; it freaked her out.

And she remembered taking the bus for the first time, that was way too complicated for her to understand, with the paying and then following the screen that flickered and kept saying the same stop because apparently it was broken and Yaël somehow had to guess where her stop was and then she didn’t know she had to push the button so she missed her own stop. The bus driver got angry at her for yelling “STOP!” so loudly.

“So I’m like, an alien?”

“There’s no shame in that as I am an alien too. From a different planet, though, but still some sort of alien.”

“Which planet is this?” Yaël asked as she looked through the window. It surely was a planet filled with trees.

“This planet’s called He-“

“YAËL, WAKE UP GIRLIE!” Yaël almost jumped out of bed from getting scared up.

“Holy shit,” she mumbled while rubbing her eyes. Who woke her- Oh, it surely was that freaking Wade again. He was the only one who called her ‘girlie’ and who would wake her up like this. Was he making a habit of waking her up? Yaël stamped towards the door and pulled it open aggressively.

“Wow, good morning, angry German bitch.” Wade cocked an eyebrow as he saw Yaël’s murderous looking face.

“Dude, I was so close from knowing what planet I came from!”

“Oh, sor-“

“Don’t say sorry, you jerk! You couldn’t know! Come in.” she grumbled pissed.

“So, you’re an alien? I told you Fury and X kept something from you.” Wade said while Yaël made a cup of coffee for him. Wade visited her for no specific reason. He knew she only had to work in the afternoon today, so he simply jumped in during the morning.

“Do you think they knew?”

“I don’t know, probably. Why don’t you ask them?” That was a good idea, she should call one of them. “So do you remember what language they speak on your planet?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s a bit complicated. We speak two languages, but in our dialect, we mix those two,” Yaël scratched her head, how could she remember the two/three languages she spoke, but not the name of the planet she came from? “One language is a specific one from our planet itself. The other one is Norwegian.”

“What? Norwegian? That’s a random language…Why would they speak that?”

“I don’t know,” Yaël shrugged.

“Well, count to ten in Norwegian for me!” Yaël laughed, this was so weird, a few hours ago, she didn’t even remember that she had another mother tongue.

“Uhm, let me see… Null, en, to, tre, fire, fem, seks, syv, åtte, ni, ti.” Wade clapped for her way to enthusiastically

“That sounds so crazy! Let me try it!”

Somehow Wade managed to pronounce every word correctly.

“Dude, are you Norwegian yourself or are you an alien too?” Yaël asked with a wide grin.

“Alt bra? Wow, detteermoro!” Wade answered her ‘How are you? Wow, this is fun!’ in fluent Norwegian. How did he even…?

“Wade, stop it, you’re freaking me out.” Yaël muttered. She’d never understand how this guy’s brain works, but it surely was freaking creepy.

“Do you want to go party tonight?” Wade randomly asked. Yaël was eating breakfast and Wade joined her around the table, sipping from his coffee.

“I have to work until seven, but I’m free tomorrow…meh, why not.”

“Good!” the guy grinned. Yaël somehow doubted if partying with Wade would be the most responsible thing to do, but whatever. Having some fun wasn’t a crime, right?

Wade stayed for the rest of the morning. They watched a few episodes of their series and made some arrangements for the night. Yaël quickly ate some soup, shooed Wade away and went to work again. She had to go Mr. and Mrs. Thompson again, so that was great! Would they have made some cookies again? While walking to the old couple’s house, she took her phone.

Wade was right, she should call professor X, maybe he’d know where she came from. She could also wait until she slept again, but she didn’t always dream about the forest, so there was no certainty in getting more info via the dream within this week and she really, really wanted to know it as soon as possible. But Yaël didn’t want to bother or disturb X once again.

On the other hand, Fury wouldn’t pick up the phone and X literally told her she should call him more frequently if something was wrong.

As soon as the beeping stopped and she heard a soft crack from someone picking up the phone, Yaël started speaking because she knew X didn’t always have the habit of starting to speak as he picked up.

“Hi, mister X?”

“Yes. Hello, Yaël.”

“Hi, uhm, I have a new problem.”

 “Your apartment got warmed up again, right?”

“Yes, yes, thank you for that!” Oh, wow, she felt like she sounded ungrateful.

“Okay, so what can I help you with?” he asked kindly.

“Uhm, so I dreamt again and, eh, I kind of discovered I’m from another planet. But somehow I remember the languages I speak, but I simply can’t remember the planet itself. So, I was wondering if you knew the name of my planet.”

 “Oh, I’m sorry, but I don’t have that information.”

He had to be kidding her, right? He read her files, he helped her through the tests once she woke up in that hospital-ish place. He must’ve got some info about her birthplace.

I’m afraid you never had the chance to tell mister Furywhere you’re from, or that he never wrote it in your files anyways and I never took the opportunity to dig into your mind for that info, X said in her head. Great, why did she even bother to call that man if she could just ‘think’ to communicate with him. Oh, shit, she never told him she accidentally met Steve in the park.

Oh. Fuck. Yaël, stop thinking.

“That’s okay, Yaël.” He started speaking through the phone again.

“W-why were you in my head and now- heh?” she muttered confusedly.

“Sometimes I too like to test my powers, Yaël. I’m not at all around New York at this time and I wanted to see if I can reach to you there.”

“You obviously can.”

“Yes, but it’s extremely uncomfortable. I’d say I’d come over to help you, but I have a few meetings this week, spread across the country. If I’d reach further I’d be able to help you from afar, but I’m afraid that won’t work out.”

“That’s okay, sir.”

 “I’ll come over to do another session as soon as possible.”

“Thanks, sir. There’s no hurry.” At least she didn’t want him to think he’d have to hurry, he was too kind for her.

She felt a bit frustrated after that phone call. Somehow, she had hoped X had answers for her, but he had none. Maybe she should call Fury? Last time, he let his assistant pick up in his place. But there was no harm in trying, right?

*Beep beep* Yaël sighed, why was she even trying?

“Yes?” Fury sounded a bit annoyed, like he was suspecting that she did something stupid again.

Holy shit, he actually picked up the phone.

“Eh, hi, it’s Yaël. I have a question, mister Fury?”

“What is it?” talking to Fury surely wasn’t as pleasant as talking to X. Fury sounded way more…restive. Probably because he didn’t like her anyways.

So Yaël told her about her recently gained memories and asked him about the planet she came from. His answer was clear.

“Are you calling me for this? I don’t have time for things like this, Yaël. Why don’t you call mister Rogers or whoever about that?” And with that, he hung up.

Because you never informed me that I could contact mister freaking Rogers, dick! Yaël thought. But, it wasn’t a bad idea actually! Steve was going to help her if Fury wanted it or not and he could…he could…Oh, fuck it!

Yaël stomped through the street while slamming on the touch screen of her phone. Wait a bloody minute. Steve’s number wasn’t in her phone… what?! She still didn’t have his number! Suddenly Yaël discovered she walked too far, which didn’t light up her mood.

Yaël had to rake the leaves, the most braindead job the Thompsons could have given her. Well, no, pulling out the weeds like the previous time was most definitely more braindead. Not that she’d ever complain about certain tasks. She’d just put on her headphones and dig into it.

But this time, she needed no music. She could just calm down a bit and think about the situation. Like for instance, if she’d called Steve right after calling Fury, she would have been somewhat more aggressive towards him and afterwards, she’d be sorry about that.

Not that he had never seen her angry before, but still, this situation wasn’t Steve’s fault at all. Guess she just had to be patient about it. With some luck, she’d dream about it that night.

When Yaël was finally finished with raking all the leaves it started pouring rain again. Then the rain turned into hail. Freaking January.

Without even thinking about it, Yaël steered the rain and hail away from her, so it seemed she had some sort of waterproof shield around her. She picked up the leaves and started putting them into big bags. When she looked up, she saw Mrs. Thompson staring at her from her kitchen window, with her mouth fallen open.

Yaël looked up and then it kicked in that her clients didn’t know about her powers at all. What could she do? Yaël panicked and stopped steering the hail.  Which caused her getting soaked, but she hoped Mrs. Thompson would think she imagined it. The old woman disappeared behind the window. Yaël should go and get her bag, right? It was time to go. But as she went to get her backpack, someone opened the backdoor.

“Sweet child, come in!” Mrs. Thompson yelled. Yaël looked up confusedly. “Come on, before you get sick!”

Yaël nodded slowly and then took a sprint to the house.

“Here, get a cookie!” Yaël was put in front of an open fire with a trillion blankets wrapped around her. Mr. Thompson was still putting new lumps of firewood into the open fire. Yaël took a cookie from the plate Mrs. Thompson was holding in front of her nose.

“T-thanks,” she said. This wasn’t what she’d thought would happen if she’d use her powers in front of clients.

“So, are you a mutant, too?” Mr. Thompson casually asked while wiping off his hands on his pants. Wow, that question got dropped on her like a bomb. What could she say? Did she have to explain that she was an alien or would that make things go bad?

“Eh, sort of,” she mumbled vaguely.

“We had two grandchildren who were mutants.” Mrs. Thompson happily mentioned. Yaël remembered Mrs. Thompson telling her once that the couple only had one daughter because they couldn’t get any more and that they simply gave up that big-family-dream at some point and gave their daughter and grandchildren all the love they had.

“Well, Scott still is, but many years ago, back in the early nineties, Alex passed away.” She pointed at the pictures of two men, hanging above their open fire. There were many pictures of them, as babies playing on the beach, as kids on a horse mill with their grandmother, as teenagers playing baseball with their grandfather…

Yaël totally didn’t know how to react to that, but it seemed like they didn’t expect her to as they just kept talking. They clearly didn’t need to hear her condolences for something that happened years ago.

“Yup, their parents were always ashamed about the mutant-stuff, though.” Mr. Thompson said. “They always lied, and still lie, about it to everyone. They say they send them to a boarding school for their troubling behavior, but Alex was actually kind of rescued from solitary confinement by this Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, where he was put in for not being able to control his powers. They took him to this school… uh…”

“Xavier’s school for Gifted Youngsters!” Mrs. Thompson helped her husband.

“Yes! And a few years later, Scott started showing his powers as well, which troubled his parents somehow and they called Alex to come and pick up the little one too. He still visits us every now and then and sends us postcards. Lovely young boy.”

Yaël stayed and had dinner with the Thompsons, she felt more welcome than ever. But they had always had the talent for making her feel welcome. They didn’t ask her to show off her powers or anything, they just let her be who she was and accepted her that way. Hopefully Scott knew how lucky he was with grandparents like this.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson did ask a few questions out of curiosity. Questions like: “So, did you also go to Xavier’s school?” Yaël’s trick was stuffing her mouth with peas so that she’d always have a few seconds before she could answer, because she needed some time to think about it.

She remembered Fury and X discussing the fact that X trained her for a while. That probably happened at his school, right? So she nodded.

“Oh, so then you must know Scotty! He’s a teacher there. Maybe you students called him mister Summers…” Mrs. Thompson chattered happily.

Errr, shit, Yaël was kind of trapped in that one. Quickly she pushed a big spoon of peas into her mouth again. If she went to the school, she must have met Scott there, right? So Yaël nodded again, only to realize that she could’ve put herself into a corner again. Hopefully they didn’t ask her about the course Scott gave or about homework or anything. She surely wished he taught her how to take a bus a while ago.

But luckily, with that Mr. Thompson looked at the clock and told his wife their soap was going to start. So Yaël helped them clean the table and thanked them a thousand times before stepping into the rain again, this time with an umbrella she got from Mrs. Thompson.

[streetmagicshipping]

Mozenrath Dating Sim

Sometimes ideas just pop up out of nowhere and I’m enjoying this. Any ideas?

BARS

Physical : Increase the Physical Bar by touching Mozenrath. Touching Mozenrath before he is ready or in a way he doesn't want will decrease the bar!

Romantic : Increase the Romance Bar by doing sweet, caring things for Mozenrath. Sincerity counts! Cheap or phony actions will decrease the bar!

Sexual : Increase the Sexual Bar by doing intimate, sexual acts with Mozenrath. But be careful! Too much too soon, or unwelcome advances will decrease the bar!

Intellectual : Increase the Intellectual Bar by stimulating Mozenrath's intellectual pursuits. Ignoring/forgetting what he tells you about sorcery and magic will decrease the bar!

Platonic : Increase the Platonic Bar by being a true friend when Mozenrath needs you to be there for him. Sexual advances will decrease the bar!

Emotional : Increase the Emotional Bar by listening to Mozenrath's backstory and being empathetic towards his experiences. Forgetting what he tells you about himself will decrease the bar!

Trust : Increase the Trust Bar by providing Mozenrath with quests so you can come to trust him. You're still dealing with a villain! Trust him too much or with something too big, and you will decrease the bar!

QUESTS

-PART ONE-

1: Capture Mozenrath : The game starts off with a typical battle between you and everyones favorite evil sorcerer! He's attacking the city with his evil black sand and somehow you manage to defeat him. You now have a choice. You can put him the the Dungeon, or you can give him a Suite to stay in. -Dungeon: -10 to Emotional & Trust -Suite: +10 to Emotional & Trust

(-10 TO EMOTIONAL & TRUST WITH JASMINE)

2: Trial by Council Pt 1 : Mozenrath is a dangerous criminal, and most would agree that he'd be better off either locked in the darkest dungeon or beheaded than alive. However, being a former criminal yourself, you believe there is always a chance for someone to change for the better! Argue with the council (and your wife) for the chance to rehabilitate Mozenrath and keep him in a Suite instead of the Dungeon. -Successful Argument: +10 to Emotional & Intellect -Failed Argument: -10 Emotional & Intellect

3: Redecorating : Depending on whether you won your argument with the council, Moze might be temporarily staying in the Dungeon or a Suite. Either way, you want him to be comfortable if you want any chance of making progress. Wander the palace and find items to spruce up his new 'home' and barter with the servants to come and keep it clean/check up on him.

*DUNGEON -Success: +5 to Emotional & Platonic -Failure: -5 to Emotional & Platonic *SUITE

-Success: +10 to Emotional & Platonic -Failure: -10 to Emotional & Platonic

4: Feed The Man! : It's been over a day since Mozenrath has eaten, and the man is probably in a bad mood because of it. What fruit was he eating in the market stalls when you two were fighting? (Pear.) Maybe if you can remember what he was eating and bring it to him, he'll be a little more receptive to your attempts at being kind. -Success: +5 to Emotional & Intellect -Failure: -5 to Emotional and Intellect

5: The Emperors New Clothes : Mozenrath has been stuck in this same outfit for over three days! You can't expect to make any progress in he doesn't feel comfortable in his own skin! Bargain with the palace laundress to get him something more suitable and (at the very least) clean. BEWARE: You won't know how good of a bargain you struck until Mozenrath puts on the outfit! -Excellent (Noble Outfit) +10 to Emotional & Trust -Fair (Nice Outfit) +5 to Emotional & Platonic -Poor (Servant Outfit) -5 to Emotional & Intellect -UNLOCKED (Harem Outfit) +10 to Physical & Sexual, -10 to Trust, -5 to Emotional

-PART TWO-

6: Basic Human Dignity : It's clear Mozenrath doesn't care about much outside of himself. But since this is better than getting beheaded, he's putting at least some trust in your reeducation program. You notice that he treats the servants (the ones you had to persuade to help) like dirt and you decide the best thing you can do is show him how difficult it can be to grow up poor in Agrabah. Convince Jasmine to give him her old disguise so you two can go into town without him being seen. -Success: +5 Trust (Mozenrath) BUT -10 Trust (Jasmine) -Failure: -5 Trust (Mozenrath)

As you take Mozenrath to your old stomping grounds, he seems very disturbed by the unkempt vagrants around. You get into an argument when you provide a child with a bag of coins. Mozenrath feels it's useless since the coins will eventually be gone and all you've done is sate your own guilty conscience for the moment. “If you really wanted to change things, you're the sultan now. You could make things better for them. But you don't. Because now that you've got your happy ending, who cares about anyone else.” It's harsh, but not untrue. Maybe you haven't been throwing your weight around as much as you could have. Still, Mozenrath is behaving like a spoiled brat and being very rude about how he talks to the poor. How you handle this argument decides on the points you get. -Intellect: +5 to +10 OR -5 to -10 -Platonic: +5 to +10 OR -5 to -10

As you wander, you come upon a booth where someone is selling clothing of various styles. You notice some of the outfits are very skimpy harem garb and you blush when you see it. Mozenrath catches what you're looking at and can't pass up the chance to make fun of it. “Like your Princess would ever wear such a thing!” You fluster and say you weren't thinking of Jasmine wearing it! “Thinking of someone besides your wife, streetrat?” Mozenrath can't help but mock you and depending upon how the conversation goes you could get a variety of points. -Physical: +5 to +10 OR -5 to -10 -Sexual: +5 to +10 OR -5 to -10 -Trust: +5 to +10 OR -5 to -10

7:

8:

9: King Solomon Was a Moron: Council sessions have never been something you enjoyed, but it's necessary for you to make your name as a wise and benevolent sultan. Or may a strong and just sultan? Or was that an unwavering and might sultan? GAH! All these things you need to be at once! As always, Jasmine sits with you to help you make decisions and guide you along the difficult path of political finagling without loosing the common touch. Her advice has always kept you steady, even if...well. Maybe you don't always agree. Jasmine's biggest concern is solidifying you as Sultan. Which means she's playing the political game and pushing you to make the choices she knows will bring you respect in the eyes of the nobles. They aren't bad decisions, but maybe not the ones that are always the best for the people. Mozenrath had some surprisingly good insight, but it's not the most honest or even legal! He might even be trying to trick you into loosing face with the Council. You want to open up a school for low income children in the poor districts of Agrabah, but you have to convince the Council to financially support the initiative. Take Jasmine's Advice + 10 Trust (to Jasmine) -10 Trust (to Mozenrath) Take The Councils Advice +10 Intellect -10 Trust (to Jasmine & Mozenrath) Take Mozenrath's Advice +10 Trust (Mozenrath) -10 Trust (to Jasmine)

10: Trial By Council Pt 2:

- PART THREE -

11: Tea Time:

12: A Simple Gift :

13:

14:

15:

-PART FOUR-

16:

17:

18:

19:

20: Grand Finale:

FULL BAR ENDINGS

Physical: A date where you two go to an Oasis together and have a picnic. Mozenrath admits he's attracted to you, a lot, and that he's very interested in there being something more. You two make love under the stars and afterwards, he tells you he'd like to keep being with you, and that this is the best he's ever felt in his life.

Romantic: Mozenrath is still shy, but it's becoming clear just how much he enjoys your attention. A lot of kissing and hugging. You two go on a date to a festival and you win him a stuffed animal. He's embarrassed of course, but you notice he won't let go of it the while time. At the end of the date there's some heavy making out and petting, but Moze just isn't ready yet. It's okay though. You're willing to wait.

Sexual: It's wicked, and you can tell Moze isn't entirely okay with how he feels about it, but he can't deny his own desires any more. He comes to you in the middle of the night and asks you to do something for him. The two of you sneak out of the palace to your old hovel for a wild, passionate night of sexual bliss. After, Moze is embarrassed, but he doesn't want this to stop.

Intellectual: It's absolutely fascinating getting to know Mozenrath! You never realized just how complicated it is being a sorcerer. As you spend more time with him, Moze lets you into the laboratory you built for him and shows you some of the things he's been doing to help repay you for your kindness. Things that will help the city as well. He's never had someone show him this kind of respect and understanding. You sit watching the stars on the observatory tower and this leads to some heavy petting, making out, possible oral. Afterwards you sit wrapped up in one anothers cloaks and cuddling, Moze holding onto you like he'll never let go.

Platonic: You understand now how difficult it must have been for Mozenrath to grow up in such a bad environment. There's some attraction there, and maybe it might be something in the future, but right now, it's hard enough on him just trying to be friends with someone on a normal, healthy level. You two are sitting in the garden, drinking tea and you tell him you're always going to be there for him, but you understand that what he needs right now is a very good friend. Mzoenrath is so greatful. he leans against you and thanks you for helping him get this far.

Emotional: After so much pain and angst, Moze is finally able to tell you the full backstory of what he suffered under his mother and Destaine. You can tell how difficult this is for him, how far he's come and how far he has to go still. He's not ready for an intimate relationship right now, but your love has helped him realize he is capable of being loves and deserving of respect. He can't quite say it yet, but he promises you that he feels it, and you two spend the night cuddled together.

ENDINGS

Most Positive Outcome - Most Negative Outcome

Loving Relationship: Whatever you two are, it's love. This is the ideal ending, where you've balance the bars perfectly (or close) and Moze is able to say those three special words. The sincere potential for a long term relationship is now in play and you two make promises to one another. -Requires High : Emotional/Physical/Intellectual/Sexual

Romantic Entanglement: Kissing, hugging, dating; it's a whirlwind of possibilities but you're both intrigued by the future. It might be long term or short term, but it's a good start to what will be a happy time together and a good relationship.

-Requires High : Emotional/Romantic/Physical

You've Got A Crush: It's clear there is some serious affection here, but you've gone from enemies to friends, and while kissing and hugging are happening, you need to take time. It might be short term, but it's good to know you can be there for one another with hugs and attention when needed. -Requires High: Romantic/Physical/Sexual

Life Long Friends : Some shy flirting, but it's clear Moze isn't ready for more. You maintain a good friendship with the potential for something more. You're always there for one another, no matter what happens, even if things never develop beyond this point. -Requires High: Intellectual/Platonic/Emotional

Good Friendship : Moze becomes an ally and trusts you, maintaining a sarcastic, bitchy, but ultimately friendly relationship with you. There might be some semi-romantic subtext, but being friends is much better than being enemies. And you've even managed to help him come to terms with his past. -Requires High: Platonic/Emotional

Amicable Relationship: You've gotten to the point where you too can stand to be around one another. It's better than being enemies, but you're not quite friends either. Maybe after everything you've been for, this is the best you can hope for. There's a kind of hope for friendship there, but you'd have to be willing to put in more effort than this.

-Requires All Bars at Roughly 50% Capacity

Fuck Buddies: (CAN ONLY BE UNLOCKED AFTER OTHER ENDINGS) You might be friends, and you might be enemies, but you're defiantly at you're most compatible between the sheets! With the new possibilities stretched out before you, there's a lot of fun to be had and you're both down to try new things! Unlock this SECRET ENDING for a new Expansion Game! -Requires High: Physical/Sexual/Emotional

Frienimies : It's better than hating one another, but not by much. There's a weird kind of trust between the two of you, mostly because you know more about Moze than he's comfortable with anybody else knowing. You'll keep his secrets, and thats about it. At least you can depend on him not to attack anymore. It's not much. But it's something. -Requires Low: Emotional/Platonic

Mutual Disdain: There is a real sense of dislike between the two of you. Maybe it's just the lack of really caring about this other person. But at the end of the day, whatever might have been is dead now and possibly made worse by poor mishandling of the situation. Maybe pay better attention next time! -Requires Low: Platonic/Romantic/Intellectual

Antagonist, Thy Name Is: This was a bad idea from the start. Some people just can't change and that includes you too. You've made a dire enemy worse by being careless in your decisions and the only solution at this point is imprisonment or worse. -Requires Low: Emotional/Intellectual/Romantic/Platonic

Unequivicable Loathing: What did you do? If things were bad before, they're utterly cluster-fucked now! The only way to salvage things by this point is if one of you kills the other and even then, there are bound to be some bitter feelings on both sides! Best to just avoid one another for all eternity and hope you can both learn to live with distance.

-Requires Low: Romantic/Emotional/Intellectual/Platonic/Sexual/Physical

[lotsofdogs]

Ryder: 7 Months Old

If I thought time was flying in my life before, adding this smiley little dude into our lives has made it pass at warp speed.

Can you believe Ryder is (almost) SEVEN months old? Insanity, I’m tellin’ ya. I figured it was time for a little check-in around here since it’s been a hot second and I want to make sure I document some of these baby days with my sweet boy so I don’t forget them. I can barely remember what happened two days ago right now so I hope you don’t mind me writing way too many words about our little guy so my mom brain doesn’t forget just how much I love squeezing and kissing Ryder’s chunky little thighs or how much I can’t get enough of the way he smiles with his whole face and body when I coo his name or kiss his belly.

Since the day we brought Ryder home from the hospital, I’ve said he somehow has a peaceful presence in our house which I know – I know – is a really strange thing to say about a baby, but this little guy is just a roly poly ball of joy and contentment. I’ve repeatedly said how much I hope and pray Ryder’s demeanor sticks with him his whole life because right now he’s just so darn happy and excited about everything. If only we all bobbed through life with a smile on our face and a peaceful air of joy around us! Ryder is laid back in the best way and his go-with-the-flow personality feels like a blessing to our family.

We joke that Ryder is a baby with a serious case of “FOMO” (fear of missing out) because he is a big-time observer and wants to watch and be involved in everything. He never seemed to take to baby wearing when I wore him facing in, but the moment we switched to facing out, he was all about it! Ryder wants to see the world and be a part of it all!

As far as physical changes, Ryder’s baby mohawk has morphed into some kind of a crazy baby combover. His dark brown hair fell out and was replaced by fuzzy light brown/dark blonde hair with the exception of his mohawk which simply grew out into a wavy, flowing combover that cracks us up. He has one tooth (bottom middle left) and loves to put anything and everything in his mouth. By growth chart standards, he’s a small little guy but seems to carry all of his weight in his chunky thighs and little baby bubble butt which I think is just the cutest thing in the world. (I told Ryan that Ryder has my body type. He’s a total “pear.” Ha!)

