#y2 thread 13

[toa-masquerade]

They had no idea the mascarade was going to be underwater. What the hell??? It's going to be alright. Breathe. Just breathe. Breathe water; in this case, this is a bit insane...

Either way, they're not quitting, especially with the effort changing and getting their stuff taken.

They take their weapon; an underwater fight might somehow end up a valuable experience after all.

They put it in front of the sparing partner of their choosing.

"I would like you to challenge you to a duel."

[study-with-aura]

End of School Year Wrap Up

Final Course Grades:

Algebra 2 - 96% - A

Honors American Literature - 100% - A+

Spanish 3 - 102% - A+

Bible II - 100% (participation grade)

Honors US History I - 102% - A+

Earth Science with Lab - 101% - A+

PE/Health II - 100% - A+ (participation + RAD passed)

Music Appreciation - 101% - A+

Art Appreciation - 100% - A+ (daily work + final)

Goal Wrap Up:

Academics:

Score 90% or higher in all coursework

Read for 30 minutes each day outside of “class time” (American Literature) - finished 15 non-school related books (The Getaway, Threads that Bind, Swarm, This Dark Descent, Lunar New Year Love Story, All the Fighting Parts, Love Off the Record, The Great Gatsby, Mansfield Park, Choose Truth, All That's Left to Say, The Color Purple, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Side Quest, The Grapes of Wrath)

Study vocabulary daily (Spanish 3)

Complete the first half of Khan Academy US History (Honors US History I) - at 60%

Complete Khan Academy Algebra 2 course (Algebra 2) - at 79% will work on mastery through the summer since my course did not cover Units 11 and 12

Complete one Spanish, French, and Chinese lesson on Duolingo each day

Practice piano for a minimum of 2-3 hours a day, 7 days a week

Complete and pass RCM 10 practical + harmony/counterpoint exams in May - practical is next week

Pass Advanced 1 ballet exam and move to Advanced 2 classes

Character/Spiritual:

Earn Cookie Entrepreneur Y2 Family Pin

Complete two Senior Journeys and earn the Award Pins  - Mission Sisterhood! + Think Like an Engineer

Earn 13 Senior badges - Business Startup, My Cookie Network, Traveler, Voice for Animals, Social Innovator, Business Etiquette, Snow or Climbing Adventure, Savvy Saver, Digital Leadership, