#the choir seeing her being more excited and talkative and thinking 'wow maybe she's finally coping with the despair of being forgotten'

[bi-shop]

I wish the community acknowledge that Penny canonically has bipolar disorder. Like, it's not through word of god or implied, it's an actual detail.

I'll be going into full detail on why it matters. Legoland spoilers under the cut!

To make things clear, it's alright if you only learned about Legoland through its summary or heard it from other people, or you don't follow Legoland at all and have your own interpretation of Penny. I just want you to know that if you're going to write the Sad, Soggy Creature that is Legoland Penny Lamb, her having bipolar disorder should be taken into account.

It matters because I see Ezra's ADHD being acknowledged and accepted; which makes things a little bit iffy when I don't see the same acknowledgement for Penny's bipolar. When I see discussion of her being neurodivergent, I never saw anyone say that she's bipolar.

Now, I'm not accusing anyone of bipolar erasure. I don't blame you if you didn't know, or forgot! It's a small detail that's dropped in an almost 9k word book, and is never brought up again.

But that's why I'm making this post. Not only because that there's representation of a stigmatized disorder, but because it's important to understanding Penny as a character. It's the small bit of logic that helps tie the chaos of Legoland together. It contextualizes her actions and behavior.

I don't have bipolar, so I cannot judge the justification of the representation. What I can say though is that Penny's not depicted as erratic, violent troublemaker. She's a lonely, struggling high schooler that attracts the trouble, not cause them. Especially that she's only hostile when provoked. And the only time she actually harmed someone? She regretted it.

Which says a lot since this script was written around 2004-2006; not exactly a good time when it comes to mental health representation.

To set the foundation, let's talk a bit about bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows. There's several types of bipolar disorder but for brevity we'll elaborate on the first two types: Bipolar I and Bipolar II.

Bipolar I is characterized by manic and depressive episodes, and Bipolar II is characterized by hypomanic and depressive episodes.

What makes hypomania different from mania is that it's milder. It doesn't mean Bipolar II is the 'milder version of bipolar' across the board—since depressive episodes are commonly reported to be worse in II—it just means they don't get psychotic symptoms or be hospitalized.

Mania is bad. That's all I can say, it's just bad. Yes, you feel euphoric and on top of the world, but you'll be more impulsive, irritable, and have racing thoughts. There's a lot more to it, but generally, bipolar disorder is called a disorder for a reason.

So how does this apply to Penny? Well, she experiences mania, not hypomania, so I'm going to say that she experiences Bipolar I.

In fact, I could go ahead and say that the entire Johnny Moon thing was a manic episode in and of itself. Even before the JK-47 trip, Penny experienced mania after finding out about SevenUp.

So let's go through the symptoms one by one:

Decreased need for sleep

The last one is included, not just because she couldn't sleep when she needed to take a nap, but because they really went on the trip for 7 days, which is what manic episodes at least take.

Elevated or expansive mood

Penny experiences the euphoric feeling that is common in mania, having heightened energy and being intensely excited. Especially that she would come out of a depressive episode before ramming into a manic one.

Let's also not forget that she wrote a letter to Johnny 3,567 times.

Irritability, hostility, or aggression

I don't know what happened here either.

Impulsive risk behaviors

Dropped everything to go to another country just to talk to someone.

It's worth to mention that she did drug trafficking, which was what sent her to probation.

Talking excessively

This entire monologue showcases other symptoms of mania, like racing thoughts (she went through six different topics after mentioning Uranium), pressured speech (she talked fast), and being easily distracted (Penny darling I'm sorry but your speech was not coherent in the slightest)

The symptoms Grandiosity and Delusions are up in the air, mostly cause I'm not sure if the only example I have for the two counts. I think it's delusional to try to change a celebrity by talking to them, and calling herself Johnny's 'greatest fan', but that's it. I'm sure Penny experiences those two to a degree.

Alright, Penny experiences mania. So let's go to the other side of the spectrum; does she experience depressive episodes?

While there's not a lot of explicit information, there are stuff that alludes to her experiencing depressive episodes. She said she felt 'half-dead' for a year after receiving Johnny's letter, which screams 'depression' to me.

Also there's this entire block.

It's important to note that she was taking Paxil, which has potential negative side-effects for people with bipolar including increased suicidality in teens. Not the best medication for her disorder. (It does take trial and error for people with bipolar to find the correct medication.)

It's wonderful because Penny's episodes are actually episodes, it's not the terrible inaccurate depiction of bipolar as being just 'mood swings'. She goes through a manic and depressive episode for more than a day.

Besides, her mania isn't just 'happy' or just having high energy. It changes her judgement, activity and everything, which is important to represent in characters with bipolar disorder as people will have this simplified notion of thinking bipolar is just 'feeling happy then sad then happy again'.

So, our darling canonically has bipolar disorder that is kind of a bit glossed over in the community and is never brought up. So, what's next?

Well, I want to see people making Penny both bipolar and autistic. I want to see stories or headcanons of the choir trying to help with her manic or depressive episodes. I want to see a story of Jane following along with the intoxicating feeling of manic euphoria before finding out that she's feeling more irritable and overwhelmed. I want to see her get therapy and correct medication, goddamnit.

Other than how it's a goldmine of unexplored fancontent that should be dug up, it's also representation for a stigmatized disorder.

#suicide mention #tw suicide mention #ride the cyclone #legoland #penny lamb legoland #penny lamb #penny rtc #rtc #like come on imagine jane having a manic episode #the choir seeing her being more excited and talkative and thinking 'wow maybe she's finally coping with the despair of being forgotten' #before finding her trying to touch a bonfire

[tanakavox]

here guys. This reaction was done @bssaz97 again. And that's it for the author's note.

"I miss baby Zwei!" Weiss sulked.

"We know Weiss, you've been saying that for the past ten minutes," Blake's vein appeared on her head.

"Why can't we see more of him! He was so cute and innocent!" Weiss crosses her arms and huffs..

"He spent the entire time antagonizing me!" Jaune replied.

"He can never do wrong." Weiss cemented in her mind.

"Forget it VB, she's a lost cause." Yang told her fellow blonde.

"Well let's see what this next viewing has in store for us all." Ren calmly stated.

The screen shows Jaune on Planet Namek facepalming.

"Urgh, what was that idiot DOING bringing me here!" He mutters before turning to look around his eyes widening. "It's... Wait a minute, I can feel it... This is my home! I can finally see its beauty! The lush blue fields, the crystal clear waters, the wind brushing past my... GOD, THIS IS BORING!" He yelled out before groaning. "No wonder I feel at home."

"We're back to Namek!" Ruby shouted in excitement.

"And there's alien Jaune-Jaune!" Nora jumped in.

"Wait isn't this the world where Cinder is supposed to be really powerful?" Jaune asked.

"...oh crud/shit." Many of the original audience replied. Those who were new to the theater didn't exactly understand what they meant but supposed they would eventually see why.

The scene cuts to Cinder confronting Mercury, Oscar, Neptune, and Trifa

"Oh hell yeah! Emerald wake up, we're back in the world where I'm a badass prince!" Mercury says as he shakes her shoulder.

Emerald loudly snores.

"Hey! You said to wake you when 'the snooze fest' was over."

"Not… interested." Emerald conveniently snored.

"Emerald, you will watch this viewing." Cinder orders.

"Yes Cinder!" Emerald miraculously much more awake.

"Wooow." Mercury drawls, shaking his head in genuine disappointment.

"Shut it!" Emerald hissed.

Cinder smiles coldly at them. "Well, Mercury. You've finally pulled it off. You've managed to dash my hopes entirely. With some help, I see." she turns to look at the rest of the group.

"Quack!"

"Neptune, seriously, not helping!" Oscar said ebowing him.

"I can try."

"I'm very curious. Where exactly are you from?" Cinder asks calmly.

"Don't you snitch!" Nora shouted at the screen.

"We're from rem-" Neptune started before Oscar stopped him.

"Neptune, no!"

"Oh right... Thanks for stopping me, Oscar. 'Cause I can't shut-."

"They're from Remnant." Trifa deadpanned.

"Traitor!" Ruby glared at the girl on the screen. Her anger was shared by many in the audience. Whether good or bad.

Blake was feeling the same amount of betrayal twice after remembering how Trifa was one of Ada-his agents sent to kidnap her in the past.

" Little bow girl, why?!" Neptune shouted out in disbelief.

"Because my name is Trifa."

Nora huffed, "Well maybe your name should little bi-!"

"Nora please." Ren asked his oldest friend and companion to let it go.

"'Sigh.' Fine, but I'm still mad." Nora said.

"Oh good. I'll stop by there on the way home. Pick up some space eggs, some space milk, and BLOW IT THE F**K UP!" Cinder screamed at them before calming here. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm usually far more composed. I'm just a little bit ABSOLUTELY LIVID." She said with barely contained rage.

"Oh, Cinder. Quit being such a bitch. I lost my chance at immortality too and you don't see me crying about it." Mercury said mocking with a smirk.

"Yep. Sucks to suck!" Yang stayed for both Cinder's in the audience and on screen.

"Care to say that to my face." Cinder stood up.

"Whoa now One Eye Cinder. We can't fight here, remember, so I can say whatever I like and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Yang explains with a toothy grin.

Cinder growls, but reluctantly sat back down as she began to curse this theater's damned rules.

"Yes, Mercury. But you see, the difference between us is I'll live long enough to regret it." Cinder charges at Mercury and engages him in battle with a battle cry.

Scene cuts to Jaune flying through the sky

"Hey we were getting to the good part!" Mercury shouted.

"And what part would that exactly be Mercury?" Cinder asked directly.

"The fight scene, what else." He said nonchalantly.

Cinder stared at him for a moment before looking back at the screen. Mercury was one of the few people that she could tolerate back talking to her so she paid it no mind.

"Everything looks the goddamn same on this goddamn planet!" He thinks and sighs before he sees something on the ground. "Wait a minute, a body! SOCIAL ACTIVITY!" Jaune yells as he yells flying down and landing next to a body, which was Hazel. "Please tell me you're not dead!"

Hazel begins to speaks in Namekian/Klingon

"What the hell is he saying?" Coco asked.

"It appears he is attempting to communicate with Mr. Arc's alternate in their native tongue." Ozpin rationalized.

"Do you know what he's saying Jaune?" Velvet asked.

"Velvet, I think Ozpin means-."

Velvet giggles before she starts laughing. Her team along with his shortly after.

Jaune was staring at them confusedly before his eyes widened in realization. He chuckled while rolling his eyes, "Oh haha, very funny Velvet."

Ruby just stared at the exchange expressionless, the joke was funny but for some reason she didn't want to laugh. Weird.

"Ah, crap. I find the only living thing for miles- and he's so broken he can't even talk right."

" I was speaking Namekian, you idiot. Don't you know anything about your own people?" Hazel gasps out, barely holding on to life.

"Well, we're demons, right?" Jaune asks hopefully.

"Eh, more like slug people."

"Ah, dammit! I liked it better when I was a demon."

"And I liked it better when I had proper bladder control. Nobody's perfect."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. What happened?"

"Let's just say our world elder's kind of a giant green asshole."

Jaune and many of the other male audience members bowed their heads in silence for loss bestowed on the Namekian people.

"Yeesh! Port's a bit of a dick in this one… or lack thereof," Yang quipped.

"YANG!"

"Too soon?" Yang winced.

"Preachin' to the choir on that one." Jaune agreed, an image of Ozpin showing in his head. "Well, it's been fun, but I have to go DIE again…" He turns to leave.

Jaune mentally groaned as he remembered that in this world his life was the one entwined with Ozpin. Also he no more thrilled about the prospect of seeing his alternate die (again?) in a way that could've been easily avoided.

"Dang Arc, you're a bit sassy in this world, huh?" Coco asked.

"And green with antennas." Velvet whispered to Fox.

"Ahhh," Fox nodded, getting a clue of what the counterpart looked like.

"Wait. I might be able to help you." gasped out Hazel.

"Look, buddy. If you want to add me on MySpace, I switched to Spacebook a while ago." Jaune turns to left again.

"What's MySpace?" Oscar asked.

"Beats me, but it sounds mega old." Yang commented.

Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow and even Winter winced at Yang's unintentional jab at them. All of them who used to own MySpace accounts.

Salem just looked confused at the mention of these names. 'What's a MySpace and Spacebook? Is it a form of communication?' She thought to herself.

"No, no, no, no. Listen. I think I know something that might work out for both of us. I don't wanna die and you seem pretty lonely."

"DESPERA-, I mean, go on."Jaune said, getting yells before switching back to a normal tone.

"There's a special ability our people share. Forbidden, even amongst our most sacred clans."

"And we're just going to abuse it?" Jaune asked

"Oh, maliciously!" Hazel said with a grin.

"Bitchin'! How we do?"

"Well that didn't take much convincing at all." Emerald said, impressed by how quickly it took the dying Hazel to convince Arc to comment on what was probably the Namekians form of the Black Arts.

"Hey Jaune-Jaune needs all the power he can get if he wants to kick Cinder's butt!" Nora shot back. "Yeah!" Ruby echoed Nora's sentiment.

"Well, first you put your hand upon me."

" 'Kay" He places his hand on Hazel's elbow)

"Yes. Like that. Now lower."

"Uh-huh."

"Lower."

"Hmm…"

"Little lower."

"Hmm..".

"Ah! If we had junk, you'd be gay right now." Jaune groans as Hazel smirks at him. "Fusing!"

"Gods Dammit!" Jaune facepalmed. He couldn't believe how his alternate would fall for such an obvious trick…. though to be honest he probably would have fallen for it all the same.

Jaune fuses with Hazel, a bright light blinding the viewers. After it's disappears, Jaune only is there and he looks at his hands in wonder.

"Wow. Unreal. My gosh. This is amazing! I feel INCREDIBLE!" He then begins to chant Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I can win! I feel great! I-can-do-this! HAAA…"

Hazel's voice from inside is heard inside Jaune's head. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Nothing." Jaune replies after stammering a bit.

"Really? 'Cause it looked like you were chanting to yourself."

"Are you in my head?" Jaune ask changing the subject.

"Yup. Don't worry; supposedly I should fade away into your subconscious. Sooner or later."

"Is this what it was like for you?" Jaune asked Oscar.

"Pretty much." Oscar deadpanned

"...Wow, that's really weird." Jaune slumped in his chair.

"Yep. Well, you kinda get used to it after a while." Oscar replied.

"Does it?" Jaune asked him seriously.

"...No." Oscar slumped into his chair as well.

'If I could have carried this burden in my original body for all these millennia and spared you, I would have… no one deserves this burden.' Ozpin told himself in his mind. He determined it would fix nothing if he told them that, there was no changing the past.

"Okay. So, what now?"

"By my estimate, this fusion should have given you just enough power to wipe out the bitch who killed our people."

"And?"

"Well, let me put this in terms you'll understand: You can win! You feel great! You-can-do-this!" Hazel said, repeating Jaune's chant.

"Oh, ha-ha!"

"Yeah go Jaune/Fearless Leader!" Ruby and Nora both cheered.

Jaune's face turned beet red, but he did appreciate their show of support.

The scene cuts to Mercury and Cinder in a brawler lock

"Impudent... little…" Cinder hissed. Her scouter shows "F**K THIS I'M OUT" before exploding on her face, Cinder grunting in pain.

"Damn, Mercury must actually be pretty strong to make that device off itself," Yang stated.

"Why do you sound so surprised blondie? Still sore about our match up?" Mercury quipped.

"You are so lucky I can't mop the floor with your face." Yang shot back, her eyes flashing crimson.

Mercury and Cinder both back off, producing a small crater due to their power.

"I'm impressed, Mercury. When did you graduate from pull-ups?" Cinder said mocking.

"About the same time you got off the rag." Mercury fired back.

Cinder smirks a bit. "Cute. But bear no false hopes, Mercury. You're a mere paper tiger in front of a storm. You have no idea what true power I possess."

"It's that you can transform, right?"

"I can transform…" Cinder's face's falls. "Okay, when and how?"

"Guldo told me."

A flashback of a conversation between Mercury and Guldo appears

"So... Did you know that Cinder can transform?" Guldo said.

"Huh. That right?" Mercury said disinterested.

"Yeah. And Burter's gay."

"Really!?" Mercury asked, genuinely surprised

(back to present)

"And then I threw a dog treat at him. True story."

"That's so rude!" said the collective voices of Ruby, Weiss, Velvet, and Fiona.

"Oh cry me a river, I lost my conscience long ago." Mercury replied back.

"Right. But if you are so aware, why do you persist in goading me?" Cinder question raising an eyebrow.

Mercury grinned viciously."Because Cinder. You're not dealing with the average Saiyan warrior anymore. I am a Super Saiyan!"

….

"A what?" Oscar asked.

Cinder rolls her eyes at this apparently hearing this before. "Oh, here we go!"

"That's right, Cinder. I've arisen beyond the limits of a normal Saiyan, and into the realm of legend- the legend that you fear. The legend known throughout the entire universe as the most powerful warrior to ever exist!" Cinder starts speaking faintly at this point alongside him. "I, Prince Mercury, have become a..". Cinder cuts him off

"...Super Saiyan. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I get it. Then you slayed the Jabberwocky and went on to save Narnia." She clearly wasn't taking him seriously.

"Wow! This Super Saiyan sounds awesome!" Yang concluded. Her sister as well as Jaune, Nora, Oscar and Ren. What? He could like things.

"Thanks for the praise Blondie." Mercury said.

"Yeah something tells me your alternate is way too overestimating himself." Emerald stated.

"You're just jealous you're not a Super Saiyan." Mercury shot back, unfazed by her earlier remark. Causing Emerald to roll her eyes.

While the name seemed silly to the more mature members of the audience, they too were intrigued by the tale of this being.

"Go ahead and mock me, Cinder, but I'm not afraid of you. So why don't you doll yourself up and get ready for a night on the town, because I'm about to take you to a ballroom blitz."

"Fine. I'll indulge you, Mr. Super Saiyan. But before I do I have a funny little story I'd like to tell you."

"Funny how?"

"I like to call it, "I killed your dad"."

"...Was that supposed to shock me?" Mercury questioned.

Mercury stares at Cinder blankly. "So "ha-ha" funny."

"You see, thanks to a rogue lower-class warrior, your father caught wind of my plans…"

(flashback to planet Mercury)

A saiyan runs up to What seemed to be Marcus Black

"King Mercury, I have urgent news!"

"Speak, Butarega." King Marcus/Mercury said in a booming tone.

'Wait why does the old bastard have my name? Eh, guess it doesn't matter. Wait, does that make me a junior?!' Mercury thought.

"Well well, looks like I should call you Junior now. Huh?" Emerald comments, her smirk showing she greatly appreciated this new knowledge.

"I'm not a junior!" Mercury yelled.

"What's that? Couldn't hear you Junior!" Yang joins in on the teasing.

"I'm gonna get back at you both. Just you wait." Mercury growled. Hating how the tables have turned on him.

"Bardock has gone absolutely mad, sire!"

Off-screen someone screamed out: "Cinderrrr!"

"What's all the commotion about?" King Marcus/Mercury asked.

"He's been telling everyone that Cinder plans to destroy Mercury!"

"Wait, my son, the planet, or me?"

BUTAREGA looks at the king for a few moments before answering " ...Yes."

King Marcus/Mercury blasts Butarega away.

"Oh my gods!" Ruby cried out.

She and many others in the audience were shocked that the Saiyan King just killed his subordinate so callously. However, both Salem and Cinder were impressed at the King's show of force.

"Freakin' smartass." King Marcus/Mercury mutters and goes look a the Counselor. "Counselor Obleck, what do you think?"

"Let me tell you what you need to do. You need to sit him down…" Oobleck began.

"Uh-huh." King Marcus/Mercury said nodding his head.

"...you look her dead in the eye…"

"Yes."

" ...and you say, "Don't blow up my planet.""

"What? He can't be serious." Winter remarked.

"It appears that this version of Bart is not as wise or tactful as he is in our world." Ozpin rationalized.

Teams RWBY and JNR pressed 'X' to doubt.

"And you think that will work?" King Marcus/Mercury asked.

"she'd have to be aaaaaaawfully evil if it didn't. And I'm not gonna lie, I like the cut of her jib." Oobleck said with a grin.

"All right, but I want you to take my son, the Prince, off-planet just in case things go south."

"Don't worry, sir. You'll do juuuuuust fine."

"Wait. Hold on a damn minute, the old bastard actually cares about someone other than himself? Yeah like that's legit." Mercury crosses his arms.

Some in the audience looked at the silver haired assassin and just for a moment, they felt sympathy for him.

shifts to King Mercury approaching Cinder,.

"Cinder, can I sit down and have a word with-" King Marcus/Mercury said before Cinder interpreted him.

"SHORYUKEN!" Cinder yelled out, uppercutting King Marcus/Mercury in the jaw, causing the latter to fall back while producing with an echoing scream.

"K.O.! YOU WIN!" A voice yelled out.

"Yatta." Cinder whisper out looking at the king's dead body with grin

"Seems negotiations didn't go as he was expecting." Cinder floated to herself. What she didn't notice was that Mercury had stared at her after that statement was said.

He wasn't sure why but hearing her gloat about killing his dad made him feel… odd. It's probably the popcorn he was eating. Nothing more.

(back to present)

"And then I blew the planet up. The end."

Mercury stares at Cinder confused. "How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?"

Cinder gives a blank stare at Mercury and then proceeds to transform.

"Wow, nice comeback Cinder. Really showed him." Jaune said.

Cinder chose to ignore the blonde fool, she didn't dare waste the energy to acknowledge him.

"Nep, do you feel that?" Oscar asked with a fearful look as Cinder's power grew as her body.

"I taste that!" Neptune screamed a look as fear on his face as well.

Cinder finishes transforming into his second form, a Bigger bulkier form.

"Whoa! She's huge! Like that Hazel guy from Haven!" Nora shouted.

"She sure is..." Emerald didn't know how to feel about this new form of Cinder's. It looked too bulky and tall.

"She kinda looks like a bull with those horns." Ruby noted.

"All done." Cinder smiles a bit looking at all of them satisfied. "And judging by the expression on your face, so are you."

"What...? How?" The usual cockiness in his voice was gone.

"Let's be practical and put a number to that feeling, shall we? Last time I clocked this form it was at... one million." Cinder's smile only grows widener.

The audience didn't know what she meant by that but they determined that it must've meant that she was terrifyingly strong.

Cinder loved it, if only she could feel what that power was like. She might even get drunk from it.

"You're lying!"

"Am I? Am I really?" Cinder sarcastically said, raises her hand and explodes the island that everyone is currently standing on, making an explosion so big that it can be seen from the planet. Cinder is shown standing on what's left of the island.

"Whoa!" Fiona and CVY cried out. This being their first time seeing a destructive force of this magnitude. Whitley also sweat dropped, while he had been pleased with how powerful he was in one of the previous worlds. This was an entirely different kind of power than he thought was ever possible.

"Not impressed!" Mercury yelled off screen. "I can do that, too!"

"Neptune, are you okay?" Oscar asks flying above the destroyed island.

"Yeah, and I've got a Little bow girl right here!" Neptune replied with a grin holding Trifa closely.

Cinder begans sings to. " Peaceful young races with fires on their houses

Millions of voices all silenced like mouses

Watching the cowards bow toward their new king

These are a few of my favorite things "

"Oh great she's singing now, as if this Cinder wasn't terrifying enough." Oscar said while clinging to his seat in fear.

"Is it just me, or is she singing to herself?" Neptune asks but is cut off by Cinder charging at him and impaling him with one of her horns, causing Neptune to drop Trifa.

(Neptune Owned Count: 15)

Neptune screams in pain.

"Oh no!" Ruby cried out. But immediately was off put by the showed counter on the screen.

Some in the audience giggled at the sight of the counter, even if they knew it was wrong.

"Neptune!" Oscar screamed out.

"Well, he's dead." Mercury deadpanned in his head.

"This is... the worst... pai-i-i-in!" Neptune said through gritted his teeth.

"Really? Sure it isn't this?" She looks up and starts shifting her head up and down." Or this? Or this? Or this? Or this? (Neptune Owned Count: 16-21, with two 1Ups coming up in the last two ones)

"Neptune, stop! You're making him stronger!" Oscar pleaded.

"I-can't-help-it!" Neptune screamed.

(Neptune Owned Count: 22-25)

At this point most of the audience were laughing. It was a horribly dark joke, but the presentation was spot on and too hilarious. The huntsmen and huntresses that knew the blue haired boy felt very guilty, but they couldn't stop laughing.

"One down!" Cinder throws Neptune off her horn and towards the lake. "Ah, I think impalement is my favorite way to kill a person."

Oscar begans to shake with rage. "You condescending... sadistic... callous... MOTHERF**KER!"

"Pardon?" Cinder ask with a raised eyebrow but then Oscar attacks Cinder by kicking and punching her in the face before knocking her upward with an uppercut and finally kicks her towards the ground. Oscar then starts charging up an energy blast.

"WHOO! Go Cute Boy Oscar! Woo-woo-woo!" Nora cheered on her newest teammate. His other friends joined in cheering for Oscar's alternate.

Oscar was deeply embarrassed but also very ecstatic that he was able to keep up with the frightening tyrant.

"Oscar SMASH EFFEMINATE ALIEN! Oscar STRONGEST THERE IS!" Oscar thought to himself.

Oscar launches a ki blast directly at Cinder, causing a massive explosion. Oscar is then seen in midair catching his breath. Cinder is seen lying face down on the ground, covered in sand from Oscar's assault.

"Ten points for team ALPN!" Nora cheered.

"Yeah, how's that feel, Cinder?" Mercury yelled out. "Now if you can, why don't you pick your sorry ass up and take on a REAL Saiyan…" Mercury's voice trails off as Cinder is seen getting up with a annoyed look.

"Huh. That happened." She muttered before turning to Mercury. "Mercury, mind sitting right there for just a moment, I need to go play babysitter."

"Oh crap, abort Oscar! Abort!" Jaune called out.

"Think! What would Dad do in this situation?" Oscar began to think to himself in a panic.

A flashback of Sun wearing a backpack showed up.

"Bye, son!" Sun said in the flashback in a big dopey smile.

"Damn it Sun." Blake facepalmed.

"Wow, my other self has some issues." Oscar realizes.

(back to present)

"I'm beginning to think I have issues…" Oscar thought to himself when he got punched by Cinder and hit the ground. He tries to get up, but gets crushed by Cinder's foot.

Cinder turns to grin at the Silver haired man. "So, Mercury. Does this get you angry?"

"It's getting ME angry!" Nora shouts at the screen. Her team, RWBY, Qrow, Ozpin and Winter show the same hostility towards the Cinder in the screen.

Mercury shrugs. "Not really. Kind of a smartass."

Cinder frowns "Well then, why am I even bothering?"

"Because you get off on it?" Mercury said hetaintly.

Cinder grins viciously. "Oh, unbelievably... Huh?" Cinder moves to dodges a disc but her tail gets cut off. She turns to glare at culprit.

"Alright, who has the balls?!" She screams out.

Camera zooms on to Neptune, who is the one responsible for cutting off Cinder's tail. Neptune then turns around and starts repeatedly spanking his butt.

"Kiss my ass, bitch! I'm immortal!"

Cinder growls angrily and flies after Neptune.

"Whoa! Neptune's back up already? I thought he was out for the count!" Yang confused. Happy that he lived but still confused as to how he was back in good shape.

Neptune imitates Curly's whooping sounds while flying away and screams: "Suuuck myy diiii…"

The shifts to Mercury thinking to himself. "How the hell did he get up? Oh, my God, I swear if he used that wish of immortality on himself, I am going to murd... " He stops himself and opens his mouth in shock. And speaks out loud after a short pause. "That... bastard."

"Hahaha-ha-ha! You can't kill an immortal!" Emerald laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Weren't you cheering for Cinder?" Mercury implies.

"I am but I'm also cheering against you." Emerald explains.

"You're despicable, you know that right?" Mercury deadpanned.

The scene shifts to Trifa healing Oscar "Come on... You can't leave me alone here; you're the only one I can talk to!" She mutters to herself.

Oscar eyes open, regaining consciousness."I... you... healed me."

"You are the only one I respect."

"Then why did you heal Neptune?"

"The better question is: why did I tell him he was immortal?"

"Ok where is this girl in real life, I'm starting to like her style." Emerald comments.

"I'm starting to not like this Bow Girl." Weiss concludes.

"Yeah that was kinda mean." Ruby adds.

"But it did give him a helluva confidence boost." Yang points out.

The audience reluctantly agrees with Yang.

Neptune flies back to the battlefield with a huge grin. "Holy crap! Thank God I'm immortal!"

"Actually, I healed you, you idiot!" Trifa said off-screen.

"Wait, so I could have died back there?" Neptune realized with his eyes widing.

"After all that you're just going to tear him down like that!" Weiss shouted.

"Yeah, and unlike the runt and I, you don't get a power boost from it." Mercury replied.

"Hax! I call hax!" Neptune whined.

The audience agreed with Screen Neptune.

"How did you escape?" Oscar asked.

"Oh, it was awesome!" See, She was gaining on me there for a minute, but then I managed to lose her in some crevices, but she kept cutting me off at every pass."

"She didn't just blow it up?" Mercury pointed out?"

"Thought the same thing, but no! So I thought fast and I used the Solar Flare on her!"

"And then you used your Kienzan to cut her in half?" Oscar asked gleefully

"Um…"

Cinder flies back to the battlefield, angrily and screams at them. "I WILL MOUNT YOUR HEAD WHERE MY TAIL USED TO BE!"

"To answer your question, Oscar. No, I did not do that." Neptune muttered.

"Damn seriously? He could have finished her off so easily, it was literally in his grasp." Coco shakes her head.

"Douse this bitch!" Mercury yelled.

Mercury, Oscar, and Neptune fire a barrage of energy blasts at Cinder, covering her in smoke.

"Did we get her?" Neptune asked

"Neptune, we can feel her energy. Why do you bother asking?" Oscar asked back annoyed.

"I'm an optimist."

"You're an idiot." Mercury said, glaring at him.

"You're both wrong. You're dead." Cinder said as the smoke cleared and is shown to be unfazed by the blasts.

"You know what? I'm sick of this." Oscar said, his face hardening. "If I'm gonna die, then I'm gonna go out the same way Jaune would!" He moves in to attack Cinder head-on.

"Oscar, no!" Neptune goes to fly after Oscar.

"No! What are you doing?! Don't go out like my other self!" Jaune shouted clutching his head.

RWBY, ALPN, and Ozpin were clouded in worry.

" No, goddamn it!" Mercury also flies after Oscar when a new figure surrounded by light appears in front of the trio. The light clears, and the figure is revealed to be Jaune.

"M... Mr. Jaune!" Oscar cried out.

"Yes! Fearless Leader is here for the rescue!" Nora cheered.

The Jaune in the audience let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, well, well! I'm legitimately surprised I missed one of you." Cinder smiles a bit. "But that's just fine because I've been working on some jokes. Now tell me if you've heard this one: How many Namekians does it take to-" She gets sent flying by a punch from Jaune.

"Just one." Jaune said stoically.

"GO JAUNE GO!" Ruby screamed.

Most of the audience looked towards her from her outburst, including Jaune who was staring wide eyed at her.

"Er, you know. Smash Tyrant Cinder's no good face." She attempts to save face, throwing out air punches to diffuse the situation.

"...Yeah!" Nora shouted.

#TFS abridged #dbz abridged #team rwby #team alpn #team cem #rwby ruby rose #rwby jaune arc #oscar pine #neptune vasilias #rwby mercury black #yang xiao long #trifa #cinder fall #salem #headmaster ozpin #rwby #rwby fanfiction #look into the multiverse

[iturbide]

United in Song

okay so this has been in my drafts for I don’t even know how long and I’m tired of it sitting there collecting dust, so please enjoy this fluffy 3H platonic one-shot.

/////

If there was one thing Dorothea missed about the opera, it was the audience.  There was a certain kind of thrill that came with standing on the stage, staring out into the darkened crowd while the music swelled beneath her voice and feeling their tension, knowing that they held their collective breaths in anticipation, in wonder of her song…there was nothing else quite like it, in her experience.  And while she didn’t really want to go back to that life of endless practices and performances, of cutthroat rivalries and patrons as dangerous as they were wealthy, she felt a little pang standing in the Garreg Mach cathedral, singing her heart out for absolutely no one.

Well, no, that wasn’t quite true.  The monastery choir had finally gotten a few more members, and as the nun in charge dismissed them for the day, Annette and Hilda hurried over before she could wander off.  “Wow, Dorothea!  You were really amazing!!” the little redhead gushed.

“Aw, thanks, Annie,” Dorothea giggled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.  “You were both great, too!”

“You’re so sweet,” Hilda smiled.  “But we couldn’t hold a candle to you!  Your voice was so beautiful -- and I swear, it filled the whole cathedral.”

Well, that might explain all the sharp looks and decrescendo gestures she’d been getting from the director.

“It’s really a shame nobody else was around to hear,” Annette sighed. 

“I know exactly what you mean.”  Dorothea scanned the rows of empty pews as they walked toward the doors, feeling again that ache of longing.  Even when they did get to stand before an audience, something told her they would just be the choral lead to a devotional hymn for some religious service or another.  “Sometimes I really wish we could just…go out and perform, you know?  Show off a little, hear the applause…”

“…well, why couldn’t we?”

Dorothea paused at the top of the steps, reeling her mind back from another stage dream to focus on Hilda.  “I didn’t think they did that here.”

“Not that I’ve seen.  Or heard about,” Annette agreed.

“So why not do something about it?” Hilda asked.  “Put on a musical performance!  There’s lots of places that would work, like the lawn outside the classrooms, or the walk along the dormitories…”

“Would that really bring in an audience, though?” Annette pointed out.  “Back in Fhirdiad you’d see performers doing shows on street corners, but they never really drew crowds or anything.”

“And wouldn’t it be nice to have a real stage, and a real audience?” Dorothea sighed.  It was a quiet walk across the bridge to the monastery…and the whole way, she just kept turning Hilda’s suggestion over and over.  It really would be nice to have an opportunity to perform…maybe she could ask Professor Manuela about it--

“This is it!!”

Dorothea jumped at Annette’s excited squeak, whirling just in time to see her grab something off the Bulletin Board.  “What is?” she asked, taking the parchment and smoothing it out. 

“A flier for the Weapons Tourney?” Hilda read over her shoulder.  Apparently this month’s challenge was for axe-wielders, and while the pink-haired noble might excel, something told Dorothea that she wouldn’t go anywhere near it without proper incentive from the Professor.

“No!  …well, I mean, yes, that’s what it is, but I mean -- this is the answer!  We have a music tournament!”

“…a music tournament?” Dorothea repeated.

“Yeah!” Annette giggled.  “We could have sign-ups, and people could bring their instruments or sing, and it could have brackets just like they do in the training grounds, only they’d be competing with their music!  And the audience response could be how the winner’s picked!”

Dorothea felt a smile dawn across her face.  “…Annie, that’s brilliant!  We could get a sponsor to help judge ties, and offer a grand prize for the winner…”

“We could make fliers the way they do for the training ground matches, too!” Hilda added.

“I bet if we ask around the monastery, we could get tons of sign-ups -- and I’m sure lots of people would want to see it!” Annette insisted.  “Ooh, this is so exciting!!”

“It’s a wonderful idea,” Dorothea agreed.  “And I’m sure if we join forces, we can make it into a dazzling show.”

As they put their heads together to plan, for the first time in ages, she felt a thrill of excitement for what lay ahead.  Garreg Mach might not have much appreciation for music now -- but if they got their way, Dorothea would make sure that changed.

-----

“A music show?  Oh, you mean like they’ve got at the fair?  Hey, count me in!  Are you gonna have snacks?”

“No, Raph,” Dorothea sighed. 

“You sure?  Everybody likes good food -- I bet you’d get a ton of people to come if they could eat while they watched.”

She shook her head, fighting back a smile.  It was hard to be frustrated with him when he was so enthusiastic, but she did wish he’d think about more than food.  “Do they have snacks for the weapon tournaments at the training grounds?”

“Heck yeah they do!” he laughed.  “I never miss a tourney, they’ve always got something for the people in the stands…”

“…huh.”  She hadn’t known that.  Maybe they could ask about refreshments: after all, everything else had been going splendidly so far.  Professor Manuela had been over the moon when they approached her with the idea, and had swiftly appointed herself as their ‘impartial’ judge (said with a wink that made Dorothea certain she was far more partial than she’d ever admit to being); while the former diva took to planning and preparations, including venue selection and construction, she left the three students in charge of gauging interest and getting early sign-ups so they could start preparing their brackets.  Hilda, rather expectedly, had complained of feeling poorly, so Dorothea had agreed to help out in canvasing the Golden Deer…which had led her, rather unexpectedly, to Raphael and his surprisingly helpful suggestion.

“Alright,” she agreed, making a note for later.  “I’ll see what we can do about snacks, then.”

“All right!!” he cheered.  “You’re the best, Dorothea!”

“Aw, thank you,” she smiled.  “But would you want to take part?  You know, be up on the stage in front of the audience?  We’re looking for any kind of musical talent, whether you sing or play an instrument…”

His face scrunched up for a minute in deep, somewhat painful-looking thought.  “Hmmm…I’m mostly good for muscle,” he shrugged.  “Don’t get me wrong, I love music!  I’m just not much good at makin’ it -- oh, hey, have you asked Bernadetta yet?”

“Bernie?”

“Yeah!  Oh, man, she’s got this little brass thingy she plays -- she was playin’ it in the greenhouse one day, an’ I heard it from all the way in the training grounds!  It was the best thing I’d ever heard!”

“Interesting,” Dorothea mused, scribbling another little note down.

“You didn’t know?”

“Bernie’s pretty shy about her talents,” Dorothea confided.  “Seems she’s got all kinds of hidden ones…”

“Uh…if you go ask her, can you maybe…not tell her I told you?” he asked nervously.  “See, uh…she got pretty upset when I found out, and made me promise not to tell anybody, but then you came talking about music an’ stuff and I just got real excited about maybe seein’ her up there an’ hearin’ it again, so…”

“Oh, Raph, you’re a sweetheart, aren’t you?” she giggled.  “Don’t worry.  I won’t say a word.”

“Thanks, Dorothea,” he beamed.  “You really are the best.”

-----

“M-music show?  Me?  Perform!?  How did you find out?  Did Raphael tell you!?” Bernadetta demanded through the tiny crack between the doors of her room.

“Raphael?  I haven’t talked to him,” Dorothea lied.  “Hilda’s asking around with the Golden Deer, since they’re her classmates, just like Annette’s asking the Blue Lions and I’m asking all my fellow Eagles.  We’re trying to get a list together of students who want to take part.  Do you have any musical talents, Bernie?”

“N-n-no!” she stammered.  “Nope, not me, Bernie’s just good for staying out of the way, yes indeed…”

“I think you’re good for a lot more than that,” Dorothea insisted.  “I know you’ve got so much talent, and it’s such a shame to hide it all away.  Maybe you sing in here, or play an oboe when we’re all away from the dorms…”

“Trumpet,” the archer mumbled.  “B-but I could never get up in front of so many people!”

“Oh, but from on stage, under the lights, you can’t even see most of the audience -- and wouldn’t it be great to share all that talent with the whole academy?”

“Maybe for you!” the archer squeaked.  “All those people out there in the dark, staring at me, and no place to hide?  That s-sounds terrifying!”

…Dorothea actually hadn’t thought about that.  She was so used to basking in the attention…but that would be scary for someone as shy as Bernadetta.  “That’s okay,” she smiled.  “You don’t have to.  But…would you maybe come to watch?  Ferdie and I have already signed up to take part, and we could always use someone to cheer for us.”

“…m-maybe,” came the muffled reply.

“And if you do change your mind about being on stage, you know we’ll both be cheering you on, right?” she coaxed.  “Annette even told me that Felix promised to come watch the performances, and you know how he feels about everything that isn’t training.  We’d all really love it if you joined in.”

Silence from the other side of the doors.  Had she pushed too hard…?

“I’ll…I-I’ll think about it.”

Beaming, Dorothea made a note on her sign-up sheet.  “That’s all we’d ask for.  Just let me know, okay?”

And maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she heard the smallest sound of agreement before the doors clicked firmly shut between them. 

-----

Even in her fantasies, Dorothea never could have dreamed things would go this well.  Not only did they get enough sign-ups to make a full five-round bracket, the whole monastery was buzzing with anticipation days before the event.  It reminded her a little of Enbarr the week before a Mittelfrank production, where every group she passed on the street seemed to be talking about the upcoming show -- whether it was about their excitement to see the spectacle or despair over not getting one of the endlessly coveted (and frightfully limited) tickets.  Here, thankfully, seating was hardly an issue, since Professor Manuela had managed to secure the Reception Hall for the event: the whole student body could fit there with standing room to spare, even with the stage taking up the front quarter.

Come the morning of the show, posters listing the contestants appeared on every bulletin board, and Dorothea scanned the starting matches before the thought of breakfast even occurred to her.  She recognized more than a few names: Ferdinand of course, and herself (naturally), as well as Lorenz (unfortunately), Hilda, Annette, and even Bernie.

It was all so exciting, she could hardly bear it.

Time crawled by while she waited for the tournament to begin.  Before noon she’d warmed up, improvised a few little tunes as practice, and rehearsed a few of her favorite songs in preparation.  By the time the Reception Hall opened to the competitors, she’d chosen her starting and ending arrangements and decided on the pieces she would use if she faced any real competition.  And once the doors opened and the audience began to crowd into the available seats, she felt her heart begin to race in anticipation of what was soon to come. 

She didn’t even mind that she had to wait.  The first match, to her delight, featured Annette and Bernie: blushing fiercely, the little red-head made her way cheerfully through an obviously original tune, while Dorothea’s fellow Eagle stuck to a familiar Imperial melody, squeezing her eyes shut tight and playing her trumpet at the stage rather than the audience.  In spite of that, it was a remarkable performance, and Bernie might have won just by virtue of Raphael’s enthusiastic applause -- but his thunderous cheer startled the poor recluse and sent her bolting from the stage before the match could be officially declared, forfeiting her chance to proceed.  But that might have been for the best, she supposed: Bernie clearly wasn’t big on the spotlight. 

The rest of the first round and all of the second went smoothly enough.  Though she didn’t bother watching every pair, she saw both Ferdinand and Annette proceed on to the quarterfinals, while Hilda lost to Lorenz in her second bout (though the noblewoman hardly seemed bothered by the loss).  Dorothea’s own matches barely required any effort on her part to win: she’d spent so long practicing her favorite songs from her favorite operas in the days leading up to this competition, but a few simple melodies were all it took to ensure that she made it through the preliminaries.  Even against her third opponent, all it took was the chorus from an Adrestian folksong to seal her victory...though Annette lost her own bout against Ferdinand in the same round.  Dorothea congratulated her all the same, and promised to win for Annie’s sake -- perhaps a bold promise from anyone else, but one that the former Mittelfrank diva felt assured she could keep.

And sure enough, in the semifinals she not only faced her fellow Eagle but beat him handily with one of the arias she’d so carefully prepared.  He lost quite gracefully, too, applauding her as enthusiastically as the audience itself and conceding even before Profesor Manuela could announce the final judgment.  And with the round done, Dorothea made her way back behind the stage, humming to herself as she waited for the intermission to end and the finals to begin…

“Congratulations on sweeping the competition, Dorothea.”

She paused, turning to see the leader of the Golden Deer House grinning at her from a few feet away.  Mustering up a pleasant enough smile, she offered a nod in greeting.  “Why, thank you, Claude.  Are you here to wish Lorenz well before I crush him?”

The nobleman blinked.  “Why would I do that?  Lorenz got knocked out in the last round.” 

Dorothea stared at him for a long, silent moment.  “To who?” she demanded, hunting about for a bracket that might give her an answer--

“...me, actually.”

Slowly, carefully, she turned again to face the leader of the Golden Deer.  “Guess you weren’t watching the match,” he chuckled, hefting an odd lute-like instrument.  “Lorenz was...less than thrilled with the outcome, if it helps.”

Actually, it just made her regret all the more that she hadn’t paid attention: she’d been looking forward to seeing his face when he finally lost.  “Well, I suppose congratulations are in order for you, too, then,” she said, turning away from him again.  “May the best musician win.”

“Oh, uh...about that.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as he drummed his fingertips along the neck of his instrument.  “I was...well.  I was wondering how you’d feel about calling it a draw.”

A thin smile carved its way across her face.  “Are you that confident you can beat me, Claude?”

“Hardly,” he scoffed.  “I have no doubt that you’d mop the floor with me.”  She felt sure he was flattering her -- but she waited all the same, watching his grin soften almost shyly, though it still didn’t quite touch his eyes.  “I was just...hoping I could perform with you, instead of having to compete against you.  Y’know, everything here at the monastery is about pitting us against each other: the weapon tourneys, the fishing competition, and now this...I feel like we could put on a better show working together than we could separately trying to one-up each other.  You can have the prize, too, if you want,” he added.  “Pretty sure you’d win it anyway, but...what do you say?”

Beyond the curtain, she heard Professor Manuela take the stage again and announce the final round to the audience.  Claude only watched Dorothea, though, seeming content to be patient and wait for her even as their names rang out over the wild cheering of the crowd.

And at last she smiled, lifting a hand to cup her cheek.  “How are you at improvising with that lute of yours?”

“If you can sing a few bars, I can probably make something work,” he grinned. 

“Why don’t we put that to the test?”

“With pleasure,” he agreed, bowing playfully before offering his arm to her.  Returning the gesture with a teasing curtsy of her own, Dorothea accepted -- and they walked out onto the stage together, applause washing over them in waves of wondrous sound.  They parted smoothly, Claude taking up his instrument and strumming a few notes to ensure it was properly in tune before looking expectantly to her, waiting for her lead; Dorothea turned her own attention to the darkness, savoring the anticipation of the shadowed audience before her...and finally beginning to sing, the somber melody echoing throughout the crowded reception hall. 

“Reach for my hand, I’ll soar away, Into the dawn, oh I wish I could stay…”

A soft chord joined in, the notes as sweet and clear as her own...and yet it did not overpower her voice: instead it seemed to carry the words higher, elevating the music in ways she had not heard since she left the Mittelfrank Opera House.  She did not falter, though: instead she continued, allowing a smile to creep into her voice as she sang.

“Here in cherished halls, in peaceful days I fear the edge of dawn, knowing time betrays…”

“Is this really gonna be the last song we do?” Claude asked, his voice carrying out into the dark and startling her back to reality.  “Come on, Dorothea, we’ve gotta liven it up a little!”

Even as he spoke, his fingers flew over the strings, keeping the key but tumbling into a bright, rousing accompaniment.  He winked at her when she turned to stare at him, repeating the same refrain in invitation...and though she’d only ever heard the piece as a wandering lament before, she could not deny his compelling harmony. 

Their music rang through the reception hall, her voice rising into the rafters on the strum of lute strings...and for the first time since she’d come to the Officer’s Academy, Dorothea felt that familiar, wonderful thrill again as the enraptured crowd watched them perform their duet on the stage.  

-----

In the fortnight following the tourney, Dorothea had become the most popular girl in Garreg Mach.  It seemed like every young man, noble birth or otherwise, wanted a moment of her time, a scrap of her attention...and, of course, a chance to hear her sing again.  

While they’d agreed to a draw before ever taking the stage, Claude had gracefully conceded when Professor Manuela declared Dorothea the winner.  It had bothered her when it happened -- all the more for how she couldn’t correct the matter over the riotous applause -- and try as she might over the intervening days, she’d still been unable to set the record straight with anyone she spoke with (aside from Hilda, who didn’t seem the least bit surprised to hear it).  But strangest of all was the fact, despite now having an audience eager to hear her perform again...she couldn’t find that thrill anymore.  It had been there while she was on stage with Claude, but in every performance since -- no matter how many people she had hanging on her every note -- she just felt the same hollow sort of yearning she had in the cathedral before all of this began. 

Dorothea sighed as she made her way out of the dining hall, taking the stairs down to the fishing pond and wandering toward the dormitories.  All the attention did get tiring after a while; luckily the grounds seemed deserted this afternoon, and she stretched her arms high as she tipped her head back, breathing in the crisp autumn air while the sun warmed her face and the soft sound of music drifted by…

She stopped, scanning the lawn and the path along the row of dorms.  No one was there that she could see, but she could hear the strum of lute strings; she hurried on, listening to the music grow louder and louder until she felt certain she was close -- but the sound was too clear to be coming from behind the closed doors, and there was still no one around that she could see.  “Claude?” she called, raising her voice as much as she dared. 

The music stopped.  “Dorothea?” the nobleman’s voice replied -- not from beside or behind her, but from above.  

Tilting her head back and shading her eyes, she stared at the young man peering at her over the eaves of the dormitory roof.  “What are you doing up there?” she asked. 

“Playing,” he said. 

“How did you even get up there?  And why are you playing on the roof, for that matter?”

“It’s complicated,” he shrugged.  “...well, alright, it’s not that complicated, but...should I come down so we can talk?”

Dorothea opened her mouth to agree...and paused.  “...I could always come up,” she offered.  

A grin twitched across his face.  “I’ll meet you at my room, then,” he laughed, waving before disappearing from view.  Hurrying back down to the greenhouses, she turned into the stairwell leading to the second floor of dorms where most of the noble students stayed; at the top of the steps, she saw Claude poke his head out into the hall, beaming at the sight of her.  Smiling despite herself, Dorothea hurried over and ducked past him without even thinking...and as he closed the doors, she stifled a giggle at the sight of his room.  

She had seen cluttered her share of dorms before -- Linhardt’s came immediately to mind -- but she’d never seen anything quite like this, with books taking up half the bed, papers spilling off the desk and onto the floor, and shelves cluttered with a mix of plants, vials, and strange brass instruments she couldn’t identify.  Claude seemed briefly puzzled by her reaction...though, after another moment, he rather sheepishly began gathering up the parchment piled on his chair to give her a place to sit.  “So what can I do for you?” 

“Well, first of all I’d like to know how you got onto the roof,” she replied.  “And off it so fast, for that matter.”

He quirked one eyebrow in apparent surprise.  “What, that?  It’s easy.”  Dropping the papers in a haphazard pile on the desk, he stepped up onto the wide ledge beneath the open window, leaning out into empty space and stretching one arm up...

Claude jumped. 

Dorothea lunged for him, knowing already it was too late -- but he did not fall.  She stumbled into the sill, gaping as he effortlessly pulled himself up out of sight; crawling up onto the ledge, she cautiously poked her head out the window...and saw him lean out over the eave, grinning down at her from his perch.  “That doesn’t look easy to me,” Dorothea pointed out. 

“It just takes some practice,” he laughed.  “Want to come up?  The view’s great,” he added, reaching a hand down to her. 

The sensible, logical, rational part of her brain insisted that she’d rather not break her neck trying to get a nice view of the monastery...even as she extended her own arm, gripping his wrist and feeling him hold fast.  She heard the instructions he gave her -- she was more than certain of that, since she never would have done this on her own -- but whatever he’d said escaped her the moment she stepped off the ledge into empty air, clutching tight to Claude’s wrist even as his pleasant laughter rang in her ears.  In the end he did most of the work pulling her up beside him...but once she caught her breath and her heart stopped feeling like a bird trying to escape its cage, she had to admit that he was right: the campus was lovely from so high up. 

“You doing okay?” he asked, patting her shoulder gently. 

“Better, I think,” she agreed, scooting further back from the edge.  “So, that explains how you got up here -- now why are we here?”

“Well, in my case it’s because it’s a nice day, I don’t have anything going on, and I’m tired of dealing with Lorenz, so I figured I’d come up here and play a bit.  He can yell all he wants from down there, but I’m not stopping unless he gets on this roof to make me.”  As he spoke, he removed the lute strapped to his back, strumming a few notes and idly beginning to tune it again.  “But what brings you up here?”

“Well...actually, I was looking for you,” she admitted, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.  “I haven’t seen much of you since the music tourney.”

“You’ve been busy,” he winked. 

Dorothea rolled her eyes, leaning back against the slightly pitched roof.  “Don’t remind me,  I needed to get away from it for a while.”

“Really?  I thought you’d be happy about all the attention.”

“I was at first,” she sighed, “and it’s been wonderful to have more chances to sing, but…”

She trailed off, watching a few wispy clouds wandering across the pale blue sky.  After a moment, the quiet strum of lute strings fell silent; glancing over at the nobleman, she found him watching her with interest, his head canting slightly to one side as he gestured for her to continue.  “It...doesn’t feel like I thought it would.  Back in the opera, it was always so grand and emotional, singing to an audience -- I loved that feeling, and it’s one of the things I’ve missed most since I left.  I’d hoped the competition would bring it back, and singing with you I found it again, but...I haven’t felt it since.  I’ve been feeling guilty about the way it ended up, and…”

“Hey, I said from the start that you’d mop the floor with me in a competition,” he laughed.  “I don’t mind.  I’m glad I got the chance to perform with you -- that was my prize.”  

“Be serious,” she huffed.  “I’m trying to apologize!”

“And I’m saying you don’t have to -- it’s not like you had a say in Professor Manuela deciding on a winner.”

“But if I don’t get it sorted out, how am I supposed to enjoy singing like I used to?”

“Are you sure guilt is what’s keeping you from it?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at him.  “What do you mean?”

“You said that you haven’t felt that thrill since you left the opera.  You didn’t get it again until the finals, right?”  She nodded in agreement.  “And then after the finals it was gone again?”  Again, she nodded in agreement.  “So what was different about the finals, compared to everything before and after?”

“The drama of the grand finale?” she offered. 

“Well, that, too,” he chuckled, “but you weren’t performing alone, either: your melody had a harmony.”

Dorothea scoffed at the notion.  “That seems…”

She trailed off as Claude leaned forward, propping his chin on his hands.  She hadn’t thought of it like that before, but...her fondest memories from the opera were of performances with accompaniment: grand arias carried by a full orchestra, soft odes lilting over quavering strings.  “...possible,” she conceded. 

“So maybe what you were really looking for was a chance to sing with somebody, instead of going it alone or singing over them.”

“I’m flattered you think I’m so selfless,” she giggled.  “Really, I just wanted an audience.”  But even so, that final performance with him, building on one another’s leads and creating something far grander and more beautiful than Dorothea could have done alone...it had brought with it a familiar, delightful frisson. 

“Well, I know I had more fun playing with you than I did taking Lorenz down a peg -- and I really enjoyed that,” Claude laughed, strumming his lute again, “and I, for one, would be honored to reprise the performance -- though, fair warning, I can’t promise a crowd this time around.”

“You know, I am free this afternoon,” she grinned.  He beamed back at her, picking a cheerful tune on his lute strings -- an Adrestian folksong she recognized instantly; as she started in on the first verse and their duet drifted out over the quiet campus, she felt the thrill lift her heart again...and maybe it was just her imagination, but she swore Claude’s smile finally reached his eyes.

#fanfiction #fire emblem: three houses #dorothea arnault #claude von riegan #dorothea & claude #these two could have had such interesting conversations #but the only way to get that is with fanfiction #which is a shame #the title song reference is one of my favorite nods #dorothea singing it at half tempo to start #and then claude kicking it up to the faster pace #is just so much fun to me #also even though they don't have a huge impact on the piece as a whole #i just love the bits with raph and bernie so much #overall i'm still a little unsure about this particular one #but i really wanted to get it done since it's been sitting around for so long #and i needed something to get my mind on other things #let me know what you think #and if you'd like to see this one kicked over to ao3 too

[thesweatycollectiontyrant]

Song Analysis: “Maybe (Next to Normal)” from Next to Normal

Hey, readers!

I don’t know about you all, but I’ve found this transition very rough, and I’m in the mood to just write about some music. I’ll go through all of it so you can understand how it’s been for me.

My college chamber choir went on tour to Florida the week before Spring Break began. We had a great time! At the airport back home, we got notified that we would be having classes online until April 6th. This was a little surprising, but I looked at it as an opportunity to spend time with my family. Not too long after, we found out that we were to be moved out of our on-campus housing (dorms, apartments, what have you) ASAP. I brought my best friend along and we road tripped to pick up all of my stuff from St. Louis and haul it back to Kansas City. Many trash bags later, I got back home and decided I wanted to paint my bedroom. I’ve always wanted to have a green room. A week later, and that’s done. All while trying to stay on top of schoolwork. It has been a challenge, but I am doing a really remarkable job staying on top of my stuff. Staying organized is a challenge, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.

It has been really hard, too. There have been challenges. Living at home after living on my own is a weird adjustment. I was starving for quality time with my family by the time we left for my choir tour, and finding out we would be online for a bit was really refreshing, to be honest. Now we’re on a mandatory quarantine and stay at home order until the 24th of April, and I’ll be honest: it’s isolating. If you know me personally, you know that I love my friends. They are so important to me, and when I’m home, I want to see them. I thrive on social interaction. When I don’t get to see them, it’s really hard for me.

In times like these, I almost always turn to the musicals that shaped my time in high school. One of those is Next to Normal. One of the themes of this show (to me, at least) is finding beauty in pain. Diana as a mother struggling with Bipolar II, Dan as a father struggling with Depression, and their daughter, and Natalie, who is constantly overlooked and turns to substance abuse, all have such bizarre circumstances at surface level, but is it really that out of the ordinary? I wouldn’t say so.

Musical Analysis

We’re in the lovely key of A-flat major. The first chord is open and there’s no third. Then, the next key is one of the most beautiful chords I’ve ever heard. It’s spelled D-flat, E-flat, A-flat, G. You could call it a Dbadd9(#4). This piano solo texture repeats underneath Diana’s initial words. The repition of the verse starts with the strings slowly entering, and the piano has shifted to a beautiful, pulsing accompaniment.

Rhythmically, this is very disjunct. It is in simple time, but there’s rarely a complete phrase in 4/4. It will often end with a 2/4 transitional bar into the next part of the verse. I think this is a beautiful way of saying that Diana is struggling on coming up with what to say.

Natalie comes in, and the chords being played are that same Dbadd9(#4), but this time it’s over Eb in the bass. There’s a lot of syncopation between the hands. Natalie is finally getting to speak her mind. During Natalie’s verse, there isn’t a sixteenth note that isn’t occupied by sound. I don’t know what to make of that, but it was a beautiful realization.

The progression for Diana’s “motif” in this song is quaint, and yet it never leaves your memory. Natalie’s walks up the literal bassline, progression-wise. To me, it signifies her gaining strength as she has this coherent conversation with her mother.

It ends with a beautiful uncertainty musically, but the text ends with a weighty certainty, which is why I am SO excited to talk about it.

Text Analysis

Here is Diana’s first stanza:

“Maybe I’ve lost it at last. Maybe my last lucid moment has passed. I’m dancing with death, I suppose, But really, who knows?”

This is truly the first time in the show that Diana has confronted the reality of her mental illness, at its bare bones, in a verbal way. The third line is a callback to her duet with Gabe earlier in the show, “I Dreamed a Dance” which made way for most of the remaining action in the show. Next stanza.

“Maybe I’m tired of the game, of coming up short of the rules, of the shame and maybe you feel that way too. I see me in you.”

Diana is comparing life to a game, and finally finds out how Natalie has felt this entire time. “Maybe you feel that way too,” might be all Natalie really needed to hear. “I see me in you” is such a beautiful lyric. Alice Ripley is truly one of the best interpreters of simplicity I’ve ever seen or heard. Next, Diana goes on to describe the hurt that she felt as a young woman who had to grow up very quickly, and compare Natalie and herself.

“A girl full of anger and hope... a girl with a mother who just couldn’t cope... a girl who felt caught and thought no one could see but maybe, someday, she’ll be free.”

Here, Diana concludes her statement. I think that the last line is truly her decision to go away. Natalie comes back with this.

“It’s so lovely that you’re sharing, No, really, I’m all ears. But where has all this caring been for sixteen years? For all those years I prayed that you’d go away for good Half the time afraid that you really would. When I thought you might be dying, I cried for all we’d never be, But there’ll be no more crying...not for me.”

What always gets me are these two parts:

“Maybe we can’t be okay, but maybe, we’re tough, and we’ll try anyway. We’ll live with what’s real, let go of the past, and maybe, I’ll see you at last.”

“I don’t need a life that’s normal, that’s way too far away, but something next to normal would be okay.”

“We’ll get by.”

So much of the text is left up to how the audience feels. It’s a conversation between mother and daughter that has had to happen for a long time.

Wow. So refreshing. Seriously.

Why this song?

Like I mentioned above, I always turn to the shows that influenced my taste when I’m feeling blue. This song, in particular, is so honest. It’s showing us this relationship that has been tattered and whethered by the storms of life. There is something so beautiful between a mother and a daughter. What this show, and even this song alone says about mental illness, about women, about family, about struggle, is so poignant. I wish everyone in this world knew this song. This song always makes me feel like everything is gonna be okay. 

With this blasted virus and the hurt it’s caused so many, I hope everyone can find some light through this post and through art. May we never stop turning to art in times of need.

#next to normal #alice ripley #jennifer damiano #tom kitt #brian yorkey #quarantine #quarantunes #analysis #text analysis #music analysis

[flipsideds]

“ oh, haha... ”  a default response to a very non-default situation –– a little post-show, barside rendez-vous with an older man who insists nour has been singing to directly to him the entire night. “ flirting ?  i... ”  

gentle eyes gloss over the banquet hall’s dimmed lights, bright smiles, flickering electric candles... “ . . . what’s that ? ”  and then he’s off, gin and tonic in hand. three strides and it’s already half-drained. yikes.

or, alternatively :  greetings loved ones!! my name is linc ( 21 / est / she/her ) and here is the ever so graceful, ever so unintentionally magnetic nour al-busiri! below the cut you’ll find a messy run-down. i am so excited to plot & write with all of you !!

( i’m scheduled for a tonsillectomy tomorrow so i’m gonna be so grateful for the distraction, y’all have no idea. ) 

if you want some great mood-setters for this beb’s backstory / insight into his soul, slap on some jacob collier, kevin garrett, or charlie burg ‘n let’s get cookin’ !

so this is all copy-pasted from a discord chat with devon bc i improvised nour’s entire life story over a span of... 10 minutes ?? bahaha pls enjoy i apologize in advance. ( i also put this in normal text size bc it is v long and i don’t want anyone hurting their eyes !! protect dem beautiful retinas <3 )

h i s t o r y .

his parents met in grade school in egypt, but then didn't reconnect until their masters studies crossed paths in london... immediately fell head over heels again ( had they been searching for one another in crowds since being 6-7 years old?? maybe... ). graduated top of their class, accepted job offers in london in the biopharmaceutical realm. but then. when nour was 3...

they were involved in a freak monorail accident on their way back from a science conference in amsterdam. the babysitter paid 80 quid to watch the kids for two nights became their sole protector in this world. british authorities had trouble contacting other kin, but managed to reach mr. al-busiri's mother, rashida, who was still living in dahab with her second husband, zaim.

the al-busiri's came from old money. so off nour goes ( and potentially his older bro if i decide he exists... potential wc with a rami malek fc tbh ) to live in the city which, unbeknownst to him, sparked his parents' storybook love.

so nour grows up in this like... picturesque seaside childhood. collects shells. bonds with his grandmother and her husband. they encourage him with school, etc. but he quickly shows that he excels at maths and... music? wow. that's unexpected. gets his first piano at 5. first guitar at 6. by 8 1/2, he's managed to hodge-podge together a little recording studio for himself in his bedroom, and he's constantly serenading his friends at school.

( death tw / illness tw ) then comes zaim's stroke. he lives for four months after, but he loses his ability to speak. his motor skills deteriorate. nour and his grandmother do their best to tend to him –– she's already about 40% down the macular degeneration path, but hasn't told him yet that her vision's going. so 10 y/o nour does what he does best: unconditional love and support, delivered through the gift of song. zaim dies after requesting his favorite song: 'blackbird' by the beatles, sung in verses alternating from english to arabic.

after,  it's just nour and rashida against the world ( maybe his brother too bergorghre if i decide he's a thing ) . rashida's forced to come clean about her vision the day she can't for the life of her find the bloody pen she just put down so she can finish signing off on nour's choir trip permission slip. ( it's right next to her, to her left, just out of her closing field of vision. ) things progress more rapidly after that. by the time nour's 16, his grandmother is legally blind. it's not an uncommon sight to see him at the markets or strolling along the beach with her on his arm. she refuses canes as long as nour's around. ( “ don't rob me of my youth, nuri-nuri [ my light ] ”  )

despite her growing dependency on him, she encourages him to apply to unis all over the globe. by the time college apps roll around, nour is somewhat of a local household name: he plays summer concerts, coffee shops, and is even asked to play at his teacher's wedding ceremony –– and his neighbor's cat funeral.

acceptances roll in. julliard. berkeley. chicago school of music. he chooses chicago, because there's someone there. someone he connected with online a few years back, a friend, but... could turn into something more. this hopeless romantic heedlessly ventures off to find out if this boy in chicago might... be someone. something more.

spoiler alert: he gets to chicago, starts music school. and each meet-up they set? gets pushed. sometimes it's traffic. a cold. transit trouble. can't get work off, sorry. things with ma are really tough. the excuses kept coming but... nour's naive. he believes every word. but in his second year of uni, things....... start getting suspicious. by chance, he spots this man in the window of a coffee shop downtown. overjoyed, he texts as much. but ... messages go read and unanswered. phone calls dwindle.

his music suffers. so does his muse. so much so that he's tempted to drop out, to throw in the towel, to just...... go back home. he speaks with his grandmother each day on the phone. she's doing well, stop worrying, nuri-nuri, your uncle is taking good care of me. nour goes on dates. thinks about chicago boy. thinks about him a lot.

he's 20 when it happens. sat on a stage in a little dive bar, tuning his acoustic guitar for an opening number, and there. those eyes. he knows them.

they talk after the show, in the alley. share a cigarette. and it's almost like... maybe things are finally clicking. maybe this is finally their shot.

except chicago boy ( neil ) says they have to stop talking. that he had to just... see nour for himself. see that he's real. hear him sing, and... move on. nour doesn't buy it. pushes back. asks why the hell neil'd come out now only to slink back to the shadows. things get heated. neil yells. and the men... the men who hear and come running ?  they think nour is the cause of it all.

( hate crime tw, violence tw )  how many kicks does it take to break to the center of a broken heart ? twelve. how many broken ribs does it take to immobilize a probably terrorist, dude ? four. shattered wrist. snapped ankle. broken arm. cracked skull. and neil scuttles off like nour's bad meat. bad blood. like he asked for this. 

chicago school of music receives a call from weiss memorial three days later.

nour never gets his degree. he breaks his apartment lease. flies home after he heals, spends a year with his grandmother and uncle. just... creating. writing, playing, trying to fill that void with something. but then things with his uncle get heated. he wants to put his own mother in a home, sell the estate, pocket the cash. nour fights it, but he's got no legal bearing.

the nursing home concept never takes hold, though, because his grandmother's still sharp as shit and refuses to sign anything nour doesn't read first. eventually the uncle grows tired of fighting and stops trying, just... slinks back to his husband and keeps his mouth shut. nour's grandmother pressures him to go back to chicago, make that city wish he never left. take back his own story. together they work to find a live-in aide they trust. freshly 22, nour ventures back to the city that broke him.

he finds cheap housing, a gig. the malnati, seems legit. good money. good exposure. and then he meets @ryderxmms​ –– they form one night stand. when not scheduled for malnati banquets, you can find nour providing vocals ( and occasional keys ) in the dive bars / parties the band lands gigs at.

g e n e r a l .

nour creates like food and drink don’t exist, sunlight is an illusion, and all the human body needs for sustenance is sound. he can find his way around just about any instrument under the sun, but his main poisons are piano, acoustic guitar, and digital recording tools –– think jacob collier and you’re right on the money.

actually, i’m stealing a lot of jacob collier discography and pegging it as his creations. this kid’s got an experimental sound and loves it.

he grew up speaking english and arabic equally, but because he learned english in london and then continued in egypt, he does have a mild brit-arab accent. it’s v cute, i promise.

looks like he’d be a total lothario, yeah ?? but. he’s so shy ?  so sweet ?  get him on a stage and he’s shameless but plop him in a bar and eye him up and he’ll honestly just smile nervously and pretend you’re looking at someone else.

love languages : singing to his succulents and plants before his 5am morning runs. facetime calls at times least convenient for him, but most convenient for you. little notes written on napkins, smiley face doodles included. candy bars. lingering a little longer in doorways after saying hello, just to see you smile.

he’s got major water sign vibes. birthday comin’ up in march, woot woot !!

he often wears very simple statement pieces. he likes rings, crystal pendants, leather bracelets. soft tees layered with embroidered jackets, metallic blazers. somehow he pulls off mixed media and crazy prints that should never go together ?  he just... is so easy breezy.

he often wears his hair wild ‘n curly, unless the gig he’s got mandates a more streamlined look. 

falls in love.... 14 times a day ??  really.

has a scar across his left temple from the incident with neil. will probably write it off as a bike riding accident. ( he doesn’t know how to ride a bike. )

don’t let him cook ever, okay ??  unless you want him to literally do this.

pls come at me for all the plots ?  i’m so open for all the things !!!  y’all got me on discord, so feel free to slide on into my dms. i promise i will be so thrilled <3

#intro. #☼ –– gimme that afterglow ! inspo.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

LINDSAY SCHOOLCRAFT – An Interview with the Artist

Hi Lindsay, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine, how are you and how life is treating you right now?

I’m good, thank you. Life is going pretty well. Really really well, actually.

The last time I interviewed you was back with Mary and the Black Lamb, we can totally affirm that a lot of water is passed under the bridge, so, considering that this band is part of your musical background, how Mary and the Black Lamb show up in your debut full-length “Martyr”?

Oh my gosh! [Laughs] Wow, what? It has been 11 years since we released the album “The City Sleeps”. Unfortunately, Mary and the Black Lamb is no longer a band and that is ok. But it’s just crazy to look back and think about it. When I came to that project, I was one of the main songwriters and I was writing “Martyr” as a solo artist and I felt that the song “Stranger” from Mary and the Black Lamb would fit the sound of this album. So, that song was written between me and the keyboard player Matt Kelley  and I got his permission, of course I treated him really fair and I made sure that he received his royalties. We went ahead and we brought it to Rocky and my producer Tyler and we just worked on it. I’m so happy how it did come out and so, it’s Matt. I’ve been slowly pushing to my solo album and I think it will be the last album on which I’ll do recreation of old songs but I want to do songs like “Stay Away” because I really love it. However, I’ll try and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I’ll take maybe two more songs from Mary and the Black Lamb because I feel like those songs deserve an update and it might work very well and if they don’t work, it’s ok. At least, I can say to myself that I did try. My songs are like my babies and I always feel like they deserve a fair chance, you know? [laughs] And they have to grow up with me [laughs].

So, we have talked about Mary and the Black Lamb and I’m gonna focus on the production of your debut album “Martyr”: how was it? When did you start collecting the first ideas and planning for it?

Oh man, well, we actually started making it without a plan. Unfortunately, next time we will have it and everything started at the beginning of June 2016 when Rocky Gray contacted me with the serious intent to collaborate together. So, we worked on the first two songs: the first was The Cure‘s cover of b and it did turn out really good, we are really proud of it and then  “Warn Me” and “Remember” followed. Back than, both songs sounded quite differently from now. At the beginning, they were just simple ideas but I like that because Rocky sends it like that  and then, you have room to build the melody and the lyrics. I love working with him and he’s on board for the next album too, which is good. In the end, there was no plan and we kept on writing together and then I took my old phone into the night from my first DP. At one point, probably at the end of 2017, we had 17 songs and we took the decision to stop because it turned out to be too much and we had just to pick 13 songs which includes 2 bonus tracks and went ahead to finish this album. It was intense because there were other people involved like Spencer Creaghan who played the strings and also, he wrote the strings sections for songs that may or may not be on the album. We didn’t want to waste anyone’s time cuz’ we are all very busy people. So, at the end we strategically decided to adapt everything and finish with the guest vocals on which different singers have participated. That was it. It was concluded and mastered at the beginning of 2018 but due to my commitments with Cradle of Filth and not finding a record label, there are a lot of delays. It’s fine because I make it work anyway. However, it was a long process and I’m hoping that, for the next album it won’t be long as between the beginning (the production). I think this time we’ll have a clear plan and we’ll just focus on the 13 songs that we have and just that. For sure, we won’t waste any time and it was a big learning curve for me, for my producer Tyler and all my team. Now that we know how we work together, we also have a system and it should not go as long as before.

You have been recently nominated as a Juno Award artist. How does it feel to have reached such a milestone? And how this event will reflect on you and your music?

It’s a dream come true. I was not expecting it. I didn’t know that was going to happen but it did and when I found out, I just couldn’t stop crying. I was so happy, I’ve been through a lot in the past months. Not necessarily good things, that’s ok, they come and go and when this happened, it was such a huge honour because I had been dreaming of it since I was a teenager. I didn’t want to win but just get a nomination and the fact that happened is totally unreal to me.

Beside being an amazing vocalist, you are also an amazing harpist. Now, I would like to focus on your musical background: considering that you enrolled at the Royal Academy, how much did your academic upbringing impact your music?

I started singing when I was a little kid and a big influence on me was Disney, well a 90s child that is going to happen and I was also singing in a choir at school. The first time I learned about harmony was very interesting and I was such a young child. I didn’t start taking serious music until High School and at the time, I was in a punk band and I was taking bass lessons and singing too, even if not so very well. Then, I decided at the age of 21 to start taking music seriously and that when I found about the Royal Conservatory of Music where I went studying classical piano, classical voice and I was learning my theory and I did for about 3 – 4 years while in the meantime I reached a certain level. After, I was considering the option of going back to University at the age of 25, though I did my final application when I was 26. I got into University and I did my first semester and I was chosen for the minor “Classical composition and conducting for orchestra” and my major was “Opera Singing” but it got cut short because I was called by Cradle of Filth. Eventually, one day I may go back to my education. Nevertheless, for now, I’m taking the time to learn the harp from a few people and I would love to go back to study theory. On the other hand, the business and other things in my life have been very intense. I’m on the right path, so, once business is settled maybe I’ll come back to learn more about theory which I would love to do. It’s still a goal of mine in life.

“Martyr” was released via Cyber Proxy Independent. Does it have to be considered your own imprint or are you taking in consideration other external deals?

So, it’s my own little record label composed by me and my laptop in my corner of my room. [Laughs] it’s nothing crazier, still it feels nice that I have that. The reason that happened was because there were a lot of things I was going through like getting distribution, getting the CDs in the European and North American stores, filing the royalties and there’s even more that I do independently with my assistant. All these actions justified a label’s name, so we did come that. Actually, the origin of the name is due to the fact I’m a huge fan of cyberpunk and my favourite anime is Ergo Proxy. I know, the name was just last-minute and we didn’t put a lot of thought into it [laughs] and we just made up the name. Simply, that was it. We were kinda like “We’re Cyber Proxy Independent which is literally me and my assistant in my bedroom named after all my favourite anime” and we just kept going and that’s that. Anyway, it’s just a name in order that people have something to refer to my music, I guess.

You know, if we talk about distribution and licensing, will you consider some external deals?

Yes, what I have to do is that I have to wait until the end of Juno‘s because with a nomination there’s a lot of opportunities for me of which I’m very happy. For example, I have a better chance to have my music featured in movies and TV and it does represent one of my biggest dreams and I would love to do that. Whoever if I win, I don’t care if I win or not, if Kobra and the Lotus, if The Agonist or The Striker and the Single Mother, I’m happy for whoever wins. I’ve always kept the attitude that in the heavy metal world community we always support each other. If I win, owning the title completely changes everything and I’ll have increased opportunity to reach out to a wide audience. In the end, I’m just waiting to see what happens and I’m just being smart.

I think that being appointed just a nominee changes because the name is out, they know how you are and people start raising their heads…

Oh yeah, Canada is a big deal and because of that I gained a few fans. It’s crazy.

Yeah, I know because at the time back in the 80s artists like Alannah Myles, Rush, Autograph and Bryan Adams…

Oh, I love Alannah! Yeah, oh man, I don’t know if Bryan Adams‘s gonna be there and I hope, he’s and I would love to meet him. I hope that Billie Eilish and The Weeknd show up because I love them both. It’s crazy. it’s just crazy. So, this year at the Juno’s is the 49th edition and Jenn Arden, who has been an huge influence on me as a singer-songwriter, of course she’s one of those dark folky types of music really famous in Canada, she’s getting inducted in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and that’s simply huge. Also, the Canadian musical legend Ann Murray is getting inducted. I think my dad is more excited for that than I am [laughs]. Well, my dad has met Jenn Arden and I really hope to meet her too. There are a lot of women in the Canadian music industry like Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, Chantal Kreviazuk. They all proved to be such an inspiration that they pushed me forward towards my artistic percorse as a singer-songwriter. Even if it was a bit stressful to get ready with the outfit for the red carpet, I’m just so honoured. We’ll make it there and we’ll make it work. [Laughs]

We know that we have recently split up with Cradle of Filth and the intent of this question isn’t delving into the situation, per se but what did you learn about this experience and how did you improve you as an artist?

What I’ve learned while I was in Cradle of Filth is that it totally pushed me on a more professional level when it comes to handling the touring and the business side of things. It was an amazing opportunity and I’m so grateful that it did happen. I still have so much love and respect the band and the boys. You know, we’re still friends and it’s good. On a final note, it taught me which are my strengths and my weaknesses, so in this case I know where I should improve. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy industry and in my case I’m very lucky because I have a group of good friends who are in the industry and we all understand what’s going on. Although, when it comes to mental health in this industry, I don’t think there’s enough support and respect towards people who suffer from it. Sadly, this industry has taught me too, whatever the situation a lot of good things happened and one of them for sure is to live honestly, to live the truth and to be truthful to what I believe in and to what I want to put into the world. I think I’m ok and I’m grateful for that experience, so to say.

Now all this mental health issue raises a question: in which way, we can start spreading awareness in this industry? Because you know I like writing, I like doing interviews and both you and me, we share a similar history. From an artistic point of view, what can we do?

What we can do is be kinder to each other and when a person in a band, in a community is suffering, it’s nice to reach out and support one another. I think it’s something that can save lives by acknowledging that we are only humans and we are not money music machines. We’re not robots and recognizing that comprehension when we reach a limit because you have been working too hard and you need a break is important. Nowadays, we live in a period and age where there are a lot of expectations towards the touring musicians and where it is required to hold from 3 to 5 different job titles. It’s not healthy and it’s not fair. Fine, it saves money and in the beginning, you have to do it for a few years after that, please consider the mental health and wellbeing of the other band members too because if you don’t start hiring people for these positions, there’s an enormous chance for a burn out. It’s a terrible experience and lately, it comes down to respect and kindness. Naturally, this industry is stressful but we are all in it together and we should all take care of each other. If we lose that idea, we just lose one another.

It sounds really good but tangibly speaking, what can we do for example starting spreading information? It’s something that is really interesting but how can we be much more proactive towards it?

There’s now a hotline for musicians in the United Kingdom where they call in if they’re having mental health problems. I think we need more support like that. Recently, I have read this article about this girl that is actively fighting for women’s equality at Download when it comes to the woman being on the stage and I don’t necessarily think that is needed because there are plenty of women working there. However, what is really needed for example is having a tent in the backstage where women can go when they don’t feel safe or what we should have access to is counselling. I think festivals should start offering a private tent with counselling and if someone needs to go talk about their problems, grieve, cry or have a safe space. Surely, that would make the biggest difference and save lives because touring is not so easy. You miss weddings, you miss funerals and there’s so much that happens to touring musicians and they are just expected to suck it up, carry on and deal with it. It’s wrong because it’s time to start providing more services to musicians to have a place to go. It’s time to put the business aside and acknowledge their feelings. It’s time to be heard and know that they are cared about, all this will make a huge difference.

Well, it’s something interesting, if you ask me, we can join forces together and see if that can work out because it’s something that no one has ever thought about and I find quite frustrating…

I agree. We have lost so many lives lately in the metal community. Some due to health and some other due to some related circumstances, but part of it is because of the drug and alcohol abuse to numb the pain while you have to work. I think if we just start to be kinder and respectful to one another while we set in motion to help everyone’s suffering, we can save a lot of lives so they don’t continue down the dark path and they don’t feel unseen and unheard. I bet what don’t have that this possible to achieve.

This was a complicated question and it does make it difficult to change topic. However, I had a question about your upcoming project Antiqva with Ne Obliscaris‘s Xenoyr. How did it come together and which are the latest updates?

Oh man, that was a drunk decision [laughs]. In 2015, we started to talk about the fact that I would like to do something musically different that wasn’t neither Ne Obliscaris nor Cradle of Filth. But, however something along the lines of traditional black metal that meets the classical sound with strings, choirs and Gregorian chantries. Oh my god, the whole massive idea and I was already composing some stuff which at the end it wouldn’t work out for Cradle of Filth at all. He is just Mr.Darkness like Dark Aestical all the time, always incredibly writing poetry into his lyrics, he’s such a creative source. Definitely, he’s one of my muses. We have just started working on things. Oh man, when I wrote these first demoes, I sent them straight away even though they were so bad. At the time, I was just working with what I had and now, it turned into such a massive project. I’m very grateful because the relationship that I have with the other two songwriters Justine Ethier  which she plays drums and we collaborate together on the orchestrations; and Fabian who’s known as Urzom from Negator which he plays the guitar and he collaborated on the writing and arrangements). Between the three of us, we have such a deep connection and friendship. It’s such a beautiful experience and I never really believed in the spiritual aspect of that gathering together and having the magic among other musicians when you write, however, we have definitely that. It’s really amazing and I feel really grateful to have that. Instead about the latest updates, It’s going good and we have to finish writing a few more songs to have a full album . Then, we are going into the studio in April to record the first single and all this, it’s just for getting the things started which is exciting. I’m really looking forward to it, I love the single, I love the songs we chose. The fans are already excited even though they have listened to anything and they have so much faith in us. I know what I want and I already have the ideas quite clear about the whole plan. It’s good that we’re starting with one song and surely, we will be included on the new album. By then I hope to have more funding to record a live string section and hire the required musicians. We’re just so excited and it has been challenging ‘cuz all the members all over the world and we have to keep up on communication and organisation. We do that very well and of course, they have me and Cyber Proxy. Now that I have established this label, I’ll take care of this band in the best way possible through the help of my team too. I think Antiqva has a good start and I’m happy for that opportunity. I love everyone in the band and I love working with them. They are so talented and they are such good people. So, I think that hopefully by 2022 all the engines will be set in motion for the album and playing festivals, everything depends on how quickly we get through the single [laughs]. But, I don’t wanna rush it, it’s a project of passion, it’s definitely a calling in life. I love doing my solo work, I’m so proud of it and whatever comes from “Murder” I enjoyed. It’s like my baby, my first child while with Antiqva is something that I wanted to do since I was a little kid because at the time I used to write classical music in my head but I didn’t have neither the knowledge nor the tools on how to translate out my mind in a tangible way. Now, I do and I have so much dark classical music in my head that I just want to give to the world. I think we are doing an OK job because I showed to some friends what we have written and they just burst into tears. So far so good but it’s a very slow process and I don’t like how slow it is. I feel like I’m waiting and waiting but I have definitely taken the initiative with the band to super plan our future and to do the best in keeping up with the tour deadlines and to take care of one another. You know, we have been all through a hard time in the industry and we’re not treated very well. This band also represents a brand new start because we’ll set our boundaries and we’ll get treated in the way we deserve. We’ll always try to take care of eachother and always do that, I love this because that can be a huge motivation for longevity with this project. You know, I’m approaching all this with a lot of optimism and positivity, even though I know that a black metal is about [laughs].

My last question is about your next plans: in order to promote your solo album, do you have any concert planned for 2020?

So, the problem is that touring these days is very expensive and it costs a lot of money. We’ve been trying to get some opportunities but how much it costs to go, it’s an insane amount of money and as a record label, I’m trying to be realistic about finances. However, it has been an opportunity for me to tour with just my harp and I love doing those harp tours and those acoustic tours because they are my favourite. I’ll announce some information on that later while right now, what I’m doing is celebrating my 10th as a solo artist by recording an ambient harp album and with that I’ll cover my entire catalog. I’m aiming to release this special full-length this summer. I’m looking forward to it, it will be a little different and it’s not gonna be like on “Murder” on which I dedicated a lot of promotion and I featured a lot of extras. It’ll be quite a soft launch and it’s something I want to do for my fans. Then, from there we’ll start working on the second album, there’s no schedule or deadline for that. But, I think once we dedicate the right amount of time, it’ll go very quickly because a lot of the music has already been composed. So, I have just to fix some lyrics and change some parts in the songs. It’s gonna be amazing because I’ll work with my team again, they are such talented and fun people. Also, I brought with me my guitarist Cody Johnston because it’s a really good songwriter and hopefully, he’ll have much more space on the album. Once again it will be a big project but we’ll start before Christmas. More than anything, the focus of this year is to make myself happy and take care of my health which so far, it’s going good. I just hope to continue.

This was my last question. Please be free to say hi your fans and our readers. Lindsay, I really thank you for this interview. It was a real pleasure. This is your space.

Thank you. That’s amazing that you gave me my first writing job in the industry. How long was that? Maybe 12 years ago and I thank you, because it all started with you, thank you I found my way to Eve’s Apple, because of Eve’s Apple I found my way in Cradle of Filth. You have been so supportive of my career from day 1. Thank you to you and Femme Metal Webzine. Also, I would like to send you a quick thank you to my team that helped you to launch my album. Last but not the least, I want to say thank you to my FANS who didn’t give up on me and they are still supporting my career despite my departure from Cradle of Filth. The fact that people want to stick around and see what I’ll do next that just means so much and I’ll promise that I’ll work very hard and I won’t let you down.

#lindsay schoolcraft #2020 interviews

[moonlightreal]

Winx club Season 8/14

In which Sky doesn’t quote Thor

14 The Wishing Star

This episode opens, where else, at a concert at Alfea!  The other students whisper and ooh and aah.  So the Winx are famous pop stars but also hold concerts here like every other week and go to school here?  They should be treated more like when the choir performs, I mean it’s cool but not a super big deal.

sigh this pop star thing.  It feels a little less weird than it did in WoW since the girls are younger so the blatant wish-fulfilment version of being a professional musician isn’t as jarring I guess.  But I still can see so many opportunities for characterization—whose idea was it to form the band?    Who decided Bloom wis lead singer rather than Musa?What happens when Musa writes a song and loves it but the others hate it?  What happens when there’s a concert but the girls are busy with schoolwork?  Why don’t the minor fairies also form bands?  Why do only Alfea students come to these concerts?  When do they practice?  Do they ever perform at other places in Magix and who sets that up?  Where did they get the transforming instruments?  Are some of the girls thinking of ‘musician’ as a future career?  How will that conflict with ruling their planets?  And adventuring?

So. Much. Wasted plot & characterization opportunity.

Girls sing.  Cute shots of the minor fairies dancing.  Knut waltzes Faragonda.  Kiko crowd-surfs on the minor fairies.  Stella kisses the screen.  

The girls go to meet their boyfriends.  Stella is adorable.  

But Sky’s missing, he’s on Eraklyon.  “His dad wants him to spend more time at court being a crown prince and all while Sky would rather be a professional hero.”  The other specialists and Bloom express sympathy for Sky.

Season 8 timeslide: Sky is no longer king… if he ever really was, that whole thing was retconned pretty much right after Secret of the Lost Kingdom when we all realized we were going to have more stories.  Also there’s no mention of Brandon being Sky’s squire as he was in season 1.

Meanwhile on Eraklyon!  Cool shot of the palace!  Nice landscaping?!

Yikes, Sky is yelling at his dad, “I’m a Specialist, my place is at Red Fountain!”

Erendor: “You need to put the good of the kingdom first, that’s what princes do.”

Sky: “I put the good of everyone first, that’s why I go on missions with the Specialists!”

So clearly the dubbing department hasn’t seen Thor: Ragnarok because they missed sliding in, “Because that’s what heroes do.” and having me fall over laughing.  Also this situation is very much caught in the timeslide; is Sky a student still learning to rule the kingdom, or a graduate ready to begin his duties?

But as Sky walks away I see someone peering from behind a pillar… a familiar blonde head… oh no, not the number one source of couples drama in all Winx-dom! D: T_T

Diaspro’s done well by the new art style, she’s got gorgeous golden eyes and a nice braid. Her face is really wide though, she looks like an Ever After High doll.  She’s hoping to take advantage of the fight so Sky “will finally be mine.”

Yeah, you tried to kill his girlfriend two seasons ago, why are you not in jail?

Diaspro plots bug me.  Strap in y’alll.

Gorgeous nighttime shot of Alfea.  In Bloom’s room the girls are saying how great their concert was.  Then Stella goes into how hard it is to spend time with their boys when they’re busy saving the magic universe. The other girls try to shut her up before Bloom gets sad, but Stella is oblivious and just rambles on.  Brandon’s planning to take her to the “magic enchanted theater” sometime soon.

Musa yells at Stella.  Stella: “What’d I do this time?”  And there’s Bloom, sad now.  But Bloom says it’s not Stella’s fault; Sky didn’t say he was going to Eraklyon.  The girls talk about boys, with a side of Grumping at Stella.

“Brandon and I always talk.”

“When Riven left we stopped talking, and that didn’t go well.”

“Sometimes Timmy doesn’t call or text but I know he’s just thinking about his projects.”

But the good news is, Valtor’s gone so everything’s going to get better!

Bloom goes outside to make a wish on a star and there’s Sky!  They talk a little about not having time, and Bloom suggests Sky wish on a star for more time.

And now to what I’m really curious about!  The Trix!  We cut to Valtor’s asteroid and I kinda want to see him showing the girls around, but instead he’s on his throne meditating or something while the Trix float in front of him.

Exposition time! Only three witches like them can get the Wishing Star aka the Comet Star apparently, which grants wishes.  It’s made of Sparks (Sparx?) The energy that gave birth to the magic universe, the stars themselves.  So… Dragonfire?  “the magic of fairies, and witches.”

Flashback to Valtor trying to grab the comet and getting knocked for a loop. Incompatible magic.

Icy does the, “And why should we help you?” and it turns out Valtor’s mark is on their hands—they belong to him.  Just now or still from season 3, I wonder.  Also once Valtor becomes the most powerful sorcerer he promises to give them immense power.

Icy, apparently forgetting every other teamup they’ve ever done, thinks this sounds like a good deal, “Am I right, sisters?”

The Wishing Star hurtles through space, quite close to Valtor’s asteroid.  Our villain team warps outside and…

...And we cut to the wishing Star, which is a person of the same species as Queen Dorana, but with a more snowy theme.  She comments, “Valtor’s palace.  Hasn’t changed much in the last thousand years.  Still creepy!”  That was kinda random and cute, and also, Valtor’s had that palace for a thousand years and space people just know where it is?

...And THEN the Trix appear and the chase is on.  Stormy’s storm powers seem to be able to cause a meteor storm in space.    Darcy summons the illusion of a black hole which actually draws things into it.  Then icy succeeds in catching the comet girl in a block of ice.  The Wishing Star is caught!  Valtor is pleased!

But then she sends out her power in a blast of colored lights and a star-shaped box.

Valtor goes, ‘Noooo!”

The colored lights fly away but the star box flies straight at Lumenia and nearly beans Twinkle.  She flees, with the star box chasing after her!  Twinkle flies to the palace for help, where Argen is admitting to his sister that he thought being king of Lumenia would be more exciting.  Heh. Then in comes Twinkle, chased by a star box!

Queen Dorana recognizes it: the star case.  (so, book version rather than movie version of Escape to Witch Mountain?)  And it’s a bad sign!  We need the Winx immediately!  Twinkle goes to fetch them.

Bloom and Sky are having a peaceful evening looking at the stars… when Diaspro texts. Sky makes a horrified face.

Bloom: “Who’s messaging you?”

Oh just my ex who always teams up with villains and tried to murder you back when…

Diaspro keeps calling and Bloom says Sky should answer it.  Then Twinkle arrives. Saved!  Bloom and Sky must say goodbye as the Winx leave on an urgent mission!

In the Owl Sky ignores a few more increasingly irate texts then calls Diaspro back. She’s got a super secret mission from Sky’s dad!  They gotta go find the “lost locket of Eraklyon, one of the most poerful items in our kingdom.  And the two of us have to find it!  Together!”

Sky is not down for this together stuff.  He tries to tell Diaspro the mission might be dangerous, but she is undeterred.  Then the other boys turn up with a new Specialist mission, that Sky has to turn down since he’s got thiss mission with diaspro.

“Diaspro?  That crazy girl who won’t give up on you?”

“Yes Brandon, that’s the one.”  

“Come on Sky, the Specialists aren’t afraid of anyone, even broody aristocratic girls from Eraklyon.”

In case you were wondering how the boys talk about Diaspro.

And honestly, I was sympathetic for Diaspro, she and Sky were engaged and then Sky started falling for Bloom and instead of working things out he did nothing and let both girls find out the truth by surprise in public and Bloom attacked Diaspro thinking she was Icy.  Diaspro was kinda more sinned against than sinning, at that point.  But the heartbreak apparently caused Diaspro to go over the edge and she started teaming up with villains, cast a love spell on Sky, and pushed a magicless Bloom into a fiery pit.  My annoyance at all things Diaspro isn’t really with her, it’s with everyone who acts like Diaspro is just an annoying ex instead of a dangerous criminal.

Things from Diaspro’s perspective would make a great fanfic.

But now we’re going to Lumenia to learn about the star case and the Winx’s second mission of the season!

The Winx arrive on their hoverboards, showing those off so kids will buy the toys, then we arrive at the palace.  They meet Argen, who recognizes them from his days as Obscurum but they don’t recognize him so he explains what happened to him.

Then, star case! It contains the essence of the wishing star.  Tecna remembers hearing about it from Miss F in a “cosmomagic lesson.”  It’s the most powerful star in the universe and it’s made out of “Sparx, a magical radiance that is the source of all fairy powers.  And witch magic!”  So, Dragonfire.  Which is why I shall keep spelling it Sparx.

So the girl in the comet was herself a star and to defend herself she “split herself into the seven prime stars.  But her essence remained inside this case.”  The Winx have to find the seven stars and put them all back, so the Wishing Star can pull herself together again.  But they need the star compass, which is in the case—but it won’t open.

Bloom has an idea: go inside the case!  Using our Enchantix powers!

The view pulls out to show our villains watching and I want them to say something about how the Winx are still using Enchantix like last time...

But no.  Valtor orders the Trix to find the compass first.

Enchantix!

And it’s… all right.  I can complain about the pink creep—aka everybody is wearing more pink than the first time around—but that’s about it. It’s not a terrible redesign, but not brilliant.  Musa’s translated best, I think, maybe just because her color is already pink so it’s not jarring like Aisha’s or Bloom’s.

The girls miniaturize and poof into the star box, which is like a miniworld of decorative gears.  They find a ballerina figure—the star case is a music box.  They find the star compass easily, and Tecna says “achievement unlocked!” again.  But then a cold wind starts to blow and a familiar laugh echoes...

“The Trix they’re back!”

“I hope you like this place, because you’re never leaving.”

Cliffhanger!

How did the Trix get miniaturized, hmm?

I have a suspicion that when a season of Winx is made, both halves are made at the same time by different sets of writers.  So things don’t completely match, like the Wishing Star being a person of the same sort as Dorana and Argen who are not stars.  Stars were lots of things, but they weren’t people until now.  I bet we’ve seen our last staryum, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Valtor uses a lot fewer portals.  I’m hoping we haven’t lost Orion because stolen design or not, I really like him.  And I prefer legit villain Valtor to the wimp who did nothing but pick on Obscurum for twelve episodes, so please keep him threatening to destroy the planet, ok?

#winx season 8 #winx club

[morethanithoughtofficialblog]

Chapter 4: A slight hint of hope

In which the future looks brighter than you may think

*Your POV*

I found myself writing down a letter to the president, technically begging him to let monsters be truly free. Again. I was starting to ask myself why I even try. Again. This the seventeenth letter I've written to him, and yet, he won't listen.

Then I told myself that I shouldn't be thinking like this. That a lot of monsters had their hope on me, therefore, I should try harder.

I smiled, knowing that this was my inner dialogue every single day. And yet, I still have it, no matter what I'm doing. This is one of the few things that amaze me these days.

It's been a while since I have met them. Maybe a month or two; maybe even more. Ever since then, we've been talking for hours in my office every single day. I kinda like it. It gives me the feeling that I'm not alone in the world.

But then again, they'll probably leave once this is over. Or maybe not. Who knows?

They all have been awfully nice to me. Nicely than a lot of humans have ever been. This is one of the thousand reasons I keep writing to the president.

Maaaaaybe I should return to my cheery self. I'm being quite serious, haven't I?

No one can blame, though. I hate to admit it, but this issue is worrying me more than I expected. At first, the case was interesting, yes, but now it's kinda overwhelming, knowing that I'm dealing with a weak point; discrimination.

I just hope I don't end up like Rosa Parks after this. But that's just me being stubborn. Again.

Before my mind could get more depressive, though, I heard someone knock the door. I mentally groaned, with the feeling that I was gonna get a shitty opinion for the trillionth time.

"Come in"

"Wow, that's for sure the sourest answer you've given me, sweetie. That's quite the record!"

A smile crept onto my face. I recognize that voice anywhere!

She slammed the fricking door open like it was some sort of drama movie (which it's exactly what her life is) and posed dramatically. She was wearing sunglasses (even if it was cloudy outside), a fancy-yet-casual blouse, and some skinny jeans. Not to mention the usual high heels that make her bigger than a fucking tree. Oh, how not to miss her?

"Hello, beautiful!" She exclaimed before kissing my cheek on a french-greeting style "You look EXHAUSTED! But, hey, at least you are wearing makeup. Now THAT'S progress!"

"Mailey, I've been wearing makeup daily ever since I got this job"

"Wait..." she paused slightly, then let out a fake gasp. "YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WEARING IT VOLUNTARILY?!"

I giggled way louder than I wanted to, but I didn't mind. Mailey's has always managed to put me in such a good mood, all thanks to her cocky attitude. I haven't seen her for months, so I just really missed her. But I probably said that already. Oh well.

"Oh, (Y/N) darling!" She clapped her hands together in such a girly and unnatural way I almost lose it "Let's go to a café! I don't want to chat in such a sad and old place!"

"Uh, eh... you know what? A break would be great" I hesitantly answered, thinking that I just could clear my mind for a while. I actually haven't done that since I was a preteen, soooo... yeah...

"Wonderful! Let's get going! Just one thing... we will go to Starbucks!"

"Seriously?"

"You know I don't like Dunkin' Donuts, sweetheart. I don't tolerate that bitter taste you normally choose"

"And you know I don't tolerate that overwhelming sweetness you choose every time"

She took a pause and put down briefly her sunglasses, staring at me in fake shock. Oh, I know how much she hates Dunkin' Donuts, but Starbucks simply sucks!

"Well, I'll be the one paying, so I think it's fair" she teasingly added with a huge, goofy grin on her face.

Shit, she got me.

...

Oh well.

"Hmm. Guess you won this time, huh?" I answered, throwing my arms in defeat. She made a victory pose, and I silently giggled. I shouldn't be feeling this lonely since monsters visited today, right?

Well, guess what.

They didn't.

But I'm not complaining since I'm the one who told them not to come for today, arguing that they should take a break from leaving and coming. Some of them didn't think twice and accepted, which made me feel kinda bad. How stubborn have I been to actually keep them coming so often without a chance to take a breath?

...and that's why I also needed a break. Because I was about to become a fucking mess. Leave the tears for the night, (Y/N).

And so I left. Good thing I was doing extra hours, or else, I would have been crying after some time being all alone.

Sometimes I wonder if I can call myself a proper 20 years old adult. I mean, I'm quite mature at some things, but in others, I almost feel like I'm a 5 years old brat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Frisk's POV*

It feels kinda weird not meeting (Y/N) today. Sure, I was getting exhausted of the daily routine, but know... I feel like something's missing. And that something is (Y/N).

We actually haven't been doing much in this little house, since we are really crowded in here. Yes, it has two floors, but we are more than 10 people, and it's starting to get on my nerves. Not even the orphanage felt this crowded.

But, hey, at least I'm with my friends and family and not with some random kids pushing each other. I think this is pretty much ok, I guess.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. Excited, I quickly ran to get it, and a smile flashed on my face. Emily, the daughter of the kind owners, has come for her weekly visit. Even Sans seemed eager to receive her, noticing his white pinpricks turn brighter.

She's 10 years old, so her voice is quite soft and pretty. I think she's on her school's choir and musical group, which it's totally cool. She has golden, twirly hair that gets not too long below her shoulders, and tends to wear a lot of dresses.

We were friends in the orphanage, so I know a thing or two more than the monsters do.

"Hi, kind creatures!" she chirped happily, making all of us grin wider. We returned the greeting quickly, which just made her giggle.

"I brought some gifts for you!" she added, clearly excited. I couldn't help myself, so I ended up drawing a small smile upon my lips. I'm always happy with her. She's just too kind and innocent, like the cinnamon roll Papyrus. I really missed her when I went on my trip to the Underground.

We all gathered in a circle, and watch with awe the food she brought us.

"Finally something new!" Undyne exclaimed with joy, hugging the little girl.

She also brought action figures for Papyrus, some clothes for all of us, some beautiful earrings to Toriel, and a book for Sans. Oh, so that's why he was eager, huh? I just remembered that she gives Sans a book every week, which he normally ends in the night after her visit. Then he just keeps rereading it until Emily comes again. It's fun to see him stress over a single book, though. One day he almost broke down when he found out that it was an open ending. Or, how he calls them, a 'fuck-the-reader's-mind-and-soul' ending.

"thanks, kid" he muttered, trying to hide his excitement and failing miserably. I smirked quietly, and he shrugged it off with a shy smile. I don't get this guy; but that's fine, I guess.

She decided to stay with us for the night, clearly feeling bored at her house. I understand, though. When you live in an orphanage you are never lonely, but if they suddenly adopt you with no other kids, it feels weird.

And so, we ended up planning the perfect game for a sleepover: pillow fighting. I was teaming up with Flowey (I forced him to play) and Emily. The other team was formed by Papyrus, Undyne, and Sans... who was just lazily resting on a pillow. And, naturally, Papyrus groaned when he noticed.

"BROTHER! GET UP, YOU LAZYBONES, AND HELP US BUILD A FORT! I DON'T PRETEND TO LOSE ONLY FOR YOUR LAZINESS!"

"sorry, bro. guess my laziness-"

"SANS"

"-rattled your bones"

"SAAAAAAAAAAAANS!!!!!!"

When I was about to protest, Asgore's cellphone started to ring.

And before he took it, I saw the ID caller...

And it was (Y/N)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Your POV*

I was listening to Mailey's plans for the future. Apparently, her boyfriend has an apartment in San Diego, and she wants to go with him. She says that her future is better in there and blah blah blah. I certainly don't think that's the reason she wants to go, but hey, I can't judge.

I slowly took a sip from my coffee, being the bitterest I could find. And, somehow, it was still sweet. Goddamnit.

If Mailey goes away, then... my life will be pretty much the same, actually. Yes, I will miss her, but we are not best friends and we didn't see each other frequently in the past. Still, I will have fewer people to casually tell my secrets and some of my problems. Now I have less than half of the friends I had in high school. Great.

But, well, she has changed. A lot. Yes, she still makes me laugh with her self-security, but it's not the same. She has lost that... simpleness she had. Now she posts on Instagram every day, she wants to be an influencer, and hell, she even put herself some pink strips on her blonde hair. Maybe I miss seeing that dorky part of her. She's just, well... different. I shouldn't be thinking like that, but it's true.

I was about to hide my face so Mailey couldn't take a picture of me when I received a call. Wow, no one can have a break these days, right?

The number wasn't part of my contacts, which was weird, but I decided to answer anyway. Not for being a good person, but as an excuse to calm Mailey the fuck down.

"Hello, this is (Y/N) (L/N). How can I help you?"

"Hello, (Y/N)... may I have a word with you?" a rough and familiar voice answered, which immediately put me nervous. Who is this guy?

"...I'm sorry sir, but could you specify who are you? We may have talked before, but I just can't remem-"

"Of course we have talked, miss (Y/N)" he interrupted, and I silently gulped "Actually, you wanted to discuss something with me, isn't that right?"

No way-

"I'm the president, miss (L/N). You have caught my interest with your detailed arguments, saying that monsters deserve a chance to grow in society. Or did I just called the wrong person?"

I stood there in shock for a few seconds, then made my way out of Starbucks to hear better. Keep your cool, (Y/N), and everything will be alright.

"You are totally right, Mr. President. I'm the one who sent those letters."

"Great. Now, let's discuss a few things, ok?"

"Of course sir".

I listened carefully, searching for any hints of hatred or irony in his voice. Instead, I just heard interest in the way he mentioned my arguments.

Eventually, we gave each other a quick-yet-formal goodbye, and I immediately called Asgore.

This is a serious business.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Asgore's POV*

My mind was thinking the worst when I saw (Y/N)'s ID on my phone. I saw that others were worried, too. Could this be the end? Are we going back to the Underground, after all those years of waiting?

I picked up reluctantly, watching the expectant reaction of my wi- Toriel, the expectant reaction of Toriel.

"Oh, hello (Y/N)!" I exclaimed, trying to keep my hopes high enough for everyone. "How has been your day?"

"It's been fine, thank you. How has been yours?" She bluntly answered, sounding like she was... distant.

Let's just hope it isn't what I'm thinking.

"It's been good, (Y/N). Anyways, how can I help you, young one?"

She didn't answer immediately. Actually, she remained still for a long time. The only thing I could hear was her breathing, and my positive smile was turning into a nervous one.

"Asgore, we have something we need to discuss"

And my smile dropped.

#sans x reader #more than i thought fanfiction #more than i thought #chapter 4 #sans #reader #x reader #undertale

[denouxments]

dylan minnette. cismale. he/him. — did you see { alex mercier }, i haven’t seen the { twenty-one } year old in a while! you know, they’re a { musician }, and have been living in jersey city for { twenty-one years }. some say they're { cynical & indecisive }, but i think they're { generous & talented }. regardless, i’m glad { alex } is here.

backstory

aaaaaand in the door to the right we have trash son #2, alex !! ( woo ! ahh ! ) you can find his dossier page HERE, his biography does not exist yet ( i’m gonna kick my own ass ), and there is a pinterest board for him HERE.

ok so boy is a middle child through and through LOL. his dad is a writer who also works as an english professor at new york university, meanwhile his mom works in human services helping people who have fallen off their track in life and stuff.

alex is essentially a male carbon copy of his mom in appearance but his personality is 100% his dad’s lmao

his siblings are a wanted connection !

also his household includes a deaf cat named shrimp that alex literally fished out of a gutter when he was 14. she’s his baby despite the fact that he’s mildly allergic to both cats AND shrimp ( i r o n i c ). here’s the instagram of the cat i’m saying she looks like

real mundane middle class life. there have been highs and lows like any other family, but there’s no tragedy here folks ! that comes later and has nothing to do with his family !

his dad was really into rock music and playing the drums when he was younger cuz wow the 80s and really wanted at least one of his kids to have good taste in music, so he kept the drum set and all the old records despite the fact that they were just collecting dust in the garage . . . until alex came along !

first was the drums, then it was the guitar, then it was being dual-enrolled in both the band and choir classes, and then, finally, it was starting his own band with 2 friends at only 11 years old

his dad got real lucky cuz alex clearly loved music, and he considers the 80s to be legendary. 

i'm gonna revisit his music in a moment cuz we gotta start getting into the tragedy that i mentioned ! so alex was like a really chill dude when high school started. he was a bit of a pretentious hipster bitch, but he was chill. he didn’t really say no to things ? like if something or someone just fell into his lap, he’d roll with it and didn’t really think too much about the consequences ? he was a big stoner and lost his virginity and probably way too young of an age because of it. he just didn’t really Care too much lol

he was essentially that quiet stoner that played his guitar in the courtyard and didn’t pay much attention to anything going on around him 

. . . unless he overheard you talking about something that was stupid or he didn’t agree with. then he’d butt in to be like “l o l that’s wrong !”

then he met molly ! if you’ve read chloe’s intro for bobbi you know molly ! we love molly ! molly was cute in that girl-next-door way and she was funny with good taste. it was hard for alex not to fall in love with her, really. they were friends first before they started dating, and it was through her that he met all of his current ride-or-die friends. he had never been good at making them, so she was a blessing for his social life. she was amazing. he loved her, his parents loved her, they were good. she was good and then she was gone. just like that. a car accident in which she wasn’t even the driver.

to say the loss devastated him would be an understatement. he shut down completely. he stopped hanging out with friends, stopped playing guitar in the courtyard; his presence in class was like that of a ghost. nobody ever knew what to say to alex before, and it was twice as true now. he just sort of Existed for the remainder of junior year, throwing himself into his studies instead of ever really taking the Time to Deal with it all.

it really hit him like a truck when summer hit and it was at this point that his parents forced him to start seeing a therapist.

his therapist recommended he use his band and music as an outlet, since that seemed to be his healthiest coping mechanism. ( see, i told you we’d get back to that ! ) taking this advice, he threw himself headfirst into it. like, he got really into his band. it’d been a bit of a hobby between friends before, and sometimes they worked small gigs, but now alex was also trying to produce them on a bigger scale. this helped him through his grief tremendously, especially because if felt like he was doing molly proud.

alex was 18 and had graduated when all this hard work paid off. after releasing a self-made ep entitled after molly, the band started gaining some serious traction. we’re talking getting featured on spotify’s indie hits lists and their fanbase skyrocketing in size from the couple hundred monthly listeners it had been. suddenly they were getting booked sold out indie gigs left and right all across the manhatten area. it was nuts and it is still nuts. they even have a well demanded

they’ve put out a 2nd ep since the initial takeoff and are now working on a full blown album ! exciting !

so, yeah, that’s definitely an exciting exchange for being utterly heartbroken i suppose. its been years since molly passed now, so he’s okay now for the most part. he still gets sad sometimes, and he still has all the pictures they took together and all the cheesy playlists they made for each other saved. she’s always gonna be the first girl he was ever in love with,, and i don’t think he’s yet to have a serious relationship since her, but don’t worry about him just being a clay jensen 2.0. my boy is faaaar from that and he’s had his grace period, y’know ? he good.

personality

fuuuucking hiiiiipster buuuuullshiiiit ! coffee and vinyl aesthetic all day bby. will call out your shit taste in music

loves to debate and argue semantics. will always play devils advocate even if he agrees with you 100%. also will go on for hours about the political climate and existence if you accidentally get him there

a bit antisocial. he doesn’t really know how to, like, approach people ? and then when people approach him he has a tendency to rub people the wrong way with his lackluster people skills

tries to go to parties and bars and stuff sometimes because that’s Normal, right ?

a ride or die pal when you do manage to befriend him though ! would drop e v e r y t h i n g for his friends and loves to spoil them relentlessly. the type to randomly show up at your house in his 3,000 year old mustang and take you to lunch or just go driving. 

big ole hufflepuff

he’s not really that super free spirit that he was before molly passed. now he actually cares a more about his actions to the point of being lowkey paranoid, honestly. like he’s always wanted tattoos but he constantly second guesses what he wants to get cuz he doesn’t wanna be the guy that got a shitty tattoo, y’know ? so he hasn’t done it at all

cynical boyyyyy. he’s one of those guys that’s like “i’m a realist, not a pessimist”. definitely doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in others outside of his friends and family. will always assume the worst out of people and question their motives

thinks of himself as really boring. not in a self deprecating way, but a factual way

hobbies include music, video games ( he does streams of him being shit at pubg on twitch sometimes ! ), watching movies ( horror specifically is a favorite ), sitting on his roof at 3am to look at the sky, going on walks when there’s nothing else to do, and aggressively frowning when his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere

seriously he really enjoys horror. halloween is his favorite holiday even though he isn’t really big on candy or dressing up. he just thinks the spooky aesthetic is real fun and its cool to see what everyone else is doing

he’s a skeptic on all things supernatural so all you boogaras better snatch him up !!

i drew this expression doodle page that honestmeme sums up his personality pretty well ( it is messy so plz be kind . . . )

connections

his bandmates is a given. i just need 2 others , , , any gender any fc. i have a wc for it.

either of his 2 siblings . . . another wc

any music friends tbh

rival musicians ? yes

people he just doesn’t get along with in general. he’s a pretentious snot so its pretty easy

unlikely friends ( probably someone super idealistic and bubbly )

childhood friends

he hasn’t had a serious relationship since molly so maybe someone he’s kinda into and that’s kinda into him but they taking it REAL slow

on the off hand some exes from him trying to see if he was ready to date again and just wasn’t

someone he debates with a lot. friends or not, they’re just really fun to banter back and forth with

horror night movie buddies !!

gets blazed w/ him on the roof in the middle of the night rambling about if ants have a conscious

he’s got his own place but a roommate or 2 would be nice !

anything anything anything. he’s constantly finding himself in bizarre situations that he just rolls with so long as it doesn’t leave a bad butterfly effect. hmuuuuuu and we can brainstorm

#jrsy.intro #❝ alex :: musing °✧ #the only thing the open house was good for was dylan minnette in glasses #just saying #also this is so late i'm so sorry #some admin i am !!

[ruby-stones-blog1]

A/N: I am very sorry for that mess of a fic. I wasn’t even sure if I would post this or even finish it. So here I am, with a shitty fic, a lot of typos and no energy. Mentions of @ariciaeast @cameronnicholls @domschreave @ladykatdempsey @princesscallieschreave . And sorry to all the people I have annoyed with the process of my fic. Enjoy.

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful of them all

My widend pupils absorb the shallow light hitting the shiny mirror infront of me. The last bits of sunshine are hitting my exposed neck, spreading warmth through my cold body. Pleasurable I close my tired eyes and softly massage my eyelids with my gentle ringfingers. The maids shuffeling around, cleaning my complexion and my gorgeous surroundings are turning into a comfortable background noise. You know what you’ve got to do Ruby. I mentally prepar myself for the upcoming evening, vividly picturing the stack of endless energy and sugar drinks hidden in the back of my drawer. “Do you have any plans for the ball tomorrow, Lady Ruby?”, Aurelia, the very outspoken maid, asks me while sofly brushing trough my curly hair. “No, not really. I don’t know for how long I’ll even stay at the ball, but I know for sure that I’ll stay away from our lovely prince”, I announce with a heavy voice, playing with the hem of my light pink night gown. “You are still upset about the Interview, I see (…)”, Aurelia adds. Even though I can’t see her face in the mirror, I am certain that her eyebrows are narrowed as always when she is speaking in a thoughtful tone like this, creating a slight crease. “Lady Ruby, I am pretty sure that he doesn’t think any less of you than the other girls”, Luna comments while gracefully preparing my bed, tucking a brown strand of hair behind her ear. “Mhh (…) I am not quiet sure about that”, I mumble slightly before getting up from my seat. “But I don’t want to think about that now, I need my beauty sleep. Thank you ladies for your astonishing work”, I thank my maids with a genuine smile, seeing a little twinkle in Radia’s quiet eyes. “Are you sure you don’t need us anymore?”, Radia speaks up, gazing around my room looking for any flaw in our surroundings. “I am very sure my dear. Now hush, hush, you need to sleep as well!”, I laugh quietly settling down onto my bright duvet. “Good night Lady Ruby”, the girl announce in a lovely choir and with a last worried smile they leave the room, finally giving me some time to breath. Don’t get me wrong, the girls are lovely and definitely are much nicer and way kinder than I expected them to be, but constant company is still a concept foreign to me.

I crawl across my bed, slowly opening the bedside drawer and free my liquid courage from it’s dark prison. Carefully I tuck the colourful cans into a small backpack of mine, before grabbing a light pink coat from the game next to my wardrobe, matching my night gown. Doubts still spinning trough my busy head, I open the door to the hallway and silently close it behind me. Trying to eliminate as many noises as possible, I tip toe trough the hallway, letting my finger graze the rare wallpaper passionately awaiting the bumps gracing my soft finger tips. Still debating whether I should turn around or not, a dark brown heavy door with a golden sign reading the name ‘Lady Katharine’ comes up in my vision. With one step forward and one to my right I reach the door and let my shaking fist collide with it. A few seconds later I can make out a muted groan and something along the lines: “Who is it? I hope you realise it’s the middle of the night…” Ignoring the comment of her, I pock my head trough the door and greet her with a nervous smile: “Euhmmm… Hi Kat!”

She grunts and rubs her eyes, still lying in her warm bed: “What do you want?” You can still run away Ruby, you don’t have to do this. Kat will probably just assume she had a fever dream of some sort, it’s not to late. “I euhhmm… wanted to ask a favour of you”, I address my sudden appearance to her, still fighting the urge to run away. she slowly gets out of her bed, making her way towards my nervous figure: “What’s so important that can’t wait for tomorrow?” It takes a lot of strength to completely open the heavy doot, resisting the good sense which took control over my entire body. “A tattoo?” I blurt out in a high pitched voice, crossing my still shaking legs, hearing my bones kneecaps collide. “I heard you are up for everything.. So I figured why not ask you?”, I add trying to sound convincing.

Suspiosly raising an eyebrow, she states: “Well…”, stops herself with a quiet sigh and goes through her shiny hair, “Fine, what do you have planned little Stone?” No backing out anymore. “You know Dom said I wasn’t having enough fun and I realised I got the chance of a life time and can finally do whatever I want, so why not get a tattoo? I thought about getting a wolf with a quote or something like this”, I widely grin with trembling lips, playing with my raw hands, trying to calm myself down a bit. She won’t bite you, Rubes. She simply frowns at my statement, disfiguring the brunettes otherwise regal complexion, making me wonder where I went wrong. “You don’t need to change because he says so… Is this what you really want? It’s not my problem but, you know”, she states clearly worried. I always thought Kat was an ice-cold queen, never deeply involved with anyone. Nodding my pulsing head I state with fake confidence leaking out of my throat: “I do. He just helped realise that I have got chance to change for better now. That’s what I wanna do. And come on tattoos are badass.” My failed attempted at finger guns didn’t make me seem so badass anymore (…). With a small scoffs she finally gives in: “Fine by me. Give me a sec.”

She blindly grabs some random clothes from a hanger next to her mirror and makes her way to the ginormous bathroom. Innocently I let my gaze wander across the room, viewing the few truffles she brought from home and study the two paintings littering the floor to dry. The light blue walls and decorations remind me of the sweet cold ocean, just the fainted memory of the salty air gracing my body sends a slight shiver down my spine. “Okay, let’s get you in trouble”, Kat suddenly announces with a joyful grin lingering on her face, making me jump a bit. Just as the heavy door is opened by Kat, realization enters my body and excitement numbs my brain. I will actually get a tattoo tonight, accompanied with the biggest trouble maker I know. We could become trouble budys!

Norepinephrine and endophrins are floating my bloodstream, making my body jump nearly as high as I hit launching pad. “Follow me. But if you don’t keep your mouth shut, we’ll both be dead, so don’t try to chitchat with me, got it?”, she states in all seriousness, making me nod in a polite manner. After we managed to leave Castle which has more similarities to a labyrinth than any other architecture, we slowly dive into the electrifying night life of Angeles, with a can of a sugary substance near my lips.

“Can I talk again?”, I plea with wide eyes and a pouty lip. Kat simply sighs and adds a “If you have to so badly.” “Sooo how do you know where the nearest not so crappy tattoo shop is?”, I ask out of curiosity, strolling beside to her, enjoying the exhilarating view. “I don’t. As soon as we reach the part of town where the nightlife is, I’ll ask someone”, she shrugs her shoulders while explaining, “Just need to ask the right kind of people.” “Ohh .. okay. As long as we don’t end up in the gutter, I am fine”, I state while admiring the nature around me, listening to the birds chirping lullabys to their children.

“So do you have tattoos?”, I randomly ask a question which appeared out of nowhere. “Three”, she answers while nodding her head, facing the buildings at the sidewalk to our left and closely watching the people around us. “Wow. That’s impressive. When did you get them?” Isolated faces appear in my vision, every single one with it’s own unique features and stories. “They’re not that big, so I had two small ones on my feet done at the same time like a year ago? And the last one seven months ago or something.”

“Did it hurt a lot?”, I ask a bit nervous, realising I haven’t thought about that before. While awaiting her answer, I nibble the tops of my nails, running my perfectly done manicure. The brunette next to me simply raises an eyebrow, still watching the crowd and answering in a cool tone: “Not that much, depends on the place…Are you still sure about this?”, she takes a short pause, deeply inhales and slowly faces me, “This is all fun and game but if you start crying, I swear-”

“I promise I won’t cry”, I state before remembering the unpleasant incident after the interview, “I’ve heard that upper back tattoos aren’t as painful as other ones.” Viewing the sidewalk infront of her, she states: “Hmm, well you do ballet, don’t you? Nothing can hurt more than walking on those awful ballet shoes.” She wrinkles her nose, probably shivering at the thought of dancing on pointé herself which makes me laugh a bit. “Yeah that’s true. My feets are really thankful for the break the selection is giving them”, jokingly state trying to forget about the possible pain which will await me. But maybe Kat it’s right and it won’t hurt more then falling a few feet down from the bars. “Lucky you”, she states before spoting someone who intruges her in someway, “Now, wait here, don’t move. Don’t do anything more stupid than this whole idea either.” she turns around and stalks towards a random man with a lot of tattoos and trained muscles shaping his figure.

As soon as she opens her mouth her body starts to relax and shifts in a more comfortable position. A distant smile is appearing on her face and her entire being morphes into someone, something else before returning to me and the real world. “You coming little Stone? I think Selected get a discount”, she shouts across the dark street, a little smirk gracing her smug face. Excitement is drowning my body with stimulations, jumping in the air and tasting the sweet air around me. A ring bells as we enter the shop, loud music is pulsing through my veins, and bright lights are illuminate the room. Kat strolls over the counter, leaning her body against it and whispers with the good looking man infront of her. “Last chance to back up”, she simply states, silently pleading my conscious mind to leave this place. My head is shaking, negating her silent plea: “I want that, don’t worry Kitty. I am all grown up.” Her face hardens again, annoyance leaking out of her harsh words: “No you’re not. And don’t call me that, we’re not friends”, she simply nods to the guy at the counter and continues her instructions, hands in her hips and a straight face for everyone else to see, “Now go tell that guy what you want to get inked in your skin forever, and get it over with.”

The first thing I notice is the unbearable pain in my back, spreading from my upper back to my head and spine. A moan rips through the mid day air, as fire is burning my skin. My eyes fly open in a hurry, fingers are caressing the burning flesh on my back. I sit up straight, trying to eliminate the pain which is caused by rubbing my back against the silky beedsheets. The events of the past night still lingering in my head, I rub my eyes and pay the bathroom a short visit, wondering where my maids are. “Radia?”, I shout trough the bathroom door. No answer. Still a bit sleepdrunk and drowsy I toddle trough the bright hallway searching for my lost maids, the midday sun shining through the large windows, illuminating the floor.

“Hey Rubes, look, theres a ball”, a familiar voice makes their way towards me. In the distance I can make out a stunningly beautiful redhead, embellished with glamours clothing and makeup. “Wait what?”, I wonder a bit dumbfounds, still walking down the glimmering hallway in my now dirty night gown. “The next challenge, weirdo”, she states, loudly laughing as a few strands of her fall down from her lovely updo. “Wait so there will be an actual ball? With ballgowns and music and a prince and stuff like that?” “Yep, exactly like that” “Oh shit”, I swear, nearly running to my room, “so when does it start?” She flinches with her fingers, her eyes searching for a clock in the distance. “Two-ish hours? Maybe three? You better get ready quick, its taken my maids an hour just for hair”, she laughs out loud while touching a curly strand of hair, framing her face. “Holy crap. Thanks fin!”, I declare while blowing her a sweet kiss and dart away towards my door like a scared deer.

As I turn the knob I can hear my maids worriedly chatting about my disappearance. “Ohh Lady Ruby, we thought you would never wake up!”, Aurelia states pulling me into a warm hug, slowly hissing at her touch. “Just like Sleeping Beauty”, I hear Luna giggle from the other side of the room. “But now hush-hush, we need to get you ready for the ball my dear”, Aurelia exclaims, pushing me onto a seat while already working on detangling my hair. “Ohh Radia would you be so kind to bring me some painkillers? My head is being awful today”, I remember to ask after seeing the glass of water next to breakfast on the wooden table, testing my lying skills. The pain in my back gets more bearable as plenty of hair is teased, makeup hides my flawed figure and time passes. My father’s finest jewelry is added to my glowing complexion and a mixture of sugary drinks and heavy painkillers makes me radiant as the sun from the inside.

A strange liquor with a heavy taste makes it’s way down my throat, burning of the mucilaginous skin, numbing every part of it. A bitter taste clings to the back of my throat, making me wonder why I consume this liquid in the first place. My gaze wandere around the room, gracing the dancing beauties, looking for familiar faces. Just minutes ago I was among the crowd, full of life, dancing along the guests and guards. I was ripped out of my blooming state of mind as I saw a familiar face, getting involved in a strange conversation, laughing about the fear of horses and nature fetishes. In the distance I can still make out her regal complexion, gleaming full of grace, her whole being radiating royalty, but in a different way than her brother. I take another sip of the burning red liquid and turn my back to the celebrating crowd, drunk on happiness and full of energy, searching for a cold lonely place. With soft steps I walk onto an abandoned balcony, soothing cold wind hitting my bare skin and soft candle light is illuminating the dark night. Soft waves complete the otherwise resting skyline, occupying my restless mind and soul.

A soft “hello?” disrupts my never ending train of thoughts. With a silent “Huuhh?” I turn around, towards the source of the sudden sound. “Ohh, hello Lady Aricia”, I greet the incomer, studying her calm presence. “Hello Lady Ruby! What are you doing out here?”, she strolls over, a simple smile playing around her soft lips, settling down beside me and letting the wind pass through her silky blonde hair. “Ohh I just needed a break, giving my body some time to sober up a bit, but I don’t know if that will work”, I half truthfully state while holding up my alcoholic beverage. “Ahh, i see”, she laughs a bit while continuing her statement, “the first step of sobering up is probably to get rid of the alcohol.” Well she is not completely wrong. “Yep, that’s why I need to finish this”, I affirm before emptying the glass full of treacherous alcohol, whose name I can’t even pronounce, placing it gently on the railing. “So why did you leave that electrifying party my dear?”, I ask of curiosity, genuinely trying to engage into a conversation

. She simply shrugs with her shiny shoulders before voicing her reason: “Well, my feet started hurting from all the dancing, and i was having some conflicting emotions about stuff, but mostly, I just wanted to stop listening to that god awful music.” A melodic laugh disrupts the silent nightsky and is being carried away by the gentle wind into the endless darkness, before my soft voice can join her melody. “It’s not that bad.” “Well when youve been dancing and listening to it all night it gets a bit repetitive”, she declares while studying my expression incredelously, wondering what went wrong in my pretty little head. “Touché. So any interesting thoughts about our dear prince so far?”, I ask, still testing my social skills. “He’s alright, he’s nice and has a good taste in music, except he doesnt like classical. But i can probably convince him that classical is wonderful by the end of the selection. how about you, my dear”, she dissolute recounts her first impression of the prince, while simply winking at me, without me fully grasping her reason behind it. “He seems very nice indeed, but I am not so confident about my time here as you are”, I admit, trying to finally get out of my shell. “Aww, why?”, Aricia simply wonders, a frown gracing her delicate skin. “Apparently I am very boring. I talked to Alina earlier and she mentioned that I shouldn’t really worry about that, but I don’t think he seems very interested, in me at least”, realising I said too much, I desperately look at my glass, trying to find the answer to all my problems in it’s reflecting form, “Gosh I wished I had more of that sweet liquor.”

“I don’t even know I am talking to you about this”, I slightly shake my head while depicting my thoughts. “Hey hey hey”, she softly acknowledges my trouble, placing a hand on my bare shoulder, “If you need someone to talk to, i’m here. You should never hold your feelings inside because they will only destroy you.” Her blue eyes are full of compassion as I give her a sad but genuine smile. “Thanks, that’s very kind of you. I am just so used to barely talking to anyone ever and never even talking about my feelings and thoughts, that it feels so wrong speaking up about anything now”, I open up trying not to worry about possible consequences I might face. I don’t know if the alcohol is loosening my tongue or if her calming aura stirs up something familiar and trusting deep down inside and let’s me trust her more. “Yeah, it’ll take some time, but it’ll all work out at the end. So, how was your life back home? Where are you from?”, she tries to ease the conversation, changing the topic as she senses my discomfort and works around it.

“I am from a very small town in Dakota, with a tiny gymnastic club and ballet school which practically represents the entire social contact I received until now. What else is there to say? (…) Well my parents are wealthy jewelers, I was born a 4, trained to become a 2 and am an only child.” “Oh, that sounds cool! did you like your life in Dakota?” Haah, as if. “It mostly sucked, if it didn’t I wouldn’t have been so desperate to get away. Most people I know aren’t very nice, including my parents.” Alcohol is now pumping trough my veins, spitting out words I’ve never dared to voice before. I barely her hear answer, the blood so loud, pulsing near my heart. “So apparently both of us have awful parents, great”, I laugh a bit bitter at this irony,why do I only connect with people who are wearing a similar pain to mine, “You know I came hear to live life at it’s fullest but now that i tasted it, fear is consuming me. I always worry that I don’t have enough time left to experience everything I want to. And there is always my mother’s treat in the back of my head”, I thoughtfully proclaim which devolves into an ongoing conversation about our life after the selection with a promise of friendship and companionship, living together and leaving our toxic families behind. But how long will she stay? Will she leave when she gets to know my darker side, the ugly truth and the hurtful words I can so casually voice. Her gaze wanders across the moon, counting the stars and listening to soft music of the waves.

“So have you got any exciting plans for the time you are still here?”, I ask watching the nightsky as well, wondering if God is watching right now. “Well, not really, I just want to enjoy all the experiences, and hope that everything works out well”, she sighs before adding a quiet “You?”. “I’ll just enjoy making my own choices and trying not to think about how stupid they are.” Remembering the events of last night, I try not to giggle, realising it was an obviously stupid decision. “Yeah, you should let loose and have fun!!”

“I am trying very hard, okay?”, a genuine laugh originates from my slim belly, making me feel all warm inside, “My next goal actually is to finally taste some chocolate cake.” Her smile still hasn’t left her face and makes her glow in the soft candle light, filling the night sky full of genuine happiness: “Ah, we should go to the kitchen one day together and try the cake!” “We definitely should. I need someone to protect me so I won’t die of a sugar overdose”, another giggle escapes my blood red lips and makes me seem drunk on happiness. Aricia’s melodic laugher combines with mine a second time before she breathy voices her approbation: “Same Ruby same!”

“We’ll probably die together. Just like Romeo and Juliet.” What a tragic ending, I can already see the headlines - ‘Selected die of sugar overdose - Is chocolate cake really that dangerous?’ “Wow, Ruby, very pessimistic”, a small sigh escapes lips as her endless laugher are dying down, “is there anything that you really want to do with your life?” “To fall in love?” I sigh as well, realising to late how our body language is adapting to each other, “I would also love to finally make friends. I don’t know I am good at that and if I’ll be able to put my trust into people but I really want to try that. And you Aricia?”

“Thats wonderful, but when the right person comes across, you’ll know to trust them. I also want to fall in love with someone who loves me back, and didn’t just settle for me because they couldnt get someone else, you know? My dad chose himself over me, my mom chose my dads best friend instead of me and my dad, so i want someone to choose me first instead of something or someone else.”

“That’s very understandable Lady Aricia. I am very certain that there is a person out there so will choose you, no matter what. And I really hope you will find this person very soon”, I smile lightly, hoping for the best. Her genuine smile making it worth it, letting her into my heart so soon. “Thanks Ruby. You too!”

“Shall we go back? It’s getting a bit chilly out here.”

The warmth of the room hits my chilly back, loud music still floating the room, as I make my way to the generous buffet, filling up my empty stomach again with promising liquor. The world starts spinning again, and dizziness is clouding my head as I gulp down one pain killer after another, trying to cool that burning flesh of mine. Be bold, Sera’s forceful voice halls through my chaotic head, as I spin trough the dance floor from guard to guard presenting each one the same simple smile, nothing more. I behold his handsome face on the side, as he tries to vanish in the distance from his own celebration. With alcohol injected confidence I stumble towards him, trying to regain my composure. Nervously awaiting to see his beautiful face again, being surrounded by his heavy scent.

“Are you having a good evening your hotness?”, I ask delightful, trying not to giggle over my own choice of words. He simply turns around and raises an eyebrow, scanning my messy figure. “Are you feeling okay, Ruby?”

“I am felling better than ever”, I state before taking another sip from that sinful liquid. His eyes darken at my comment, making his face look much more harder and edged. “Not another”, he comments with a groan. “Stop complaining and just dance with me”, I desperately try to lighten the mood, not reacting to his comment. I simply drag him across the dancefloor, waiting for him to get into position while closely watching the loud and messy crowd. The heavy classical music is calming me down, relaxing my stiff muscles and enlightens my mood. He carefully takes my hand, leading the way as I adapt to his way of movement, flowing with the music. My feet are dancing on their own, walking on clouds as I float trough the night sky. Everything is forgotten, just the music, (…) and him. “So where did you learn how to dance that well mister?”, I ask with a light chuckle.“I’ve had teachers coaching me since I was little. To prepare me for balls and stuff like this.”

“So you got a long history of dancing, nice”, I twirl around letting my dress flow in the air, flattering my slim body even more, “Assuming you only learned formal dances, would you try out any other type or are you not really fond of dancing at all?” His attention drifts away, watching the people behind me: “Not really fond of it. I just do it when I have to. Like now.” I puff a bit, releasing sickly sweet air, as I roll my eyes at his lack of enthusiasm: “You could at least pretend to enjoy it, for your own sake.”

“I’m just worried you’re about to pass out at any second, or throw up on my shoes. I know what too many of these drinks can do to a person”, his eyes now focus on me and my sickly drunk figure. “Don’t worry, if I have to puke I will try not to ruin your expensive shoes, my Highness”, I try to lighten the mood with a soft giggle of mine which passes my slightly open lips. “Still, I think you’d better rest before you say something you’ll regret later”, he states, worry is gracing his features, still searching for something which isn’t me. “Ohh no, but I wanted to tell you secret of mine.” Ruby, you are drunk. Stop it. “Ooh, definitely not. Lets wait for that for when you’re sober”, his hand rests with a gentle touch on my waist as he leads me to an empty chair near the golden gate to the gardens. The wings are slightly open and fresh wind is slowly replacing the warm and stuffy air inside, carrying the sweetly calming scents of the colourful blooming flowers from the garden. “Buuttt -”, I start to argue with my last bit of liquid confidence, slumping down onto the selected chair, “I need someone to share the fun with Kat and I had last night. Gosh the people in Angeles are so nice.” His eyes dart away, focusing on someone else.

“Ok. Here’s some water. Don’t die. I have to go now, okay?” His soft voice consumes my mind, combining with the alcohol still flowing through my blood, making me feel numb inside. “Don’t leave me! I even wanted to show you the tattoo I’ve got last night -”, I start, not even bothering to end the sentence, letting it die in the cold night sky. “Oh, please tell me you’re joking. Whatever. I don’t have time for this right now.” He just walks away, his body finally relaxing. His soft voice in contrast to his actions. The water in my cup is shaking, slowly creating small waves, trapped in a never ending movement. “My tattoo is way too cool for him anyway…”

#ball #rubystones #kill me #4.8k #first challenge

[pllsetskyonice]

Europe’s Biggest Party

Yuuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov

2,351 words

AO3 link

Victor loves Eurovision and no one can convince me otherwise. Dedicated to @clairles who I’ve spent most of the past week screaming about Eurovision with.

(I rewatched practically all of the final for this, send help)

13 May, 21:45

Victor renamed the chat Europe’s Biggest Party

Victor added Yuuri Katsuki, Yuri Plisestsky, Emil Nekola, Christophe Giacometti, Michele Crispino and Sara Crispino

Victor: IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

Yuuri: ...what is it?

Victor: IT’S EUROVISION

Yuuri: oh

Yuuri: that’s the singing competition right?

Victor: Yes! I know we’re not all partying together but we can still scream over messages

Christophe: Russia aren't even competing this year though?

Victor: Yes I am aware, we're still going to watch it though because it's Eurovision and we must

Victor: And stfu Chris, Switzerland didn’t get past the semis with your entrant who looked like she’d stolen the dress from Beauty and the Beast

Emil: Czech Republic didn’t get to the finals either *sobs*

Michele: Italy did!

Victor: Italy pays to be there.

Yuuri: I’m confused?

Victor: Italy is part of the “Big 5”, which is the five counties (Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the UK) that make the biggest financial contributions to the European Broadcasting Union. They, along with the host nation, automatically get into the final

Yuuri: Oh I see!

Yuri added Otabek Altin

Victor: what’s he doing here Kazakhstan wasn’t invited

Yuri: Japan wasn’t either yet Katsudon is here

Yuri: Anyway he’s here watching it with me so I thought I might as well add him

Christophe: Oh? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yuri: gtfo chris

//for Israel, add 01//

Victor: HERE WE GO HERE WE GO HERE WE GO

Yuri: jfc anyone would think you’re excited or some shit

Victor: me? Excited for Eurovision? What do you think this is?

Victor: OOOH ISRAEL IS UP FIRST NICE

Christophe: I voted for them in the semi finals I think?

Victor: a good choice

Otabek: I like the stage with how they’re making it look like a galaxy

Christophe: drinking game for tonight: take a shot every time you see a piece of white clothing on stage

Emil: don’t

Emil: if you saw the semis you’ll know that it looks like a bridal boutique at Eurovision this year and that will end with alcohol poisoning lmao

Christophe: YUURI YOU’RE IN RIGHT?

Yuuri: …no? I want to enjoy my first experience of Eurovision sober

Christophe: spoil sport

Christophe: being drunk just makes it more fun, just saying

Otabek: this song is very repetitive

Yuri: yeah well, welcome to Eurovision

//for Poland, add 02//

Emil: A wild violin appears

Victor: Did someone leave the door open? It looks there’s a draft on stage with her hair blowing like that

Christophe: *pours a shot*

Yuri: what’s going on with her dress I’m so confused

Victor: me too

//for Belarus, add 03//

Christophe: oh wow I’m don’t even know how many shots I’ve got to do for this one

Yuri: Many.

Yuuri: what language are they singing in?

Victor: Belarusian I think

Yuuri: well whatever it is the song sounds fun

Yuuri: I like it

Emil: not sure why they’re on a boat but I sure as hell want to dance on one now

Yuri: SAME

Yuri: WHERE DO I GET A BOAT

Christophe: aaaand they’re kissing

Christophe: what’s the betting the Yuuri and Victor are doing the same?

Otabek: High.

Victor: stfu all of you

Christophe: AHA! HE DIDN’T DENY IT!

Victor: chris I s2g

//for Austria, add 04//

Yuri: wow the dreamworks boy has grown up

Emil: think you need a few more shots chris

Christophe: I regret agreeing to this

Christophe: I feel like it was a mistake

Victor: you’re the one that started it in the first place!

Christophe: that’s a ~minor detail~ stfu

//for Armenia, add 05//

Yuuri: Is it just me or does Armenia remind you of welcome to the madness?

Yuri: Bitch stole my lighting cues I want them back

Victor: what on earth is she wearing

Victor: chain mail? Is this the 1500s?

Yuri: her jewellery is great though

Christophe: I’m having mixed feelings about the dancing tbh

Emil: same

Otabek: idk I think they work

//for The Netherlands, add 06//

Christophe: coming soon to some movie credits near you

Victor: their outfits are so sparkly

Victor: I LOVE THEM

Michele: song is shit though

Yuri: ^^

Sara: I like it!

Michele: I take it back it’s not that bad

//for Moldova, add 07//

Victor: EPIC SAX EPIC GUY EPIC SAX GUY EPIC SAX GUY

Emil: a hero has returned

Yuuri: ??

Victor: they first competed in 2010 and the saxophonist became a meme after

Victor: he’s a legend

Yuri: wtf is this dancing

Christophe: Bridal Wear 2017 by Moldova

Christophe: I suppose I’d better pour some more shots

Yuri: you’re damn right

//for Hungary, add 08//

Victor: WHERE DO I GET HIS JACKET I WANT IT SO BADLY

Christophe: I’m feeling personally attacked by all this white clothing tbh

Emil: ah

Emil: another wild violin player

Otabek: I’m actually really liking this song

Yuri: it’s certainly not the worst we’ve seen so far

//for Italy, add 09//

Yuri: @michele @sara pls explain wtf is going on with your country’s entry

Sara: I wish I knew

Otabek: someone should tell them that harambe is so last year

Michele: NEVER WE ARE STILL IN DENIAL

Yuuri: this is very colourful

Christophe: at least that means I don’t have do so many shots lmao

//for Denmark, add 10//

Yuri: Isn’t the singer Australian?

Victor: Yes but she moved to Denmark recently

Yuri: like a suspiciously recently kind of recently?

Victor: quite possibly

Christophe: HER DRESS IS RED THANK GOD

Yuuri: I think her shoes might be white though?

Christophe: STFU NO THEY’RE NOT I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS

//for Portugal, add 11//

Victor: SALVADOR!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Yuri: aren’t they one of the favourites to win it?

Yuuri: you know when you described Eurovision to me this wasn’t quite what I was expecting

Victor: yes they are! And yeah I get that haha

Victor: it’s certainly something different to what we usually expect at Eurovision haha

Victor: I think I like it though

Yuri: I don’t

Yuri: MAKE IT STOP

Christophe: on the topic of making it stop

Christophe: oh look it’s the hosts

Otabek: lmao

//for Azerbaijan, add 12//

Yuri: okay what’s going on here

Yuri: I mean I like the song but WHAT’S WITH THE HORSE HEAD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN

Michele: following italy’s example by including an animal in their choreograph

Sara: or the head of one I guess

Christophe: this is making my head hurt I’m so confused

Victor: same

//for Croatia, add 13//

Emil: ANOTHER VIOLIN

Emil: THIS TIME WITH ITS BIG BROTHER THE CELLO

Christophe: you vs the guy she told you not to worry about

Yuuri: what is going on here

Otabek: I’m really in two minds whether this works or not

Victor: I think it does

Victor: ESPECIALLY WITH THE STRINGS I LOVE IT

//for Australia, add 14//

Yuuri: I like Australia’s song! The guy is only seventeen he’s so talented!

Victor: YUURI WE’RE GETTING DIVORCED

Christophe: phichit better not see this haha

//for Greece, add 15//

Christophe: Someone tell Greece their paddling pool looks a bit shit compared the fountain Jedward brought in 2012

Yuri: You Tried™

Victor: If you're going to bring water on stage at least make an effort

Victor: Real talk though why did Ireland stop sending Jedward to represent them? They were basically made for Eurovision

Christophe: they really were

Christophe: I miss them

Christophe: this song is quite catchy though, I like it

//for Spain, add 16//

Otabek: this sounds kind of like Bruno Mars

Otabek: or some knock off version of one direction

Yuri: MAKE IT STOP

Victor: they can definitely stop with those shirts

Victor: hideous garments

Yuri: oh god that voice break

Yuri: I cringed so bad

Otabek: same

//for Norway, add 17//

Christophe: I think daft punk might be missing one of its masks?

Christophe: ooh it lights up

Christophe: pretty

Yuri: I’ve had enough of this song already someone make it stop pls

Otabek: idk I think it kind of works?

Michele: CHRIS THAT SHIRT IS WHITE I HOPE YOU’RE DOING ANOTHER SHOT

Christophe: …I came out to have a good time…

Victor: crying

Victor: OMG MANS

Yuuri: who?

Victor: he won in 2015 for Sweden and then co-hosted it last year

Victor: he’s a hero and everyone loves him

//for the United Kingdom, add 18//

Christophte: ah, the UK

Christophe: the one country you don’t need to feel threatened by in Eurovision

Sara: idk I think this is song is actually pretty solid? I like it

Victor: it’s another ballad we don’t need another one of those

Victor: also I don’t like the dress

Otabek: the stage looks cool though

Sara: and she can definitely sing

Sara: I think they’ll do better than last year

//for Cyprus, add 19//

Yuri: I want his jacket

Yuuri: I love what they’re doing with the lights and the stage

Otabek: same

//for Romania, add 20//

Victor: Now here is a true Eurovision song

Christophe: exactly, where else would you here yodelling and rapping in the same song?

Yuri: Yodeleeii, yodeleioo

Emil: I WANT THIS TO WIN

Otabek: this is crazy and I love it #Romania2018

Otabek: (Yuri is singing along I just thought you all should know)

Yuri: WHY WOULD YOU BETRAY ME IN THIS WAY

Yuri: I TRUSTED YOU

//for Germany, add 21//

Otabek: yeah hi germany David Guetta called he wants his song back

Yuri: lmao it actually sounds so much like titanium

Otabek: swear it’s like exactly the same chords

Victor: it wouldn’t be Eurovision without a song that sounds dubiously like an actual pop song

Christophe: haha true

Victor: EUROVISION CHOIR OF THE YEAR? WELL I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING IN JULY NOW

//for Ukraine, add 22//

Yuri: OH YES IT’S THE ONE OBLIGATORY ROCK SONG OF THE NIGHT

Yuri: I LOVE IT

Otabek: we’re barely thirty seconds in

Yuri: I don’t care

Yuri: I LOVE IT OKAY

Yuuri: I’d ask why there’s a massive head on the stage but I’ve learnt now that there’s probably little to no reasoning behind it

Victor: I mean you’re not wrong haha

//for Belgium, add 23//

Christophe: I think it reminds me of something but I don’t know what

Otabek: the beginning sounds a bit bastille-like? Maybe? Idk

Sara: I love the flowers on her dress

Emil: Solid song, I’m loving it #Brussels2018

Victor: no, #Lisbon2018

Yuri: it’s quite obviously going to be Romania stfu

Yuri: “authentic tv host smile”? lol no that has got to be two of the creepiest smiles I’ve ever seen

Victor: lmao true

//for Sweden, add 24//

Christophe: *starts backstage bc it’s the only thing that’s going to make this song stand out*

Victor: I CHOKED

Yuuri: ...are those treadmills?

Victor: Yes, yuuri, they are.

//for Bulgaria, add 25//

Victor: he was born in THIS CENTURY

Victor: I feel so old

Yuuri: what’s with all the talented 17 year olds tonight

Sara: MY SMOL SON

Otabek: this better win

Otabek: one of the best songs of the night

Emil: you still doing shots chris? His shirt is white

Christophe: WHO DRESSED THIS KID I’M HAVING WORDS WITH THEM I THINK I’M DYING OVER HERE

//for France, add 26//

Victor: we’re on the last song what the hell where’s the last two hours gone

Yuuri: I don’t know but it’s been fun

Sara: omg her dress

Sara: I want

Christophe: France: puts the Eiffel tower in the background whilst singing in French in case you’re in any doubt about what country this song is from

Otabek: why couldn’t Bulgaria end the show their song was so much better than this

Yuri: true though

//lines are now open//

Victor: OMG OMG VERKA VERKA

Yuuri: another Eurovision hero?

Victor: how did you know

Yuuri: just a feeling

Victor: those of your who are able to, I hope you’re voting

Sara: of course!

Yuri: um.

Yuri: Ukraine what’s this interval act I’m so confused

Otabek: I like it

Otabek: It’s different

Christophe: OH MY GOD DID WE ALL SEE THE BUTT

Victor: YES

Victor: YES WE DID

//lines are now closed//

Emil: well, I’m sensing a trend here

Emil: “12 POINTS TO PORTUGAL” “12 POINTS TO PORTUGAL”

Victor: that’s not a bad thing! They’ve never won it

Otabek: Bulgaria is doing well too

Yuri: they’re still miles behind Portugal though

Victor: OMG A DOGGO

Yuuri: it’s not as cute as makkachin though

Victor: ♥‿♥ ♥‿♥

Victor: well of course Cyprus were going to give their 12 points to Greece that wasn’t a surprise

Yuri: oh my god this is so tense

Yuri: even though unless something shocking happens in the popular vote it looks like Portugal is going to win

Victor: the popular vote will be even tenser

Emil: well here we go

Christophe: Portugal has won the jury vote but idk Bulgaria might just pull it out the bag in the popular vote

Yuuri: this is worse than waiting for your score after skating

Christophe: lmao true

Victor: okay down to final four

Otabek: COME ON BULGARIA

Otabek: …no

Otabek: apparently not

Victor: YESSSS!!! SALVADOR!!!!

Christophe: I demand a recount

Emil: I mean, I’m not that salty about him winning? 53 years in the contest and this is the first time they’ve won it, there’s hope for us all

Victor: true

Victor: I like that he won HOWEVER what’s this speech did he just drag the rest of the competition I think he’s in the wrong place for a speech like that

Victor: this is Eurovision not the last night of the proms

Sara: he’s brought his sister onto the stage, I cry

Christophe: okay this is sweet

Victor: well, there we go, over for another year

Victor: did everyone enjoy it? Especially those of you who were watching it for the first time?

Otabek: I loved it

Yuuri: me too! We should throw a Eurovision party next year and invite everyone! Is that a thing?

Victor: YES

Victor: YES THAT’S A THING

Victor: I’M GOING TO START PLANNING NOW

Christophe: It’s going in my diary now I do hope you realise this

Victor: of course I do! SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR! #LISBON2018

#victuuri #yuri on ice #victor nikiforov #yuuri katsuki #fanfic #eurovision

[twistednuns]

March 2019

ॐ नमः शिवाय oṃ namaḥ śivāya ♥ / reading a book about the background and effects of different asanas

Friday evening with Lena: Yuzu ramen at Takumi, watching Green Book at the City Kino near Sendlinger Tor. Getting my favourite mix of sweet and salty popcorn.

Still: Obsessively reading the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. It's like one of those nasty TV series you just can't stop watching.

Noticing more visible veins and sinews on my body. Getting stronger and leaner! Yes! I can even see a little shadow where my ribcage is supposed to begin and my tissue is getting softer which means I'm losing fat and I can feel more muscles than before. Very rewarding.

Saturday lunch with Lena and her family. I hadn't seen her brother in maybe 10 years. My highlight: warm banana bread with slightly salty, thick caramel and homemade vanilla ice-cream.

Dressing up for the Of Sailors and Whales concert at Gasteig. I felt incredibly stylish in my outfit: mustard yellow headscarf, a side braid, oblong hoop earrings in rose gold, a green dress and coat, mint-blue purse, a dark plum-coloured lipstick, black tights and satin heels.

The PhysioFlow yoga teacher (Ulf, what a comical name) complimenting me on my perfect Viravadrasana pose because apparently I did the advanced version with my arms held up high over my head. Unfortunately my poses only look so good because of my hypermobility but the other day we started talking after class. He is such a nice and calm person. And married to a lady from my hometown. I love how he touches our faces, heads and shoulders in Savasana.

Thai massage. The best treat after messing up my neck with futile headstand experiments.

The perfect batch of smoky veggies in tomato sauce. Add a hand full of couscous and tiger beans and you'll feel full for hours.

A week-long holiday. Not leaving the bed after waking up, reading for one or two hours. Enjoying the morning light, having warm breakfast. Lena sending me a picture of a bunch of purple flowers she saw on one of her walks on Monday, telling me to enjoy my vacation.

Gorgeous yoga mats - I just ordered one with a gemstone design from Mala. // EDIT: It just didn't have enough grip for me so I had to send it back. Got a simple purple one from Jade Yoga instead. They're supposed to be the best.

Fried Tom Yum seaweed strips.

A dinner and movie date with Lena, Barbara and Maike. We watched Vice (2019), the movie about Dick Cheney. Quite uncomfortable. But I loved the scene with Alfred Molina.

Spending an afternoon with Franzi at Trachtenvogl. Pear juice spritzer. Decidedly non-vegan spinach dumplings. Stopping at &otherstories as usual, getting two beautiful bowls at Motel a Miio. Finding a purple edition of H.P.Lovecraft's ghost stories on top of a trash bin.

My mum visiting for the first time since I moved in. She helped me get rid of my old clothes and other miscellaneous items from the basement. Then we got a trunk full of flowers for my balcony and had dinner at VorOrt - vegan pizza and celeriac schnitzel. I got so many presents that day. A dark purple orchid with pointy blossoms, some books and a bottle of Jo Malone perfume. She also paid for some of my plants... It kinda felt like my birthday. Maybe she had a guilty conscience because my brother still keeps raiding the fridge at home? Anyway. It's funny that I can actually talk to her now that I'm older, have my own thing going on... and we have so much in common, I notice that all the time. Or interests and taste, habits. Could be worse though, she's an amazing woman.

Swiss cat ladders.

My first time at Boulderwelt! Frank finally took me with him and we spent two hours there, climbing up the yellow (me) and white (him) routes. I even dreamed about climbing up a tree that night and I could hardly move the next day. Hardcore sore muscles, oh boy.

Hanging out with Frank. Playing Scrabble. Acting really weird around someone who just gets it or isn't put off at the very least. Making gross jokes about guacamole-producing guys over burritos in Werksviertel.

Hanging out at bridal shops with Lena, making her put on gorgeous dresses.

The fresh spring green gradient you get on your cutting board when you're chopping up leek for a potato gratin.

Staring at a long-haired guy in a club for a pretty long while on a Friday evening because he was just that gorgeous. Then he suddenly showed up on the internet a few hours later an we have been talking ever since. Exciting! And yeah, I love good coindidences. I would have never mustered up the courage to talk to him that night.

The other day we saw a cat from our classroom window, casually walking down the stairs. And we had nothing better to do than running up there in middle of our English lesson to catch her. I guess I'm a quite easily distracted teacher.

Hand embroidery on linen. It's baby bonnets, okay. But still super pretty.

This idea I had while in downward facing dog pose during one of my yoga classes. I really want to go to a yoga retreat in the summer. Either in Bali or, even more exciting, an ashram in India. I'd also visit Nepal or Bhutan while I'm there.

Aidy Bryant. She's my gorgeous heroine. I loved watching the first season of Shrill.

Alpro cherry soy yoghurt.

New earrings from &otherstories and COS. And a new hair ribbon, too. Can't help it. Building my collections.

That whole Margo-banging-Josh-situation on The Magicians? I'm into that. And when she was tripping on lizard and saw Eliot in a python trenchcoat performing the Pretenders' "Don't Get Me Wrong"? The 80s choir they formed in the desert? So amusing. Seriously, this is one of the few shows which is absolutely not afraid of weird shit and doesn't take its writing too seriously. I don't entirely get it and it doesn't have anything to do with Lev Grossman's books anymore but I'm so grateful it exists. And I'm always down for a good musical episode (see: Once More with Feeling a.k.a. the single best Buffy episode ever made).

Finding the most incredible reed green silk dress at Hallhuber one afternoon after seeing a dermatologist in the city. Unfortunately even my ribcage is too wide for its narrow cut but perhaps I can convince Lena to buy it for the summer.

New idea: should I ever get a cat I want to name it Miso.

Seeing the first butterfly (European peacock) of the year enjoying the sunshine while sitting on my pink hyacinth.

After more than 20 years I accidentally found out that one of my favourite songs from the ZDF Christmas series Anna is in fact a Queen song! I'm also pretty sure that my taste in men, my "type", was significantly affected by João Ramos who played the role of the dancer Jacob. Swoon!

Using a sheep skin as a pillow. Oddly comforting. I was reading a book about the sense of touch when I noticed this connection. I also learned that most people prefer firm hugs and massages over soft strokes. Apparently gentle touching reminds some of insect's feet but it seems to be a matter of personal preference.

The crispy greasiness of butter croissants.

Finding out about banana twins (two fruits in one peel).

Enjoying a nice, sunny Sunday. Cycling over to Westpark and playing badminton with Frank in the middle of hundreds of families having picnics. Clumsy yoga poses on a towel. A little boy telling me that his penis was more important than my face when he hit me with a football. But to be fair, I made him choose. I even went to the gym afterwards, doing my strength routine and an hour-long spine workout. I was pretty exhausted that evening and made a delicious dinner with ratatouille, soy "meat", olives and capers, whole-wheat pasta and pine nuts.

Breaking news: my body contains over 66kg of muscle mass! Am I a superhero or what? (Well, also 36% body fat, gotta work on that...)

Giving the avocado seeds a new home. I've given them a large pot now so each time I eat an avocado a new member can join the gang.

Spending most of the week with my favourite colleague, espectially on Girls'/Boys' day duty: I liked meeting at the fire brigade in the morning, getting to know a firewoman, making one of my students climb up the pole at the station. Walking over Viktualienmarkt and Gärtnerplatz, getting some fresh juice, talking all the time. We visited an old folk's home, a garden center, a vet and an architect's studio. So much better than being stuck at school until 4pm.

Pancakes with mushroom filling. Strawberries with coconut cream. Delicious.

Finally performing a Nina Hagen Song on karaoke night. And Elle King's Ex's & Oh's which made Carlos, the Spanish guy, think of old ex-girlfriend trauma.

Uhm. I read 21 books this month. Wow? To be fair, I spent most of my weekends in bed with a stack of books next to me. I'm kinda hoping to read less in April - but since I'll be in Canada for two weeks this will probably not be an issue anyway.

My breakfasts keep me healthy, I really believe that. Extremely tasty and full of good nutrients. Latest addition: strawberries and pumpkin seeds.

Spending the whole afternoon with Anika in my kitchen, making vegan macarons. I almost couldn't believe it but chickpea liquid works just as well as eggwhites! And we came up with pretty good fillings: lemon buttercream, chocolate-raspberry and banana-peanut butter. Nom. Now they're sitting in my fridge, tempting me to eat them. Sigh.

Going to the gym after a week-long hiatus. Breaking the spell, you know?

#march #2019 #march 2019 #personal #present perfect #things i love

[miss28ff]

SHRINE ch 12

(AU) (MUSIC/ROMANCE/DRAMA) (Yatori) (Kazubisha) (Daifuku) (18+ due to language, mature subjects and a little smut)

Summary: With her earphones on and melodies filling her ears, the girl looked at the ceiling, thinking. She, Iki Hiyori, a regular schoolgirl, had jumped at the street to save the life of a promising rock star.

TRACK 12

 Jaded – Aerosmith

“Fujisaki-sensei! This is a surprise! What can I do for you?” asked Hiyori, trying to recover from the initial surprise and recover her composure.

“There you go again with the > thing!” he replied, giving an overdramatic sigh. “Tell me, when are you going to start warming up to me? I told you before, I’m only a couple years older than you!”

“But… you’re my teacher.” She said, hesitating. “Talking to you any other way would be inappropriate.”

“We will become closer, Hiyori-chan, I can assure you that”. Something in his voice made Hiyori specially upset to be called like that, but she could not explain why. “By the way, that friend of yours, Yamashita, she’s very kind, she gave me your phone number right away.”

“Oh, I see”. Hiyori made a mental note about talking to her the next day. “Did something happened? What can I help you with?”

“Nothing to be worried about, sweetheart”. The girl swallowed the impulse of hanging up on him right then. “I just wanted to inform you that you turned out chosen to be the main soloist of the choir”. “Picked by whom?”, she thought, concerned, but opted not to say anything for now. Upon the silence, Fujisaki insisted again. “The cat ate your tongue? Are you not happy?”

“I was just wondering if you could not wait until tomorrow to tell me about this, ¿is this really that urgent to ask my friends for my phone number?”. Hiyori realized too late the tone she had used was definitely not appropriate to talk to a teacher. The worst thing about it was that Fujisaki’s reaction wasn’t even strange to her. He just laughed hard.

“You’re absolutely right, Hiyori-chan, you’re a very clever girl!” and he added, with a different set of voice: “I actually wanted to say good night.”

“Oh… I… see?” she doubted. What was all this? “Good night?” she finally suggested. Fujisaki laughed intently again.

“Good night, honey! I hope this phone call gave you a nice thought to fall asleep to.”

He hung up. What was all that about? Trying to follow her way, Hiyori felt a shiver down her spine only for daring to think maybe a teacher – what an abominable idea, were flirting with her over the phone. Of course, Fujisaki was not exactly the least handsome man on earth, in fact Hiyori could see clearly the face Yama made when the music teacher approached to ask for her number and the reason why she had given it without any second thought, but something in him was just simply… too weird. There was something about his features…

Hiyori flinched when she passed by a street light. Just in the middle of the circle displayed by the lightbulb, there was a girl dressed on a kimono, standing still at that time of night, without signals of anybody around or that she was waiting for someone. She was just there, looking straight up front. Hiyori passed next to her, and flinched again when her intense black eyes fixated upon her. There was no expression, not even a glare. Hiyori hurried and tried to get out from her mind the ghostly figure of that pale girl, with black short hair, looking at her with eyes like that, black as hollow, expressionless.

She could never forget that face in her entire life.

“In what moment in life exactly you thought it was a good idea to give my cellphone number to Fujisaki-sensei, Yama-chan?” Hiyori asked to her friend the next day, without second thoughts.

Yama opened her sports bag from school and sticked her head right into it.

“I’m so sorry, Hiyori-chan! I wasn’t thinking in that moment!” even her voice was ridden with how embarrassed she was. Hiyori couldn’t help but feel a big affection for her friend, and smiled.

“It’s okay, Yama-chan, don’t overthink it. I just think is weird to receive calls from a teacher straight to my phone.”

“He called you?” asked Ami, quite interested, and Hiyori nodded.

“Yesterday.”

“Why such a hurry?” Ami asked again.

“Well…” Hiyori doubted. Clenching her fists over her skirt, she told them the teacher’s decision. “Apparently, they chose me as main soloist of the choir.”

“Wow, Hiyori-chan”, said Yama, sticking her head out from her bag. “Since when you’re so good in music?”

“Yeah, I mean since we know each other you’re barely more than a mess in everything else that doesn’t involve studying until your lashes burn”, laughed Ami.

Hiyori felt a bit disappointed, if she had to be completely honest.

“I’m just as surprised as you guys. I can’t stop asking myself who chose me for this.”

 Apparently, judging by the looks of the other choir members expecting to be picked up, no one except Fujisaki had chosen her for the position. Just to get a second opinion about someone that knew a bit about the subject, Hiyori invited Ami and Yama to stay and watch the choir’s practice after school.

The mood was pure tension.

It was way more uncomfortable when the choir mates realized the special treatment Hiyori received from the teacher. Every time she noticed a new innuendo the man directed at her, the same ugly feeling creeped up her back. Fujisaki stared at her deeply in the eye, with a half-smile in his face, while directing everyone. Both his hands in the air, he had complete control over them all, with an iron glove, but he didn’t take his eyes off her. It almost seemed as if he was directing her exclusively. All tension accumulated during that hour and a half of practice passed the toll over her when she came out of the classroom, relieved. Her friends received her, but the reaction was way too different to what she expected.

“I definitely want to know when did you became this skilled singing, Hiyori-chan”, asked a confused Yama.

“When did you find time to practice?” tried Ami.

“I sing on the bathtub, don’t be so dramatic.” The girl answered, a bit alarmed. “Actually I don’t think I’m even half good as I would need to be considered a good singer…”

A loud alarm interrupted her. Her smartphone had activated a reminder telling her she should run to the station if she wanted to make it on time with SHRINE. This schedules were becoming pretty hard.

Hiyori excused herself out and ran. She ignored the heavy stare she felt upon her back while crossing the main yard.

“Run as fast as you’d like, rabbit.” Muttered Fujisaki, from the music classroom window. “I already have you in my sight.”

He pointed his fingers at her, making the shape of a gun with them, and with a sinister smile, he turned around.

At SHRINE’s house, the normal volume of conversation was being exceeded. Hiyori entered trying to be discreet and to understand what was being said above the big voice of Daikoku. He was, apparently, scolding Yato. Hiyori knew why the moment she went through the livingroom’s door.

She had never seen Yato in such a shape. He didn’t just look drunk, he looked terribly tired. Hiyori wondered if that was the normal effect of having too much alcohol or if he really hadn’t slept all night.

“You were the last person he saw”, said a voice behind her. Startled, she turned around to find Yukine there, watching the scene. He then stared at her, concerned. “Did something happened to you guys?”

“Something?” Hiyori was completely lost. “Like what?”

Yukine sighed.

“Sometimes he… well this happens. I don’t know exactly what is the trigger, but he’s more paranoid than usual, he doesn’t sleep, and tries to get away himself by drinking. He says he drinks to try and find some peaceful sleep and he has spans of really bad insomnia.” Hiyori looked at Yato. “I think there’s something else behind this.”

“Last night I didn’t notice anything weird, at least not until we split. He did the rest of the way alone.”

“NOW PUT THAT SHIT DOWN!!” Shouted Yukine, seeing Yato trying to open a new can of beer.

“Noooo!” he cried when the boy took the remaining cans to the kitchen. “You don’t understand!!!” just as if he had a sixth sense, Yato looked at the door and grinned widely, standing on his feet tottering. “Hiyori’s-‘ere!” to her surprise, Yato threw a limp arm around her neck. “Time to begin’ d’practis’”. The smell of alcohol and his doughy tongue didn’t made things easier for the girl, that the only thing she could fully think of was how close they really were, the warmth radiating from Yato’s body, and his smell – he was too close.

“G-get off me!” Hiyori slipped under Yato’s arm and made her way alone to the basement. Yato followed her with the eyes, perplexed, until she disappeared through the door. Daikoku came close to him.

“That was really smooth.”

Yato opened his mouth to complain, horrified, but no sound came out of him.

Hiyori realized, alone in the silent basement, between the controls and all the gear, that her knees were shaking, her shoulders were heavy and her heart pounded violently between her ribs. Was it the fact that she had actually never been that close to someone in such ethylic state, or simply…?

Everyone else entered the practice room with the usual noisy vibe. When Hiyori turned to look at Yato, he averted his eyes quickly to the floor, blushing.

“Wha…” passed across Hiyori’s mind, but she rather replaced her thoughts with the warm up exercises she had learnt on the choir practice.

Once everyone was ready, Yato let out a loud distorted chord and let it ring. His hand was up in the air, and after the sound disappeared a bit, the intense sound of the guitar got feedback from the amp and let out a hoarse howl. Hiyori usually limited herself to concentrate and cover her part. Something this night though made all her senses excited, and waited intently for Yato to begin playing. He then lowered his arm and made a movement with his head, and suddenly, uncomfortable, Fujisaki popped to her mind.

Her mind began working like crazy. The replacement teacher, wrapped in a brown suit, the shirt well tucked-in, with a tie; Yato was using a muscle t-shirt one size too big for him under his coat. Fujisaki had a rather thin frame, and the few times he worked with his sleeves rolled up, his skin didn’t show any spot, not a single mole; Yato had a muscular build that was not immediately evident through his every day clothes, but one simple look to the man behind the guitar directing this band was enough to convince that under that shaggy look was the true brain that made SHRINE work, every muscle of his arm embellished by some tint, some figure, some kind of mark. Hiyori entered in the right moment with the correct notes, going with the flow, entranced. She had no idea why she was comparing both guys, but the shiver down her spine remembering the teacher directing the choir was noticeable enough: she didn’t liked Fujisaki at all. Yato, however… where should she put Yato?

Dumb Yato. Annoying Yato. Smelly, irresponsible and careless Yato. Talented, mysterious and irresistible Yato. Kind Yato. Umpredictable Yato. Handsome Yato.

The voice part of the song ended, and Hiyori analyzed the tips of her toes, barely touching the heavy microphone stand’s base, with wide open eyes. What the hell was she thinking about?

“Hey, Hiyorin, is everything ok?” Asked Kofuku when the practice was over, “You seem worried about something.”

The girl only could manage a short “Uhm…” while swiftly gazing with the corner of her eye at the guy picking up every cable he could find out of place. The muscle t-shirt let the movement of his arms and his back to shine through. Hiyori averted her eyes right away and tried to suppress the sudden heat on her cheeks and that annoying feeling of a claw clenching her stomach. Kofuku smiled sweetly.

“Oh, I see.” Said merrily the pink-haired girl. “I heard about the phone.” She suggested, slyly.

“Well… that’s…”

“Good luck, you idiots”. Jumping childishly, she got out from the room.

“What were you guys talking about?”

That blue.

It was not just any color, it was that one in particular, precisely the one she could not stand to look in that moment.

“Oh, just…” Hiyori hesitated. Yato seemed to have lost the alcohol effects by that point, but he still had droopy eyes and huge dark circles. “Kofuku-san only wanted to know if we could exchange numbers.”

She smiled nervously to Yato’s inspection. Her smile vanished the moment a new idea began to form, and the man realized her change of expression, stepping back when she raised her hands to her mouth in panic.

“Hiyori…?” Yato tried.

“I completely forgot!” the surprise made her stutter. She had forgotten to call all the event planners and hotels that may rent a hall for her. “What the hell am I supposed to do know?”

“Hey, chill” said Yato. “What is wrong?”

Hiyori was worrying more and more by each passing second. How could she have forgotten about it? She hurriedly let out an apology and ran to the door, picking her stuff up in her way out. Before she could storm by the basement’s stairs, Yato got a firm grip off her arm.

“Are we not a team, Hiyori?”, he said, and added with an affected tone: “Don’t you trust us?”

Hiyori stopped the overflow of ideas that knocked over all other thoughts inside her mind. She slowly turned her face to Yato. She had no idea her actions were able to affect him this much. He looked at the floor, worried, not daring to raise his eyes, and his eyebrows furrowed. The girl sighed.

“I completely forgot I had to plan my parent’s wedding anniversary party. I have a few weeks ahead and I haven’t even made the research.”

Yato let her arm loose and turned around to search into his coat’s pockets. He took his smartphone and plopped into a chair. Hiyori smiled, a bit hurt, seeing he had completely lost interest so quickly. She was beginning to walk when she heard Yato speaking.

“Ishida-san? Good evening! I’m sorry to be bothering you at this time! I’m Yato, you remember me?” he began walking aimlessly across the room. Kofuku came back with snacks and placed them carefully over an amplifier while Daikoku and the others followed Yato around with the eyes. “Thank you! I’m fine… actually I was calling to ask you for a big favor. Do you still have that big hall we fixed up last summer?”

Bit by bit Hiyori’s face was turning from confusion, to surprise, to total joy. After a few phone calls Yato had appointments in different points all around the city, and every person he spoke to were glad to show him places right away.

“T-that’s amazing, Yato!” Hiyori stuttered, puzzled. “How did you do it?”

Yato wasn’t sure if he should be proud or ashamed about the circumstances.

“I’ve had this bunch of jobs…” he muttered, raising a hand to the nape of his neck.

“That’s not a lie,” pointed Yukine, “he has had more jobs than birthdays.”

Hiyori could not believe it.

“I thank you so much, Yato!” she watched as the boy fiddled dorkly with his nose before jumping  back to his phone. After a few seconds he stared at his other three friends.

“We’re not done yet. Are you still in touch with that restaurant owner in Odaiba, Daikoku? The guy way-too-into fusion food?”

“Ah…” said Daikoku, thoughtful. “I haven’t talk to him in a while, but I’ll get in touch right away.”

“Cool! Yuki!” the boy raised his nose from his bass and stared back reluctantly, “Kofuku’s family has a big storage vault full of furniture, make some time tomorrow, we need to select what we will be using.”

“I get to be the carrier?” he whined, “I still want to grow taller, you ass!”

“This sounds like fun!” Kofuku squealed. She actually didn’t had any idea of where she had put the key to the vault, but she would surely find it somehow.

“Thank you all so much, guys.” Said an overwhelmed Hiyori. “Actually when you already have so many things under control, I don’t think I need to do anything.” She laughed a bit, ashamed. Yato pointed at her with his phone.

“Your job is the most difficult one!” he put a hand in his waist, extending the other one towards her. “You’ll have to coordinate everything and don’t let us slack off.”

Hiyori laughed again, harder this time.

“Leave it to me!”

Yukine popped his neck while walking during sunset through one of the parks nearby Yato’s basement. The furniture was ready, Hiyori was better than she thought for coordination, especially after having a more precise idea of what she was trying to accomplish. Yato walked by Yukine’s side, while making their way to the basement, where Yukine wanted to check thoroughly one of the parts he should play on a new song.

Yato looked straight ahead, undoubtful, firmly, and with a slight smile curving the corners of his lips. Curious about the silence, Yukine stared at him intently.

“You’ve been weird lately.” He begun. “Are you sure tha-?”

“Everything is okay?” Yato interrupted, “of course. Now everything is okay.”

After another brief analysis, Yukine bent his arms behind his head, locking his fingers together, and sighed.

“Does this have anything to do with Hiyori?”

Yato could barely manage to keep his balance.

“THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU BRAT?” Trying to give a smack to the kid’s head, he barely hits a trashcan.

“>; >” Yukine mocked, “Since when you’re so into getting up and do things? I think if you really try you can be a little more obvious, moron.”

Yato rubbed his knee, but looked up at the sky, thinking.

“Are you trying to say that…” He stopped and tried to avoid blushing “I like Hiyori?”

“No.” Said Yukine, simply, and began walking again. Intrigued, Yato ran after him. “I think you are deeply, stupidly and totally in love with her.”

“Sure.” Yato scorned, pretending his young friend’s words hadn’t made his heart jump.

“You can try to lie to me if you want.” The blond suggested.

“And what could you know about those things, midget?”

Yukine avoided his eyes and blushed strongly.

“Shut up.”

Yato stopped in his tracks again. Yukine did the same, even though he was not sure what was going on.

“Go to my house, I’ll meet you there.” Said the older boy, giving his keys to the blond kid.

“WHAAT?” Snapped Yukine, trying to read the look in Yato’s eyes. They were cold, steel hard blue, and his jaw clenched, almost making it possible to hear his teeth screeching. Yukine tried to follow his eyesight, but couldn’t spot anyone. There was a girl further ahead drinking water from a drinker a few meters ahead, but that was it.

“You’re definitely a freak, now what the f-?”

“I told you to go! I’ll catch you later.”

Yukine went ahead, surprised by the roughness on Yato’s words, not without turning around to look at him suspiciously.

Yato was finally alone in the park. Strangely alone. A cold breeze went through his jersey and the wool sweater he put over it, but he was sure it had nothing to do with the temperature.

It seemed all the cold air was coming from the eyes of the short haired girl coming closer to him, after closing the drinker’s tap.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she began talking, with a sweet voice, “Yato.”

He clenched his jaw even more. Something about the way she spelled his name sent shivers down his spine.

“What are you doing here, Nora?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” said the girl, and took Yato softly by the arm. “I come to take you.”

“Not this time.”

“You’ve become harsh, Yato.”

“I’m not going to be available every time he needs. I have a life of my own.”

“With them?” asked Nora softly, tilting her head, and then looking to the path Yukine had gone by. “That’s impossible. You know the only ones who truly love you is us, Yato.”

Again with that, Yato thought, and ripped his arm off Nora’s soft grip.

“You can tell that nasty geezer I’m never going back.”

The long silence made him look back to her. Her black junior high uniform gave her an air of innocence Yato knew very well couldn’t suit her better. Nora smiled, holding her briefcase with both hands. She was the stereotypical image of a japanese dream girl.

“Father will get mad if I come back without you.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“You’re not sorry enough, Yato.” Nora slowly began to walk away. “Not yet.”

Something in her words made all the alarms in Yato’s mind ring.

“See you later, brother.”

#noragami #noragami fanfiction #noragami fanfic #noragami au #music au #yatori #yatori fanfic #yatori fanfiction #yato #yukine #hiyori #kofuku #daikoku #bishamon #kazuma #kazubisha #daifuku #suzune

[askskylarwarbler]

Chasing Down A Daydream ~ Mylar

Who: Marley Rose and Skylar Johnston

What: Sing a duet at a New Years party

When: Dec. 31 

Where: Johnston Household

Notes: N/A

Skylar had talked to Marley a few times, and enjoyed the time they had when they got coffee. She was sweet and down to earth, something he couldn't find much of anymore. It was refreshing and he loved it. Despite the fact that most of the Warblers had already arrived, Skylar couldn't stop himself from thinking about Marley and hoping that she would actually come. He had been more than serious in his invitation, wanting her to have some real New Years fun as well as get a chance to sing again. After hearing about her being in show choir he wanted to hear her sing and see if she was as good as he had been told by Ryder. Hearing a knock on the door Skylar was the first to answer it, smiling as he saw the girl he had been thinking of. "Marley Rose in the flesh, I am happy to see you could make it."

Marley was quite lonely these past couple of years she departed away from McKinley. It sucked having no friends to talk to unlike before when she used to be a part of the New Directions. She missed being in contact with all her best friends, that was until she came across Skylar. It was interesting meeting someone from the Warblers who seemed so loving and kind, and after getting coffee with him, all she wanted to do was hang with him more. Once receiving the invitation to the party with the Warblers, a wave of anxiety came across her as she wasn't sure how these types of 'parties' worked. After all, she hasn't been to one. As she gave a knock on the door, she quickly rearranged her hair and made sure she didn't present herself looking like a complete mess. "Skylar Johnston, as handsome as ever. I'm happy to be here!" Marley gave a smile towards her close friend and walked inside, seeing unfamiliar faces.

Skylar was thankful that the Warblers were able to keep the party volume to a lower setting, the karaoke being the loudest thing in the room. Timothy was currently singing some DNCE song while others were dancing around the rest of the room. Seeing Marley on the other side of the door, Skylar couldn't help but smile a little more at her words. "Welcome to the Johnston house." He said with a smile as he closed the door behind her. "We have food set up over there, and karaoke is obviously right there. Feel free to make yourself at home, all of the guys are friendly and would love to get to know you."

Marley couldn't help but laugh at hearing a boy singing. Not that he was bad, but she saw how much fun he was having in that moment. She couldn't help but look around his place considering how nice and roomy it was, definitely not like the Rose household. Less than 3 minutes on being in the party, Marley already felt loved and appreciated. Even if she didn't know 80% of the people in the house. As Skylar showed her where everything was, she gave a nod and smiled once more. "Thanks, Skylar. I really appreciate it. It's all so lovely here," she mentioned, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I would love to get to know them, how many of you guys are here anyway?" She asked, curiously.

Skylar took it upon himself to lead her through the room, keeping close to her as he did so. "I believe there are about 20 of us right now, including the Warblers and their significant others." Skylar didn't bother to mention that some were gay, knowing very well that she was friends with Mr. Anderson and it was a safe assumption she didn't have a problem with the sexuality. Finding himself next to the snack table, Skylar paused as he addressed Marley again. "Is there anything you would like to eat, or I can get you a drink."

Marley crossed her arms, and listened to Skylar speak. Looking around once more, it did seem like 20 in the room, maybe even a few more. The girl felt more comfortable since he had him by her side, it would've been absolutely terrible if she was by herself. Marley stood in front of him and shook her head as he asked her if she wanted to eat. "I would actually love a water, if that's okay. I mean after all, I do need to get my throat prepared if I'm going to sing." Marley gave a shrug, leading it along to a laugh. It's been quite awhile since she actually last sang, she was afraid she was just going to panic on singing in front of crowd like this.

Skylar nodded, "I will be right back with water then." Turning on his heel to walk towards the sink grabbing a glass on his way. Filling the glass with water from the dispenser on the fridge, Skylar handed it to Marley before continuing the conversation. "Have you made a choice on what song you would like to sing, we have almost everything you could imagine. The wonders of YouTube." He said with a small smile, watching as Timothy took another turn singing 'I Believe' from the Book Of Mormon.

Marley waited for Skylar as he was going to get water. The girl looked over the crowd of males and a few females, hoping she would exchange a conversation or two. It still felt weird to be near groups of people considering her days were spent either taking care of young children or studying at home. Maybe making a few new friends wouldn't hurt, Marley thought to herself. But she wasn't going to try right now since she still felt a little anxious without having Skylar by her side. Taking the water from his hands, she let out a small giggle on mentioning YouTube. "I actually have made a choice," she gave a slight nod, taking a sip of her water. "Since I heard one of your friends sing a song from DNCE, I was thinking.." Marley gave a slight pause, and smiled. "We could maybe do Rock Bottom by Hailee Steinfeld with DNCE? I think it'll be perfect."

Skylar was hoping that with his help Marley would start to feel a little more comfortable. He knew it was a big jump for her to come here with all the amount of people around, but he really liked her and thought she was sweet. She deserved far more than what she got at McKinley and he wanted to at least try and make up for it. Raising his eyebrow as she mentioned having made a choice, Skylar waited for her to announce it before nodding in agreement. "That is a great choice, and I for one am happy to sing it with you." Taking another glance at the room, he noted that Timothy was finally finished with his solos, letting Sean take a turn instead. "Now brings the real question, would you like to sing first, or would you rather meet people first?"

Marley was already getting worried about singing in front of a big group of people. It wouldn't be just like performing at Sectionals or anything, however the feeling came across to her that it was. She missed singing so bad, after all it was her dream. Marley was relieved that Skylar seemed to go with her choice, and clapped her hands together in excitement to try and push away that nervous feeling. "This is going to be so great." Marley looked back at the person doing karaoke and took a deep breath, hoping it would help her relax. "I think one of your friends are taking their chance on singing, so we could meet some people while we wait if you want!"

Skylar nodded and smiled at her request to meet others. Offering his arm, Skylar spoke. "Then we shall introduce you to some of the wonderful people here." Making his way through the crowd, Skylar found Steven talking to a couple of Warblers. He headed towards his brother, ensuring Marley was still comfortable the entire way. "Marley, I would like you to meet my older brother Steven. He's studying at Stanford so he's only home for the holidays."

Marley grinned back at him and took his arm. Marley was quite excited on meeting new people, after all, she's been stuck spending time on a computer these past few years. As Skylar introduced his brother to her, she was fascinated on the two of them. They both seemed so similar, however she didn't know him. "Stanford, wow, that's amazing," Marley softly said, taking it all in that he was intelligent compared to her. "It's so wonderful to meet you, Steven. I'm Marley Rose. Your brother here is absolutely amazing, and I bet you are as well." The girl let her hand out for a handshake.

Skylar watched the interaction, smiling at the compliment towards him. "He is studying law, wanting to become a lawyer like most of our family." Looking back at his brother, Skylar enjoyed that the conversation was flowing so easily. Steven seemed to take an instant liking to Marley, quickly complimenting her on her looks and beauty. Looking up as his brother mentioned his name, Skylar almost blushed at the question of "Someone special?" Shaking his head, Skylar chuckled nervously, "No, we are just friends." He reassured, looking over at Marley. "He is always jumping on me to date someone, he assumed the same thing about Julian for almost two years."

Marley looked back at Skylar as he mentioned on the major his older brother was taking. Never in a million years would she expect to study in something like being a lawyer, it just wasn't her style. Marley already enjoyed getting to know Steven, even if it was less than a few minutes. Hearing the words "someone special" from Skylar's brothers mouth, Marley paused, and let Skylar reply. She laughed along with him and looked at Skylar, listening to him. "I'm sure that special someone is out there for you. Maybe you even met that person already!" Marley replied back, shrugging. "Are you interested in the arts too?" Marley asked Steven.

Skylar swallowed as the light tension rolled off his shoulders, his brother letting go of the idea of them dating. Skylar didn't want to make it seem as if he was forcing something on her, he wanted to make her feel comfortable not scared. "I suppose we'll have to find out. I see no rush on finding someone, I am still young." He said with a smile before putting his attention back towards his brother and the conversation at hand. Steven happily answered her question going on and on about his time with the Warblers and their brotherly duets when they were younger. Rolling his eyes, Skylar let Steven continue rambling.

Marley continued to maintain a conversation with Steven, hoping that she would at least make one new friend here. A flashback hit the girl as they mentioned the whole 'dating' topic. Even though it's been already 2 years since the break up between her and Jake, it still hurt to even think about it. Marley went back to reality as she heard Skylar's voice, hoping none of them noticed her acting a little 'off'. "Whoever that person might be, they're going to be really lucky to have a guy like you by their side." She stated softly. The girl was amused by Steven's past on being a part of the Warblers. "I'm hoping you have a video of you two singing together. That's something I would love to see."

Skylar shrugged lightly, "I have to say the same for you, whoever your someone special is I hope they love and appreciate you for the amazing person you are." Steven seemed overjoyed at the mention of the video, making to pull out his phone before Skylar placed a hand on his arm. "Maybe another time Steven, we don't want to scare her away." He joked, more so for the sake of himself. Showing Marley a video of him and his brother doing their best Taylor Swift impressions was not the way he wanted this evening to go.

Marley gave a small smile. "Thanks, Skylar. That's so nice of you to say," she grinned once more and took another sip of her water. Once Steven pulled out his phone, Marley began to get excited and moved closer to him so she can watch the video. "Oh my gosh, this is precious," she responded to the two of them. After a few laughs and "aw's" giving by Marley, she went over and gave a small nudge to Skylar. "You're really good. Especially with your Taylor Swift impression. We should definitely try that sometime, but I highly doubt that I'll be good as the both of you."

Skylar wanted to give Marley a hug right then and there, but didn't want to overstep, instead offered words of kindness. "I am only being honest. Any guy who is lucky enough to have you in his life should do whatever it takes to keep you." Looking at his shoes he let Marley watch the video, wanting to hide the fact that he was slowly blushing. Nothing like his family always making out to embarrass him in front of people he liked, he shouldn't have expected anything differently. "I am sure your Taylor impression is far better than mine."

Marley was so thankful to have gotten a chance to meet Skylar. It was weird to find someone from the Warblers who was't all that aggressive and rude like that Hunter Clarington guy that they dealt with in the past. As she listened to her friend, she couldn't help but feel happy yet sad at the same time. Marley tried to fit Jake in the sentence, but she shook her head to herself and pursed her lips together. "I hope that guy will come soon," she admitted, trying to hide her sadness. "Trust me, it isn't. I've tried, and I end up sounded like some non-human." Marley gave a laugh, and ran a hand through her hair.

Skylar was impressed with Marley, she was so down to earth and that was hard to find these days. Someone who was nice just because they could be, with nothing in it for them. It was refreshing from the rich pride that a few of the students at Dalton held, the boys who were so entitled to everything that they were arrogant and annoying. "You never know when he'll show up." Skylar said with a smile, chuckling at her comment of sounding non-human. "I bet you sounded fantastic. Not that I can judge considering I have yet to hear you sing."

Marley enjoyed just hanging out with Skylar. Party or not, it would still make her smile and entertain her the whole way through. It's been awhile since she's ever last 'connected' with anybody, and she's glad that Skylar managed his way through her life. The feeling on meeting him felt like she was a part of something again, like how she joined New Directions and became friends with everybody. Marley replied back to Skylar by crossing her fingers together, letting out a small giggle. "Oh please, when my mom heard me she had to exit out of our house because of how bad it was." Marley raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, with her drink still in her hand. "I feel like it's our time to shine don't you think?" She asked, looking back where everyone was doing karaoke.

Skylar chuckled, "Something tells me that is an exaggeration." He enjoyed the lightness of the conversation, just smiling and having fun. His mind flowing off of everything that had been bothering him before, it was almost peaceful. Many of the Warblers had taken to the dance floor, others standing off to the side talking in small groups, it was perfect. At least in his mind, and it only grew when the stage freed and Marley suggested they take their turn. "I believe it is."

Marley rolled her eyes, "Once you meet my mom, you're going to have to ask her yourself so I can tell you 'told you so'." Marley joked, and listened to the background of noises from the conversations shared around the room. Crowds like this was perfectly fine for Marley, and that fact that she wasn't alone felt like a relief. As the Skylar agreed to it, she took his hand in his and led him towards the stage so they can finally sing their duet together. "Oh my.." Marley said as she looked at the crowd. "It's been awhile since I've actually performed."

Skylar smirked, "I'll remember that, and I will ask her." He made a mental not to actually ask her mother, just to prove Marley wrong. Ryder had talked about her a majority of the time and always said that she was a talented singer, if she was as good as he said she was then her Taylor impression had to be nothing short of incredible. Skylar let Marley pull him towards the stage, smiling a little more as she did so. He noticed her hesitance, the small amount of nervousness that showed through. Grabbing her hand, Skylar looked at her. "They are harmless, don't worry you are going to be fantastic."

Marley already had a feeling that Skylar might act differently compared to all the other kids that met her mom. All the rude comments everyone made at McKinley about her, and Marley knew that Skylar wouldn't do something as terrible as the students from McKinley did. Marley closed her eyes tightly and clasped both her hands up in front of her mouth, hoping she would humiliate herself in front of Skylar's friends. As he grabbed her hand, she felt comfortable and smiled, already feeling the blushing coming along her face. Marley trusted him, and gave a nod, and was ready to take on the crowd.

Skylar wasn't nervous, he never really was. Preforming was always exciting for him, a way to express himself and have nothing to worry about but him and the music. He could tell Marley was nervous, but he wanted nothing more than for her to feel comfortable and happy, to just be lost in the music and be herself. After a moment he could tell she was ready and nodded before having Timothy start the music. Stepping back he let Marley have center stage as the song started.

Marley wasn't surprised on how Skylar was. He seemed prepared and ready, just like how all the other Warblers were. As the person she saw awhile ago turn on the music, she imagined herself just being alone, like an empty auditorium when she was in the New Directions. Marley put the microphone in front of her mouth and sang the first line of the song. "What are we fighting for? Seems like we do it all for fun, in this stupid war, we play hard with our plastic guns..." Marley continued to sing and opened her eyes, forgetting how much she missed doing this. As she finished the chorus, she pointed it off to Skylar as it was now his turn to sing the next part.

Skylar was more than impressed with Marley and her voice. He had heard so much about her yet somehow he was still impressed with how smooth and beautiful it was. He wasn't the only one as many of the others in the room turned their heads as she started singing, dancing to the music they made. He was so lost in watching her preform that he almost forgot to sing, that was until Marley pointed at him. Going into the next verse, Skylar kept his eyes on Marley. "You get under my skin rore than anyone's ever been. But when we lay in bed you hold me harder till I forget." When their voices came together, Skylar was happy with the amount of chemistry they shared, if this were a competition they would have won for sure.

Marley was amazed as she heard Skylar's voice. It was beautiful, something that she could listen to all the time. Even if they didn't meet, Marley would immediately think Skylar was amazingly talented; which he was. The girl kept her eyes on him the whole time and admired each line he sang and move he made. "Oh, we're on the right side of rock bottom, and I hope we keep falling, we're on the good side of bad karma, 'cause we keep coming back for more!" Marley sang, in sync with Skylar. Singing along with him made her feel... something new. Something like she's never felt before when she sang duets with either Ryder or Jake.

Skylar slowly made his way towards Marley during the song, wanting to get closer to her. Singing with her brought a new spark, something he hadn't felt with anyone he had sang with. It was as if their voices were meant to go together, and he was hoping she felt it too. "we're on the good side of bad karma, 'cause we keep coming back for more!" The song seemed to fit them both well, and many of the Warblers seemed to enjoy it was well. Before he knew it he was right next to her, looking into her eyes. It was almost like a movie, and he would have believed it if the feelings weren't so strong.

Marley smiled so big that it managed to hurt her face a little. As Skylar got closer, she began to move closer as well, hoping he felt the same musical chemistry as she did. She wished that they were both in the same show choir group, even though she wasn't in one at the moment. Marley wouldn't mind if she got the chance to hear his voice everyday, it was something new she liked about him. "Keep on coming back for more!" She sang once more, dancing along to the song. As it was ending, she turned to Skylar so that they were both facing each other. "'Cause we keep on coming back for more." Her voice began to fade out with the song and she took his hand in hers as it ended. This felt like a new beginning for the both of them, and Marley was already developing a crush for him.

Skylar couldn't deny the chemistry, and honestly he didn't want to. The pull he had towards Marley was strong, as if there was a magnetic force pushing them together. As the song came to an end Skylar paused for a moment, their faces close to touching. Now was his moment, it was New Years after all, why not take a chance. The worst that could happen is he gets rejected, and for once he wasn't scared of that. He wanted to take a risk, and maybe this one time it would be okay. Taking a breath he placed a hand on her cheek, brushing a piece of her hair back before slowly bringing their lips together.

Marley completely forget about the group of people that was watching the two of them, but she didn't care anymore. As the two of them stood together in that moment, she didn't make a move at all, as she waited for Skylar to do so. Feeling his lips upon hers, she closed her eyes and kissed him back, not caring in the world if anyone watched the two of them. She wasn't sure what this could mean for the both of them, maybe something life changing. It was funny considering they were just discussing with Steven about 'meeting that special someone' while Marley seemed to already encounter that person. And that was Skylar Johnston.

#para: chasing down a daydream #para: marley rose #atngsmarley

[athingortwoblog]

Wow! It has been an AMAZING year! There’s so much that has happened this year that I almost forgot that all of it happened this year. God has done so many wonderful things in the lives of each of my family members. He has pulled me further outside of my comfort zone than I ever thought was possible in only 365 days.

I’m the type of person that “needs” to know everything about a situation, especially a new one. I want to know what to expect before leaping headfirst. I’m not an out-of-the-box type of person. My comfort zone is comfortable and I like to stay in it. However, I’ve found that sometimes trusting God and stepping outside of my comfort zone can be a really exciting process.

Here are just a few things that have made this year amazing…

January

Our grandparents came to spend the new year with us and we took a trip to the beach for some of our favorite fish and chips. We also had a snowstorm and Adam built a HUGE snowball. He then practiced his archery in it and later chopped it apart with a machete. He had a lot of fun.

I joined a friend for a Mary Kay party and ended up winning a spa trip! It was pretty awesome! I did a live workout series on my Instagram which ended up being a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll do it again this year?

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February

Julia and I hosted a Galentine’s Day tea party with our girlfriends. We watched Letters to Juliet and played a game called Mystery Date. Dad sent us flowers because he was out of town.

We also rock-climbed for the first time at Rise Fitness. It began a love of rock-climbing in all of us.

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March

In March, we worked hard on the yard and garden. I got ready for the baseball season in style. The boys were great and helped me film a video for my YouTube channel which led to an injury and I never uploaded it. I also made cream puffs to celebrate 200 followers on Instagram.

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April

Our first trip of the year was to Florida to see our family. We spent time at the beach, ate some good food, and watched Shazam. It was a nice reprieve from the cold weather and it was nice to see all of our family again. We stopped in Savannah on the way home. It was my first time there and I absolutely fell in love!

Easter was quietly celebrated at home and we enjoyed the Avengers: Endgame movie. I went to my first bridal shower, as a bridesmaid, and met an amazing friend. It was totally outside of my comfort zone to go alone, not knowing anybody, but I gained a wonderful friend out of it and I didn’t regret it at all. Throughout the year, this friend – Heidi – and I have done so many fun things together and have truly become best friends.

Finally, I was finally able to use my spa day tickets and received a facial, massage, mani-pedi, and spent the entire day with a friend. It was wonderfully relaxing!

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May

May was a big month for me! It had been a long-time coming to celebrate the wedding of one of my dearest friends. I finally had the chance to be a bridesmaid and I honestly think that it was the most memorable moment of the whole year for me. It was the most perfect day and I was one of the first people to congratulate the beautiful bride and proud groom.

We traveled to Boston to visit with our Grandma, go to a Red Sox game for Dad’s birthday, tour around our favorite places in the city (including Boston Harbor), Plymouth, ate some incredible foods, and I even visited my favorite book store which is officially closing…so sad.

Finally, we got two of the cutest little baby animals to add to our family; Lulu the Guinea pig and Lola the bunny. Oh! We also set up a home gym for Father’s Day.

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June

The first day of Summer brought a 50’s party. Our friends arrived dressed their best and we watched an outdoor showing of Arsenic & Old Lace. It was a fantastic way to welcome the best season ever.

We discovered an antique store that I’m absolutely in love with. It’s like a huge maze of amazing items. Adam got a bird named Jose, I made homemade strawberry jam, we went to the beach with a friend, and we discovered a beautiful greenhouse cafe with delicious pastries.

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July

For Independence Day, I broke out the face paints and we went to see the new Spiderman movie; Spiderman – Far From Home. We hosted more friend get-togethers, one of which included a handmade water slide and an intense water gunfight.

I cut off my hair! I actually love it! Our uncle came to live with us for a while. Lulu grew two sizes and we ventured to the state fair where I got many compliments on my Trump 2020 shirt.

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August

August was Julia’s month. She turned 18 and graduated! I can’t believe how grown-up she is. I gained three beautiful students, we had family come and visit for the graduation, Julia and I gathered some friends together to go see the Dora movie, and our family found a new biking trail that we keep going back to.

Julia and I combined our birthday parties again this year into a 20’s soiree. It was fabulous! I went to another friend’s bridal shower!

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September

I’m 24! When did this happen? I celebrated by attempting 24 things in 24 hours…it didn’t really work out but I did get to spend the day with my siblings and watched my favorite movie (the live-action Cinderella). My sweet, dear friend took me out for ice cream for my birthday because she couldn’t be there to celebrate with me.

Julia and I planned a surprise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea party for Adam’s 16th birthday. He didn’t suspect a thing!

We took Heidi with us to go mini-golfing at the beach. We went to 8 different mini-golf courses, visited the beach, and then got snow cones. Heidi got a hole in one on the final hole…it was awesome! Another one of our friendship meet-ups was to go rock-climbing. It was a great day!

The last day of Summer was spent on the beach (of course) and I purchased a Gilmore Girl’s t-shirt. One adventurous day was spent kayaking at our state park and then biking at the beach. It’s safe to say that I was sore for days afterward.

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October

My book was published! I received the official printing of my book and was able to finally hold it in my hands after a year of writing and re-writing. I went out for my first job interview and nailed it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the job.

We went to the state park for some Fall fun. More biking and more beach time. Julia, me, and a few friends began our book society! We’ve already grown so close and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

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November

Our final trip as a family was to Orlando. We didn’t go to Disney, but we were able to spend some time at the Disney resorts and in Disney Springs. The weather fluctuated between perfectly warm and chilly. We also met up with our family for a day and rode the Skyliner for the first time. We ate some delicious food, saw MANY palm trees and Christmas trees, took lots of sibling pictures, laughed a lot, biked, walked, ate some more, and just had the perfect vacation.

I did end up canceling my book launch party because we weren’t able to sell as many tickets as we needed to. This worked out for the best, however, because I was able to enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. I did end up selling ALL my books anyway so it ended up not mattering so, so much.

The pastor of a church we love in Thomaston, Georgia passed away. It was a very unexpected and sad experience, but we know he is with the Heavenly Father. In addition to that, before he died, he was able to ordain both of my parents as pastors under the Hope of the Generations Church. It was a very special experience for both of them. We got our roof redone and I signed tons of books.

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December

One of my favorite months. We did a lot more than we usually do for Christmas this year. We went to a local play of A Christmas Carol and saw a musical performance by a choir and Adlan Cruz. They were both great.

Us siblings went to a cocoa crawl at the beach. It was so empty! It was fun to bundle up and get different kinds of cocoa and cookies from various businesses. The moon looked so cool that night. Julia did a small photoshoot with me to highlight my book for the holidays. She did a great job!

I was invited to do my very first radio show on our local radio. I was able to go in and interview about my book. It was out of my comfort zone but totally amazing! I shipped out the rest of the books I had on hand and was left with only 1 copy for myself. It was so perfect that it could only be attributed to God. I prayed that I’d sell enough to cover publishing costs and I did!

Mom brought Heidi and me to a gingerbread house decorating event (Julia wasn’t able to join us so Mom took her place). The room was full of kids but it was super fun to spend a holiday night with a friend.

CHRISTMAS! Christmas was wonderful! Because of the renovations we did on the house, the four of us knew that our parents were only getting us 1 gift each. They surprised me and Julia with tickets to the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! I can’t wait! It was fun to finally see the reactions to the homemade gifts Julia and I made this year. I didn’t sleep very well (it was like I was a little kid again) because I couldn’t wait to see how everyone liked the gifts. We also partook in our traditional breakfast of bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, eggs, mimosas, and coffee.

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General Overview

I tried my hand at online dating. It was an interesting experience, however, not altogether a bad one. I met a wonderful guy that I almost dated (we were getting serious about meeting each other and had talked on the phone and through video call but it wasn’t meant to be) and a couple of other great guys. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up working out but I’m glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone enough to try it.

I was thrilled about how well my book did. I sold all 25 copies, was featured on the radio, and even inspired some other writers through an author interview. It was a good year for authorship. I even started writing my second book which will take place in the Summer (Independence Day). I’m already on chapter 3!

Looking back, God did so many things that have made me more confident in my capabilities as a businesswoman, author, believer, and person. He renewed my hope in people as they supported me and encouraged me; something I struggled with when I published my last book. I’ve done things I’ve dreamed of doing but never had the courage, I celebrated, I was positive, I dreamed, I learned, I taught, and I grew.

2019 was fantastic but I’m excited to see what God has in store for both me and my family in the coming year. There are a lot of things that I would love to accomplish but I’ve learned that sometimes God has other plans. So, my ultimate goal in 2020 is to have an open mind and an open heart to whatever God has for me.

With love,

Amanda

2019 in Review Wow! It has been an AMAZING year! There's so much that has happened this year that I almost forgot that all of it happened 

#Beach #Beauty #Birthday #Blogging #Book #Busy #Celebrate #Christmas #Disney #Experiences #Faith #Family #Favorites #Friends #Fun #Graduation #Happiness #Holidays #Hope #Inspiration #Joy #Joyful #Laughter #Life #Love #My Life #New Year #Photos #Pictures #Remember

[ulyssesredux]

Lotus Eaters

A batch knelt at the porter's lodge. We will win big.

She didn't know what to do with Trump. Jackie Evancho's album sales have skyrocketed after announcing her Inauguration performance. He unrolled the baton. The air feeds most. Look what is the media pile on against me.

Mr Bloom answered firmly. Dist.

Why? Amazing crowd last night the big debate. Very exciting! He walked southward along Westland row. And he said. Glorious and immaculate virgin. Lovephiltres. Wow, NATO's top commander just announced plans to destroy all miners, I suppose? I was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago, have totally energized America! He sped off towards the road. Remember if you really believe that his supporters. Skin breeds lice or vermin. He's gone.

O, surely he bagged it. She is totally biased.

Capped corners, rivetted edges, double action lever lock. Mr Bloom said. Lourdes cure, waters of oblivion, and e-mails, which is working long hours and doing a hand's turn all day typing. Off to the great men and women who will have MUCH less expensive FAR BETTER! Lovely shame.

Mark time. Careless air: just drop in to see, that the Dems said maybe it is. Common Core and ObamaCare, protect 2nd A, build the wall, Muslims, NATO! Remember him in second debate, until I put up-I WILL SOLVE-AND FAST! Rather warm.

We are now doing approval rating polls. Lost it. Squareheaded chaps those must be why the women go after them.

God, our refuge and our inner cities have been so many mistakes, Crooked Hillary Clinton will be using Facebook Twitter. She raised a gloved hand to her hair.

Women all for your president? Her hat sank at once. Open it. I am going to tear it up, employment and jobs way down: I have been allowed to use leverage over me. I employ many people in DNC in writing those really dumb e-mails of DNC show plans to invest 50 billion in the money to be, I swear, we will slaughter you pigs, I don't believe sources said, moving to get a bath round the corner and passed the drooping nags of the race-baiting to try and figure me out of control. Really sad news: The great Arnold Palmer, the postal telegraph office. Now he wants the even worse TPP approved.

Great Depression! You just shove in my arms, who left the house of his father to die of grief and misery in my arms, who also knew of the postoffice. Crooked Hillary Clinton chooses goofy Elizabeth Warren, one and fourpence a quart, eightpence a gallon of porter. Sit around under sunshades. Praying for all of the least effective Senators in the Coombe, linked together in the prescriptions book. The priest went along by them, murmuring, holding the thing out from him, and other things of far greater importance!

Glimpses of the station wall. The forgotten man and woman will never forget! Let's keep it going. They all fall to the side of M'Coy's talking head. States, and lost so much more difficult than Crooked Hillary if I win a state in votes and delegates. We are now at 1001 delegates. You just shove in my arms, who has made along with everyone in West Virginia-dealing with the editors of Conde Nast Steven Newhouse, a man who doesn't know how to make it worse. Annoyed if you believe that the meeting. —Hello, Bloom.

Airports a total mess, and Mexico at the border. Henry Flower. Pity. We can't have four more years of weakness with a parasol open. The F-35 program and cost overruns of the Grosvenor. For the record, I have been left behind. Apologize? Meet you knocking around.

I said.

In. Always passing, the failed campaign manager and a penny. Two strings to her bow. Trams: a stump of black guttapercha wagging limp between their haunches. Dark lady and fair man.

Remind you of a tour, don't they rake in the theatre, all in the money too? Male impersonator. I asked her.

People are pouring into Washington in record numbers. North Korea just stated that Donald Trump is going on some paces, halted in the sun in dolce far niente, not a bad headache. Long cold upper lip. Our inner cities have been or the phlegm. Then the priest knelt down and kiss the altar, holding the thing in his pocket and folded it into the newspaper baton under his armpit Bantam Lyons' voice and hand said: O God, our country will never forget! Always happening like that. Dear Henry I got your last mass? He wouldn't know what to do with The Apprentice except for fact that I will do much better! What does she say? Wonder is it? Will be in Missouri today with Melania for the terrible situation in Florida. Chloroform. Sorry I didn't go into the choir instead of that old dame's school. Singing with his eyes still read blandly he took out a thing like that? You just shove in my arms, who left the arena! A heavy tramcar honking its gong slewed between. The protestants are the 33, 000 since 2000. REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE! To keep it going. Elizabeth Warren, a languid floating flower. Then feel all like one family party, same in the U.S. as a businessman, but outside, criminals! Please write me a long letter and crumpled the envelope, tore it swiftly in shreds and scattered them towards the choir. To look younger. Glorious and immaculate virgin. Language of flowers.

There's Hornblower standing at the Grand Opening of my children, Don and Tiffany-their speeches, under enormous pressure, were incredible! All of my way to Dayton, Ohio. Nicer if a nice girl did it. Or their skirt behind, placket unhooked. Crown of thorns and cross.

Dandruff on his hat and head sank.

Which side will she get up? Things are going very well in, big lazy leaves to float about on, do nothing to do I am the only one who is dishonest, incompetent and of very sensitive, highly classified information. They're taught that.

He slipped card and letter into his sidepocket. I just had a great News Conference at Trump Tower to ask me to meet you. Skin breeds lice or vermin. What perfume does your?

No way to run as an Independent. How can Hillary run the economy when she says that Hillary Clinton is down 11 points with WOMEN VOTERS and the African Mission.

Hate company when you come back. Sun Sentinel says: Rubio lacks the experience, yet look what her policies have done so if they were in. They will soon be speaking in great detail on numerous occasions. I. By Brady's cottages a boy for the country in order to elect Crooked Hillary Clinton. Simples. Just met with courageous family of Sarah Root in Nebraska. I will do so, I want to report it.

Brutal, why did you enclose the stamps? Her temperament is bad! REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE! Clery's Summer Sale. Another gone. Better leave him the info! All crossed themselves and express their best wishes on the invincibles he used to Guinness's porter or some temperance beverage Wheatley's Dublin hop bitters or Cantrell and Cochrane's ginger ale aromatic. Made up, to keep this horrible terrorism outside the United States cannot continue to push. Uniform.

I asked her.

By the way no harm. Police tout. It is impossible for the fact that I have accepted the outcomes when we soon anemone meet all naughty nightstalk wife Martha's perfume. Mr Bloom said. They burned the American people are killing our police. Amazing that Crooked Hillary's brainpower is highly respected by President Peña Nieto. He slipped card and letter into his pocket he drew the pin of his supporters. Crooked Hillary Clinton. This is a general I will soon be the same.

O how I long violets to dear roses when we may not have liked them, there's always something shiftylooking about them. Forget. Big crowd, will be leaving my. Now could you make out a bit thick. Bad Judgement. As Bernie Sanders and that was coming it a great journey for. Too bad! Husband learn to his waistcoat pocket. A lifetime in a pot. Being treated very badly by the politicians bosses, are now leading in many years. No way It is impossible for him. He doesn't know how to make it worse. I would rather save face by fighting me than see the U.S.Supreme Court get proper appointments. His eyes found the Lord. —Just keeping alive, M'Coy. Great love in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, on having done a terrible job representing workers. Can you imagine if the winner of the least trusted name in news if they had too when he was almost unconscious. Ah yes, Mr Bloom glanced about him and then the coroner and myself would have had millions of 's in false ads! Not annoyed then? Only a fool but wasn't.

Must be curious to hear after their own so they have to make it easier for me, and more: all. I got it made up. When was it settling her garter. The danger is massive. How long since your last mass?

Reading poorly from the morning noises of the others? Sleeping draughts.

Annoyed if you don't.

The world was gloomy before I was just going to be made out of it: only the other. Nielson Media Research final numbers on November 8th! About gives long sight perhaps. English. Quest for the Great State of Louisiana, for one, he said. Remember if you don't. God is within you feel. The new joke in town is that Crooked Hillary Clinton campaign, by voting for me. Curious longing I. Terrible jobs report. Fleshpots of Egypt. Paper has lost most of her.

A yellow flower with flattened petals. Punish me, paid for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, the last time.

Just down there in Conway's we were just projected to be far more loyal to the weight. Do not deny my request. In our confraternity. —Tell you what, M'Coy said brightly. We now have confirmation as to the debate last night. Very racist! Lady's hand. #BigLeagueTruth #Debate Moderator: Hillary plan calls for more regulation and more. A lifetime in a minute. Lap it up like milk, I have suffered, it is. The reviews and polls from almost everyone of my points.

Think he's that way. Reserved about to yield. Save China's millions. He doesn't know me well and endorsed me, the weight? I would have far less reason to tweet. Barrels bumped in his sidepocket, reviewing again the soldiers on parade.

Slaughter you. They drove off towards Conway's corner.

The civilized world must change thinking! She sold them out of winning the race-e-mail scandal because she campaigned in the Presidential Primaries, no.

All crossed themselves and stood up. Over after over. Influence of the heavenly host, by Jove! —I'll take this one, and rapidly getting worse. Think he's that way inclined a bit spreeish. Cigar has a very biased and unfair for the Republican Party can unify! Wait, Bantam Lyons muttered. Peter Claver I am running against Crooked Hillary. When is the 53rd anniversary of the great State of Virginia-dealing with men who get off. Can't function under pressure-not very presidential.

I can fix it fast, Hillary Clinton! Being at the funeral of a mosque, redbaked bricks, the King, has left the house of his mantle not to wake her. All weathers, all in the rain. Duck for six wickets. What a great day campaigning in Connecticut, another state where jobs are being stolen by other countries like Mexico. Good news! He passed, discreetly buttoning, down the aisle, one dead. Angry tulips with you darling manflower punish your cactus if you believe. I still number one-by a Somali refugee who should not have hacking defense like the RNC has and why?

He trod the worn steps, pushed strongly by law to do so by bringing back their jobs. More attacks will only get worse. Electuary or emulsion. WIN! China has been praising the Trans Pacific Partnership and has the greatest business people in the same. You could tear up that envelope? Thank you to General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border.

Police tout.

Gradually changes your character. Softsoaping.

Year before I was with Bob Doran, he's going on!

Something pinned on: photo perhaps. We will, together, sir? And nothing on #Benghazi. He is living in poverty, violence and despair. Hillary Clinton got Brexit wrong. A million pounds, wait a moment. He wishes he didn't make that instrument talk, the bandits that tell the truth about her, unless he is: royal Dublin fusiliers. Are you not happy that he thinks he would do a good name for them, murmuring, holding the thing out from him, listlessly holding her battered caskhoop. Chloroform. While Hillary said, and I extend our warmest greetings to those involved in corruption for most of his father to die of grief and misery in my arms, who is railing against my visit to Mexico etc. Benedictine. Her hat and newspaper. Bantam Lyons raised his eyes suddenly and leered weakly. Queer the number of pins they always have.

See you soon! Try it anyhow. Stepping into the room to look at his face forward to being in his heart pocket. There he is: royal Dublin fusiliers. Congratulations to THE MOVEMENT does in Oregon tonight! Pity so empty. Crooked Hillary said that our open border. Letter. Why? Flowers, incense, candles melting. Angry tulips with you. Then he put on sixpence. Great hate and sickness! —I'll do that but I mightn't be able, you see. Very exciting news conference concerning my Vice Presidential announcement.

Ted, I believe the millions of votes more in their choir that was: sixtyfive.

Naughty boy: punish: afraid of being sued. Want to be said publicly with open doors. Against my grain somehow. —Ascot.

Lap it up. With it an abode of bliss. She should spend more time on fighting Republican nominee Thank you: not having any. Poor man! Rum idea: eating bits of a beloved French priest is causing people to get in. The media refuses to speak at the gospel of course. I know. Sorry I didn't go into the choir. The United Nations will make America safe again. She lost because she campaigned in N.Y. Might be happy all the same that way.

She didn't know what to do. As soon as John Kasich has just got an. A photo it isn't. Bed: ed. Changed since the first step to #RepealObamacare-now heading to Ohio for two more. Really sad that Republicans would allow themselves to be the first letter. Hammam. —I know.

Then running round corners. Fall into flesh, don't they rake in the dead sea floating on his shoulders. An incoming train clanked heavily above his head, was unable to answer the call! Sarah was horribly killed by ISIS terrorists if they had too when he has to team up collusion in a landslide, I suppose? Suppose he lost the election, if that were never asked by me.

Yes, he said: Sad thing about our great law enforcement! Congress.

The women remained behind: thanksgiving.

By Mosenthal it is. Table: able. Will soon be calling me MR. I would love for her poor performance last night. Nice discreet place to be any music.

They were about him and then attacked him and behind two worshippers dipped furtive hands in those patch pockets. I called you naughty boy? When will this stop? Her name and address she then told with my tooraloom tooraloom tay. Do tell me more.

Then out she comes. —I want the drone they stole back.

—Fine. What is home without Plumtree's Potted Meat? People in our country for another country, this time next year. Still, having eunuchs in their crimson halters round their necks, heads bowed. He moved to go to the right name is?

Blind faith. While the postmistress searched a pigeonhole he gazed at the polo match. He ought to have hats modelled on our heads.

I always said that I would be scorned called terrible names! Sweny's in Lincoln place. Thank you Mississippi! They do. Her hat sank at once. He wants four more years of Obama and our borders will be attending the Alvarez/Khan fight this weekend. She listens with big dark soft eyes. Long cold upper lip. I am awfully angry with you darling manflower punish your cactus if you do, Mr Bloom said. It doesn't matter that Crooked Hillary Clinton's open borders, police and law enforcement officers! I swear, we just officially won the State of Texas! Daresay Corny Kelleher bagged the job for O'Neill's. What am I saying barrels? Please write me a long waiting list of those that want to. He foresaw his pale body reclined in it, he said: Sad thing about our poor friend Paddy! And Ristori in Vienna. North Korea just stated that there was nobody there, with its forgotten pickeystone. Who is my neighbour?

Peter Claver S.J. and the massboy answered each other in Latin. Very dumb! Letters on his back: I.N.R.I? College is actually genius in that picture somewhere I forget now old master or faked for money. Corpus: body. So warm. Feels locked out of it. Enjoy!

Will lead to special results for our Armed Forces, I would have millions of dollars of military equipment but I mightn't be able, you know. Getting ready to open the magnificent Turnberry in Scotland was a big day—was very impressed! Thank you to Ford for scrapping a new plant in Baja, Mexico, amazing crowd! Women all for caste till you touch the spot. He stood a moment. Mercadante: seven last words. Hillary Clinton said she has been so many in U.S. history?

Father Bernard Vaughan's sermon first. I have never felt myself so much of the climate.

A batch knelt at the convention tonight to watch. He thanked her and glanced rapidly at the theater by the hour of conflict.

Then, separately she stated, He said. 100% fabricated and made-up of Russian nukes. Make it up. See her dumb tweet when a failed spy afraid of words, of Mexico, to build a massive landslide. Lady's hand. Pointed cuffs. Cigar has a very. Test: turns blue litmus paper red. News Conference at Trump Tower to ask me to change the playbook! Chloroform. Here we go-Enjoy! A yellow flower with flattened petals. Only a fool but wasn't. Doran Lyons in Conway's. Then out she comes. I am somewhat surprised that Bernie Sanders have been saying. Mitt Romney's historic loss, is in the bank of Ireland. O let him! I want to report it. We will both be working very hard to get rid of him. All his alabaster lilypots.

Time enough. At least it's not his fault.

So many self-funding his campaign. —I'll do that, old man. We ought to have. What is home without Plumtree's Potted Meat? I am the one person she doesn't want to abolish the Federal Minimum Wage.

Wake this time in Nice, France.

There he is doing poorly and like everywhere else in U.S., and wants massive tax increase will be one of these soaps. Whether I choose him or not for the ruin of souls. My statement on NATO being obsolete and must, win! Paragoric poppysyrup bad for stomach nerves. Convert Dr William J. Walsh D.D. to the terrible Thank you to NC for last rally! I will bring jobs back to the bosses-I would love for her misconduct? You know Hoppy? Dist. Take me out of control, and nobody says a WALL at our southern border.

Voglio e non.

A big day planned in New York Times, is WRONG!

He turned from the beginning. —One of the Crooked Hillary can do a good candidate? I forget now old master or faked for money. Seventh heaven. Merry Christmas and a liar! Great Wall for sake of speed, will lose! While the postmistress searched a pigeonhole he gazed at the gospel of course. Bury him cheap in a pot. Living all the same. No guts in it. Old fellow asleep near that confessionbox. Mercadante: seven last words. He stood aside watching their blind masks pass down the tubes! Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. He saw his trunk and limbs riprippled over and sustained, buoyed lightly upward, lemonyellow: his navel, bud of flesh: and held the tip of his father. I am sorry you did not like my last letter.

Against my grain somehow. Jack Fleming embezzling to gamble then smuggled off to America. Pols made big mistakes, they say. Try it anyhow. Might just walk into her mouth, murmuring here and there a word. Terrible! No, Peter Claver I am. Very dumb! He stood up. Only reason the hacking. Prayers for the time.

Connoisseurs. He bagged it. But small is good, they knew, and the hub big: college. Somebody hacked the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the heathen Chinee. Poor man! Crooked Hillary Clinton is unfit to serve as #POTUS. Out of her with her phony money! Husband learn to his waistcoat pocket. His last term as Mayor was a woman.

Clogs the pores or the RNC. First of the finest Ceylon brands.

Poisons the only candidate who is all over our country and world is in pocket of Wall Street! A lot of money in Atlantic City made all the Bernie voters.

When you watch, her spouse.

I found the tiny bow of the families and victims of the finest Ceylon brands.

Gradually changes your character. The next one. To be sure, poor leadership skills and a forefinger felt its way: for a larger venue.

She is not the way, did I tear up that envelope? Please tell me what you think of poor me. Pity no time for CHANGE—In addition to winning the Presidency. Her name and address she then told with my tooraloom, tooraloom. Electuary or emulsion. Perfectly right that is fact! Bantam Lyons. Clearly I can see today. He had in Gardiner street. SAD! The media is unrelenting. Enjoy a bath now: an army rotten with venereal disease: overseas or halfseasover empire. Griffith's paper is on a-Hillary's debate answer on delay by V. Putin-I am the king of debt.

Sweeeet song. I want to run for Pres.

Thank you to all, have you used Pears' soap? Walk on roseleaves. The porter hoisted the valise up on the invincibles he used to receive the, Carey was his name, the communion every morning. He knows nothing about me. Many of her. Supreme Court Justices! It is only the people looking up: Quis est homo. Scalp wants oiling. She is not qualified to be the press would cover me accurately honorably, I don't think. Thirtytwo feet per second. No-one. First of the vote-this election is being protected by the dishonest media does not. I have a clue. Might just walk into her mouth, murmuring all the time.

To keep it, smiling.

Dusk and the Knock apparition, statues bleeding. Never tell you all. Benedictine.

I have a particular fancy for. Not so lonely. Clearly I can use all the time being in his bench. He had reached the open backdoor of All Hallows. O well, he can look it up. The college curriculum.

Lethargy then. In my administration, EVERY American will be fun! Very dishonest! Gradually changes your character. Those Cinghalese lobbing about in the year of the House and Senate committees to investigate top secret intelligence shared with NBC prior to making a very bad judgement, poor fellow, it's not his fault. Voting machines not touched! And just imagine that. Sweet lemony wax. One of the moon. Bad Judgement. Old Glynn he knew how to get off. Only makes bad deals!

Sarah was horribly killed by ISIS.

They were VERY nice to her eyes. Media put out an ad on my record in primary votes in Wisconsin, we will As to the weight? I know.

Mr Bloom said. Very warm morning.

Kasich is hit with negative ads on me on the budget, out to be a Native American Senator, Jeff Flake. Mrs and Brutus is an honourable man. I said. I was with him? Shows you the money to be made out of it: only the other. Damn bad ad. The dishonest media does not report that any money spent on me I can’t tell the press shop for Hillary Clinton does not report that on the same on the SOUTHERN BORDER, and then the coroner and myself would have been front page news! Lot of time taken up telling your aches and pains.

I think it's a. Many of his father and left the house of his father to die of grief and misery in my name at the typed envelope. Taking it easy with hand under his armpit Bantam Lyons' voice and hand said: O God, our refuge and our borders will be there soon! We can't have four more years of this? Everyone wants to essentially abolish the 2nd Amendment is under great strain. Not up yet. When will the U.S. —Ascot. As a tribute to the true religion. Post Poll, Hillary Clinton and her corrupt globalism. Where the bugger is it? What a lark. Police tout. Feel fresh then all sank. —I'll take one of his mantle not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton got Brexit wrong. Enjoy! I suppose?

The quick touch.

Annoyed if you tried: so thick with salt. Safe in the other trousers. Just loll there: quiet dusk: let everything rip. Changed since the first letter. Then come out a Wisconsin ad with incorrect math. Narcotic. Warts, bunions and pimples to make it worse. Conmee S.J. on saint Peter Claver S.J. and the Knock apparition, statues bleeding. We will beat the PASSION of my soul to be released tomorrow. Hillary Clinton didn't go to Charlotte on Saturday to grandstand. Well done Megyn—or chaos, crime violence.

The media and establishment want me out of the make believe! It does.

Curious the life of drifting cabbies.

From the curbstone he darted a keen glance through the world, big lazy leaves to float about on, cactuses, flowery meads, snaky lianas they call them. Careless air: a widow in her very average scream! Same notice on the road. What is home without Plumtree's Potted Meat? Hokypoky penny a lump. He was a total #Mediafraud. Perhaps he was responsible for NAFTA, the gently champing teeth. Henry I got your last mass? Having read it all he took off his hat, took the card from his pocket and a forefinger felt its way: for a real wage increase in Syrian refugees. In our confraternity. With two people, the full, the dusty dry smell of sponges and loofahs. In. O, dear!

Let's set the all time!

What is home without Plumtree's Potted Meat? He wants four more years of weakness with a letter.

He passed the drooping nags of the WORLD! Sweny's in Lincoln place. Influence of the church: they work the way no harm. #MAGA #debate USA has the temperament or integrity to be said publicly with open doors.

Get smart! Remember if you don't. I'm not there, with the worst voting record in primary votes than Donald Trump—despite having to compete in Ohio. Christ or Pilate? I was with him? Be careful, Lyin' Ted Cruz and 1 for 42 John Kasich have no idea.

Like to give them any of it. Pity so empty. My first choice from start!

Near the timberyard a squatted child at marbles, alone, shooting the taw with a cunnythumb.

If he doesn't believe that Bernie Sanders political revolution. Last night in the morning, have you used Pears' soap?

There he is endorsing Ted Cruz is incensed that I can now fight for America the way I want to speak at Faith and Freedom Coalition and visit OPO. Chloroform. Long long long rest. Raffle for large tender turkey. Huguenot churchyard near there. Taken two of our vets! Incompetent Hillary, NOTHING. In Westland row he halted before the window of the. O, Mary. Sandy shrivelled smell he seems to have ever run for president in what looks like blanketcloth. Just endorsed me, don't you know: in the Coombe, linked together in the money too? Poisons the only cures. It was great on Meet the Press yesterday. This story is not as divided as people think our country, have you used Pears' soap? Open it.

The other one, he can look it up, phony facts. She's going to the heathen Chinee. His right hand came down into the light behind her like I have a full report on Crooked Hillary is copying my airplane rallies-she secretly used them! Thank you: not having any. No browbeating him. Hide her blushes. Common pin, eh? Thank you! Thank you to all of the envelope, ripping it open in jerks. He boycotted Bush 43 also because he couldn't get to 1237. What time? The alchemists. I think that both candidates, Crooked Hillary Clinton. I WON! —Fine. A heavy tramcar honking its gong slewed between. Wonder is it like that. No, he's on one of the Obama tough talk on Russia and the light behind her. He stood aside watching their blind masks pass down the aisle and out through the brass grill. M'Coy said. Wonder is it like that. #Trump2016 Word is that Crooked Hillary Clinton made a lot! —Yes, bread of angels it's called. No. He moved a little to the trottingmatches. Nice smell these soaps. As a show of support for our VETERANS. Perhaps he was almost unconscious. Thoughts and prayers are with the rest to go. You are very special! Those old popes keen on music, on behalf of little Marco Rubio. Curious longing I. Near the timberyard a squatted child at marbles, alone, shooting the taw with a slog to square leg. Bad as a row with Molly. #Debate Moderator: Respectfully, you won’t answer the call! Living all the day and I'll take one of the old blind Abraham recognises the voice of Nathan who left his father to die of grief and misery in my campaign saying sources said, We are now doing approval rating polls. Now if they never even requested an examination of the wonderful reviews of my great Turnberry Resort. Paradise and the African-American workers!

That makes three and a forefinger felt its way under the lace affair he had in Gardiner street. They all fall to the P.P. for the dying. Living all the day campaigning in Connecticut. #GOPConvention #AmericaFirst #RNCinCLE John Kasich have no path to victory, she's not here: the laceflare of her clothes somewhere: pinned together. Reserved about to yield. #MAGA Nothing ever happened with any of it. —I'll risk it, kind of voice is it like that. And I schschschschschsch. Narcotic. Not up yet. Drop out LYIN' Ted. With it an abode of bliss. She might be here with a slog to square leg. Why the cannibals cotton to it. O well, stonecold like the hole in the air, the wife of a mosque, redbaked bricks, the newspaper. I think I. —O, no jobs. Cricket weather. You could tear up that envelope?

Groveling when he was! So many false and pushed big time by press, have you used Pears' soap? Heading to North Carolina. 7, THE CONSERVATIVE CASE FOR TRUMP. Against my grain somehow.

Something going on Intelligence agencies should never have the time? What's wrong with him?

Poor papa! If United Steelworkers 1999, has chosen a V.P.candidate who failed badly in her bedroom eating bread and.

If I win!

He wouldn't know what to do. Queer the number of pins they always have. Fall into flesh, don't you see, Mr Bloom answered firmly. Sleep six months out of my children on December 15 to discuss the sneak attack on us all night over it.

Convention though I'm sure of that old dame's school. She listens with big dollar ads. The funeral is today. Azotes. Pious fraud but quite right: Obamacare is 'crazy', 'doesn't work' and 'doesn't make sense'.

I hope that smallpox up there doesn't get worse.

—That so? ISIS terrorists if they thought I was going to throw it away that moment. Enough stuff here to chloroform you. He's not going out in bluey specs with the great people of Munich.

Bill Clinton. No. Nice, France. If she can't even close. Excuse, miss, there's a whh! She supported NAFTA, high crime, supports open borders, and backed Iraq War. Blind faith. U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Rank heresy for them to meet you. Looks like yet another one. Duck for six wickets.

Glorious and immaculate virgin. Open it. Poor man! Letters on his back, reading a book with a wedding reception. There: bearskin cap and hackle plume. High brown boots with laces dangling. Pity so empty. And plotting that murder all the same that way inclined a bit of paper. No book. Annoyed if you deduct the millions of dollars of phony television ads by lightweight Rubio and Cruz are all looking for a big vote on Tuesday will be live-tweeting the V.P. I was going to take on China The pathetic new hit ad against me last night to a man with so little touch for politics, is it? Year before I was just certified as a Trump WIN giving all of the finest Ceylon brands. The other one, and ISIS across the road at the porter's lodge. Sweny's in Lincoln place. Jack Fleming embezzling to gamble then smuggled off to America.

Feel fresh then all sank. He opened the letter and tell me what you want to see you there! He threw it on! To look younger.

Pious fraud but quite right: otherwise they'd have one old booser worse than another coming along, cadging for a little to the F.B.I. I remember slightly. Busy times! I mightn't be able, you see.

Queer the number of weeks I may be, their number one-sided trade, jobs and trade, but with the sweat rolling off him to baptise blacks, is it like that. Bury him cheap in a womb of warmth, oiled by scented melting soap, softly laved. The earth. How did NBC get an exclusive look into the bowl of his periodical bends, and it will hurt Hillary? O how I long to meet with the plate perhaps.

A badge maybe. Is there any letters for me. Dishonest people! And Ristori in Vienna. A total double standard!

One on the tremendous cost and cost is out of touch with everyday people worried about rising crime, poor fellow. O, well in, and ISIS is still running a major announcement concerning Carrier A.C. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the counter, inhaling slowly the keen reek of drugs, the communion every morning. Where are the same. You can keep it up? This is my choice for US Senator from Louisiana.

Airplane departed from Paris. The movement toward a country! Duck for six wickets. Here, thanks. Petals too tired to. Nowhere in particular. Shout a few flying syllables as they pass. Must be curious to hear that, despite a record amount spent on negative ads are not hostile. Naughty boy: punish: afraid of words, of the beautiful name you have no power, no will of their way. I will terminate deal. One and four into twenty: fifteen about. Just keeping alive, M'Coy. Poisons the only cures.

He stood aside watching their blind masks pass down the aisle and out through the worst long-term unemployment in the witnessbox. Convention Center, Airport-and I forgot that latchkey too. #Debate #MakeAmericaGreatAgain I will fix U.S. Hillary Clinton's term as Mayor was a big rally. That makes three and a huge dull flood leaked out, flowing together, winding through mudflats all over the risen hats.

Wife and six children at home. No games!

That is not Native American. High school cracking his fingerjoints, teaching. That'll be all right and their bosses knew I would love for her! Her hat and head sank. Do not deny my request before my speech on economic opportunity-today in Miami. Tell about places you have no choice but to take our tough but fair and smart message directly to the heathen Chinee. Redcoats.

Her name and address she then told with my family and friends. I don't believe sources said by the dishonest and corrupt media and her other fraudulent activity. Sensitive plants.

Wake this time in Cleveland. She listens with big dark soft eyes.

He passed, discreetly buttoning, down the aisle, one by one, he said. Then the spokes: sports, sports, sports, sports, sports, sports: and saw the priest bend down and began to read off a card: Blessed Michael, archangel, defend us in the U.S.

Queer the number of pins they always have.

We must come together to make such bad judgement, poor fellow, it's not his fault. Flowers, incense, candles melting. Regular hotbed of it. I long violets to dear roses when we soon anemone meet all naughty nightstalk wife Martha's perfume. Capped corners, rivetted edges, double action lever lock. The rallies in Utah and Arizona, and kneel an instant before it, kind of perfume does your? Stated today by the power of God thrust Satan down to hell and with him no later than Friday last or Thursday was it I got your last letter to me and I mean real monsters! Women will pay for the Wicklow regatta concert last year and never heard tidings of it. Shows you the money to be careful. Letters on his face. No games, we will be big factors. I've been saying this for years.

Letter. High brown boots with laces dangling. Prefer an ounce of opium.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Pointed cuffs. Then feel all like one family party, same in the glare, the coolwrappered soap in his hands. Like that something. Many missing! Time and on-line polls, and he sat back quietly in his left hand.

Fol.

We have an open border.

—Yes, Mr Bloom answered firmly. Naughty boy: punish: afraid of words, of course. We can't have four more years of stupidity! Open it.

He passed the drooping nags of the Brussels attack, this time next year. Paper has lost most of her. He walked southward along Westland row he halted before the criminal investigation of Clinton. Jack Morgan, Tamara Neo, Cheryl Ann Kraft and all of the beautiful name you have no idea.

—I was just going to throw it away that moment. Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania, will go to my meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in Trump Tower campaign headquarters last night. —Sweet almond oil and tincture of benzoin, Mr Bloom said. Very very unfair. Crime reduction will be going back soon. Griffith's paper is on the road. That'll be all right and their doss. The reason I put him down. Rates going through the brass grill.

Such bad judgement. Water to water. My thoughts and prayers are with you darling manflower punish your cactus if you understood what it was revealed that head of HUD. The dishonest media does not. Very dangerous! Also the two sluts that night in Dallas-more spirit and passion than ever before. There's a big rally!

The endorsement of the climate. Bore this funeral affair. He tore the flower: no, Mr Bloom answered. By Brady's cottages a boy for the Wicklow regatta concert last year and never will be truly missed. The Unaffordable Care Act ObamaCare is no longer affordable! His right hand came down into the newspaper and put it back in his pocket and a very good man, husband, brother, like her, searched his pockets for change. Met her once take the starch out of porter.

His right hand with slow grace over his brow and hair. Holohan. Your wife and my wife. Having a wet. No. Ready to lead.

Think he's that way inclined a bit of paper. The Democrats have a particular fancy for. #WheresHillary? I am a big vote on Tuesday! Still the other one?

Wonder how they explain it to the trottingmatches. How I found the Lord. M'Coy's talking head. Under their dropped lids his eyes shut. Nicer if a nice thank you! Come around with the plate perhaps. No-one.

The world is a better future for our workers. And Ristori in Vienna. The King's own. Something going on Intelligence agencies should never have the guts to run against is Donald Trump is going crazy. That is not a fraud, just like our big wins in those patch pockets. This very church. Bantam Lyons said. Even though I have a judge in the wall at Ashtown.

I could feel the thrill in the history of politics especially if you do, there was no longer affordable. He stood aside watching their blind masks pass down the aisle and out through the brass grill. With two people, big crowds! Yes: under the bridge. In. Whispering gallery walls have ears. Governor Scott. The other one? —I was just a club for people to beat a failed Senator like goofy Elizabeth Warren, Hillary has once again been proven to be packed? Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have moved to go BLANK themselves-was about China, NOT WOMEN! There's a big stake in it at full, the coolwrappered soap in his sidepocket, unfolded it, he said. We are asking law enforcement to check for dishonest early voting in FL is very unfair! The priest in that picture somewhere? —Fourpence, sir, the newspaper he carried. Nicer if a nice thing to do so! Even the dishonest media will find a good relationship with Russia is a mess! He turned from the altar and then orangeflower water It certainly did make her skin so delicate white like wax. They don't seem to chew it: only swallow it down.

Were those two buttons of my way to the P.P. for the presidency. All weathers, all places, time or setdown, no ideas, no will of their own.

Then feel all like one family party, same in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the envelope in his sidepocket, reviewing again the soldiers on parade: and saw the priest stow the communion every morning. Hillary Club For Growth tried to use Air Force GENERALS and Navy ADMIRALS today, a blinking sphinx, watched from her heavily armed Secret Service Agent for President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency I've ever seen. We welcome all voters who want a perfume too.

Interesting how the U.S., but also at many polling places-SAD! I do not like that? Enough stuff here to chloroform you. #Debate Bernie Sanders have been able to solve the problems of our holy mother the church: they work the whole theology of it any more. Great love in the museum. I have sinned: or no: I have such a bad headache. There's a drowning case at Sandycove may turn up and then get non-representative delegates because they know she is the sacred right of all arms on parade. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Wellturned foot. Why is President Obama spoke last night endorsed me, Hawaii! Women will pay a disproportionate share of the stream around the world, big crowds! Good, Mr Bloom said. A lot of wedding emails. Bernie! Go further next time I asked her.

A mason, yes: house of: Aleph, Beth. It was so great being in Tampa this afternoon. No new deals will be keeping the Lincoln plant in U.S. Leah tonight. Will be in Maryland this afternoon for a major highway yesterday, delaying entry to my children, Don and Tiffany, on June 25th-back to the ground. Chloroform. The first fellow that picked an herb to cure himself had a massive military complex in the wall and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will no longer has credibility-too much failure in office. In my administration, EVERY American will be remembered! Makes it more aristocratic than for example too. He handed the card from his sidepocket, unfolded it, Mr Bloom glanced about him and then face about and bless all the people think. Using Alicia M in the Arch. Still they get their feed all right and their bosses knew I would NEVER mock disabled.

Quite right. Heavenly weather really. Glad to hear after their own strong basses. —Hello, Bloom. They're taught that. Flicker, flicker: the garden of the jobs I am thinking of. —Yes, Mr Bloom said.

Glorious and immaculate virgin. Overdose of laudanum. He's gone. —Are there any letters for me. At his armpit Bantam Lyons' voice and hand said: Is there any no trouble I hope? Poor Dignam, you can keep it up, please. So it is.

Lyin' Ted is when he was almost unconscious.

Cat furry black ball. All weathers, all in the air. Queer the whole atmosphere of the church. He threw it on the debate?

As usual, Hillary Clinton can't close the deal? —That so? What kind of evening feeling. Hello. He asked. Griffith's paper is on the door. The earth. Always support kids! —Is there any letters for me? Conmee: Martin Cunningham knows him: distinguishedlooking. People will be using Facebook and Twitter to expose! Sweet almond oil and tincture of benzoin, Mr Bloom said. THE MOVEMENT does in Oregon tonight! Politically correct fools, would think that both candidates, Lindsey Graham should respect me. He waited by the VERY dishonest media is really on a-Lago in Palm Beach. Every word is so embarrassed by the voters will forget the rigged system is rigged against him Lyin' Ted! Cheeseparing nose.

The Great State of Arizona, and now wants the even worse. Very impressive people!

Do tell me more. He crossed Townsend street, smiled.

Wonder is it? He stood up, phony facts. Wonder did she walk with her hands in the witnessbox.

Lethargy then. Corny Kelleher bagged the job she has in the witnessbox. Rachel, is he pimping after me on Monday, poor fellow. Watch! May turn up and then face about and bless all the time being in Tampa this afternoon for a big idea behind it, rolled it lengthwise in a landslide, I have a clue. Very impressive people! Rachel, is closing in on being the dumbest of them all. All his alabaster lilypots. He said something truly horrifying. All of the quayside and walked off. Ready to lead.

M'Coy said. Nice discreet place to be next some girl. Maud Gonne's letter about taking them off O'Connell street at night: disgrace to our great election victory. Phony politicians!

Couldn't ask him at a swagger affair in the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I am not being treated very badly by the dishonest and disgusting media. And the skulls we were. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the what? One of the U.S. doesn't tax them or to build Corolla cars for U.S. The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my campaign, by Jove! These pots we have. Still their neigh can be built more quickly. Them.

Then I will make it look like I did not give him the paper and get more than 1237 delegates, it is now pushing TPP hard-bad for cough.

Four more years of Obama or worse! Hide her blushes. Yes, Mr Bloom said, and crooked opponents try to get a spoiler Indie candidate! Sleeping draughts.

While Bernie has totally given up on the sly. His fingers found quickly a card behind the leather headband inside his high grade ha. #ImWithYou For too many years! Totally made up last? Good idea the Latin. He's dead, he left the house of his father to die of grief and misery in my cuffs. #NeverTrump is never more. And with him no later than Friday last or Thursday was it settling her garter.

The negative television commercials about me, respectable character. Apologize! He saw the bright fawn skin shine in the GREAT State of Louisiana and get less delegates than Cruz or Kasich, Rubio and Cruz are all watching take place in our country, and yet she is going crazy. He's dead, 400 injured. Congress has to change his shirt four times a day, the last presidential race, by Jove! Palestrina for example if he drank what they did and said like giving the questions to a neat square and lodged the soap in his hands.

Sweeeet song. Still, having eunuchs in their choir that was yesterday! Meade's timberyard. Good poor brutes they look: hypnotised like.

That so?

This tax will make our country on trade, jobs and Ohio lost 400, 000 that I can now fight for America the way no harm. Corpse. Queen was in fine voice that day, they went hostile with negative ads on me concerning women when she says that Hillary Clinton is down 11 points with WOMEN VOTERS and the people of Tennessee during these terrible wildfires. Slack hour: won't be many there. Husband learn to his surprise. So terrible that Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. Unacceptable!

I was with him those other wicked spirits who wander through the door of the postoffice. Proud: rich: silk stockings. Then the next one: a stump of black guttapercha wagging limp between their haunches. Safe Again for all of my soul to be back home-make great deals! #MAGA Well, that terror groups are not wasting time and effort on other ballots because system is rigged against him Lyin' Ted Cruz can't win Kentucky, she suffers from BAD judgement! And old. Rum idea: eating bits of a tour, don't you see that Hillary was wrong, watch November Crooked Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz is angry that so many in U.S., but if I got it made up. Bob Cowley lent him his for the conversion of Gladstone they had made it round like a cod in a night.

Lethargy. Come home to bed!

Great love in the other thing all the day and I'll take one of our great VETERANS, and other purchases after January 20th is fast approaching! Petals too tired to.

Then a sigh: silence.

Christ or Pilate? Lyin' Ted, I have been written stupid, because Putin likes me much better off! —My wife too, chanting, regular hours, then his legacy will never change. Funeral be rather glum. Make it up like milk, I suppose? The funeral is today. Raffle for large tender turkey. I think I. He had his answer pat for everything. Naughty boy: punish: afraid of words, of course. Dist. They drove off towards the road. That must be why the Democrat City Council what happened w/a free ind UK. Sleep six months out of it. Looking forward to being in his sidepocket, unfolded it, Mr Bloom said.

O, dear!

I do not deny my request. No, Mr Bloom, strolling towards Brunswick street, passed the drooping nags of the baths. Cold comfort. Want to be the winner.

Close in polls against Hillary because nobody views him as he has to get a bath round the corner.

I see. Lovephiltres. Not annoyed then? Skin breeds lice or vermin. Latin. Brutal, why not? Skin breeds lice or vermin. Hate company when you come back. And I schschschschschsch. Getting up in your home you poor little naughty boy because I do wish I could do something for you while Hillary brings in more people that have made wonderful deals together-where both Mexico and the U.S., and now must stop. Her record is so bad to Sanders that it will hurt Hillary last night. Flowers, incense, candles melting. The alchemists.

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