Ryder’s eye color still perplexes us and we’re not sure what color his eyes are to be totally honest! He has dark eyes that we’re currently deeming “hazel” because they’re mostly brown but they do have flecks of green and even some deep blue. I’m curious to see if they change at all because right now we’re not sure where his dark eyes came from since almost everyone on both my side of the family and Ryan’s side of the family has light eyes.

A quick note: In today’s post I’m mainly focusing on Ryder but if  you guys are interested in a postpartum update from my side of things let me know. I initially started to include that in this post but it got incredibly lengthy and kind of overtook this post so I cut it out. I’m happy to dive into all that good stuff (navigating life with two kids, post baby body stuff, etc.) in a separate blog post if you are interested!

Sleep

Nighttime sleep took a dramatic turn for the better when two things happened last month: We transitioned Ryder into the crib in his nursery and began sleep training after the four-month sleep regression hit us hard. Ever since then, nighttime sleep has been a billion times better and Ryder seems happier and is eating better during the day, too. Clearly we all needed some decent sleep around here!

I kind of feel bad that I didn’t share a baby update when we were in the middle of horrible sleep and wake ups every 2 to 3 hours for two months but it pretty much would’ve read like this: “We’re up a million times a night and if you’re wondering how things are going, I’ve caught myself putting dirty diapers in the laundry machine. The end.”

Now that we’re on the other side of the four-month sleep regression, Ryder will generally go to bed between 6 and 7:30 p.m. and sleep until anywhere between 6 and 7 a.m. Of course there exceptions to this — like when his first tooth came in and I wasn’t sure what was up — but we can usually get back on track with sleep within two days after a rough night. I said this in my post about sleep training last week and I’ll say it again — I know baby sleep ebbs and flows so I’m not expecting sleep to be this great around here forever but right now I am soaking it up and hoping it lasts!

When it comes to nap time, we’re just now beginning to see longer and more predictable naps emerge. I remember this happening around six months with Chase as well and I’m both excited for more of a schedule and kind of scared of one at the same time since we have two kids to cater to this time around. To those with kids napping at different times: Are you just home a lot more? Does one child nap on the go a lot? How do you navigate nap time with more than one child? I’m still definitely learning over here!

Ryder is still a pretty great on-the-go napper and will fall asleep easily in his car seat or stroller which has been a big-time blessing these past few months. However, now that longer naps are kicking in, as of last week I’ve been trying to be home more often for his naps — at least for his morning nap since that’s his best one — so he can sleep in his crib. This can be tricky with Chase and preschool drop-off in the mix since Ryder seems to naturally want to sleep when we need to leave the house for preschool. One thing that helps: A morning cat nap! Lately he started naturally slipping into a morning cat nap routine where he’ll fall asleep for a 30-45 minute nap within an hour of waking and that seems to carry him through to his longer morning nap which is working well so far.

Ryder’s morning nap is usually between one and two hours but more often than not, it’s much, much closer to an hour. He’ll then be up in the middle of the day for preschool pickup and playtime at home with Chase and then I try my hardest to get him to nap at the same time as Chase in the afternoons. The trickiest time of day for Ryder is anytime after 4 p.m. This is when I feel like it’s “all hands on deck” to keep him entertained and happy and he’s much less likely to be his content little self in the early evening. The witching hour still seems to happen over here and it’s definitely the most draining time of day for me as a mom, too, since Chase seems to be his neediest then as well.

Eating

I waited until Ryder was around 6 months old to begin introducing solids to him because I was waiting for him to achieve certain developmental milestones. (See this post for more detail on this!)

Ryder has a serious interest in food and wants to grab basically anything I’m eating if I’m holding him in my arms as I’m snacking away. Gone are the days when I could sip a smoothie or eat a sandwich with him on my hip because he’ll grab and grab at my food and immediately start whining if I don’t share the goods. This is such a stark contrast to our experience feeding solids to Chase and I’m double crossing my fingers that maybe — just maybe — Ryder will be a naturally good eater. Who knows!?

So far we’re feeding Ryder a mix of real food and purees and he definitely prefers purees. (Carrots, sweet potatoes and apples are his current favorites.) When it comes to putting food in front of Ryder, he loves to smack it around on his high chair tray and smear it all over the place. Sometimes a little bit will actually make it into his mouth!

At Ryder’s 6-month appointment, we had our pediatrician’s blessing to let him try peanut butter and I think we discovered his new favorite food. At first Ryder looked confused by the thick, sticky texture and then it was almost like we could see the moment he realized the glorious flavor of peanut butter because his eyes lit up and he was all about it! He smiled and got all grabby when the spoon would come near his mouth so we just let him gnaw on his lightly coated peanut butter spoon and he was in baby heaven.

Breastfeeding

When it comes to nursing, we’ve definitely hit our stride. I’ve basically been feeding on demand since Ryder was born and this continues to work well for us. During the day, I’m nursing every two to three hours which may seem like a lot but Ryder is an incredibly efficient eater so I’m not nursing for hours on end. (A nursing session rarely lasts longer than 7 minutes over here.) Chase was the same way so I am kind of used to a lot of relatively fast nursing sessions during the day and it seems to work well for us.

One obstacle related to nursing has been Ryder’s need for a distraction-free environment during nursing sessions. To get Ryder to nurse for an extended period of time, I try my best to nurse him away from people and excessive noise. (Yes, this can be complicated with Chase in the mix, but Chase now knows that when Mom is feeding Ryder, he needs to play quietly by himself for a bit. Does this work like a charm every time? Nope. But he mostly listens and gives us a little space.) I’ve also found that I can NOT talk when I’m nursing. The minute I say anything, Ryder will pop off my breast and stare at me with his big gummy smiles and getting him to latch again can be a bit of a process because he now just wants to be involved in conversation and play.

Oh and we’ve officially entered the phase of breastfeeding where Ryder’s hands explore my body and grab at my face, hair, neck and nose as he nurses. It’s adorable and so sweet to watch his little hands move about but if I’m not paying attention, his little grip will hurt when he finds my cheek or nose and grabs on tight! Seven-month-old baby strength is legit!

And now let’s move on into some of Ryder’s current baby favs…

Seven Month Baby Favorites

EAT/SLEEP/DIAPERING

Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit (My go-to for dropping the swaddle)

Chicco 360 Hook On High Chair (The best for feeding Ryder at our kitchen counter top. I also have him sit in this and play with a toy or two when I’m prepping dinner because he likes to be in the action.)

Rock ‘n’ Play (Ryder still takes his morning “cat nap” in this)

White Noise Machine

Wubbanub Pacifiers (Bless these things! The little animals attached to the pacifiers are especially great for helping Ryder find his pacifiers in his crib during nighttime sleep.)

OXO Perfect Pull Wipe Dispenser (Hands down the best wipe dispenser out there. Makes it easy to get wipes out with one hand which is especially handy when babies get extra wiggly!)

ON THE GO

BOB Duallie Stroller (Our absolute favorite for long walks around the neighborhood and walks without perfectly paved sidewalks. This stroller glides like a DREAM for its large size and is incredibly easy to steer.)

BOB Duallie Stroller Organizer (If you get a double BOB, get this handlebar organizer! It’s amazing and huge and holds tons of stuff without getting in the way.)

Chicco Bravo for 2 Double Stroller (Perfect for travel. Folds up easily and Chase LOVES the standing platform/fold-down seat! Great if your older kid likes to hop on/off the stroller a lot.)

Stick On Sun Shades (Love these because they’re easy to move and adjust as the sun changes in the car.)

JuJuBe Be Quick Wristlet (I swear by this thing for making it easy to change diaper bags or just grab the essentials — diapers, wipes, a spare onesie — before heading out the door)

Stroller Blanket (An underrated necessity during winter months. We tuck this all around Ryder both in the stroller and in his car seat!)

PLAY 

Most of the below favorites were hits with Chase, too, (hand-me-down toys for the win!) but we have a few new-for-Ryder toys he is loving as well!

Sassy Wonder Wheel (The perfect $7 high chair entertainment toy! Suctions on and doesn’t budge!)

Baby Einstein Activity Jumper (Just as big of a hit with Ryder as it was with Chase!)

SmartNoggin Development Light-Up Rattle (Is it just me or is this the new “it” baby toy right now? I see this thing everywhere! Ryder lovesss it!)

Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes Music Toy 

Sophie Teether

VTech Sit-to-Stand Walker (Ryder cannot use this as a walker yet but loves sitting in front of it and banging on it right now)

Baby Einstein Octoplush Toy

Nuby Ice Gel Teether (Put this one in the freezer and then the cold parts feel good on baby gums!)

Fisher-Price Rattle ‘n’ Rock Maracas

Topsy Turtle (I get this as a baby shower gift for almost all of my friends. It somehow seems to absolutely captivate little ones in their car seats!)

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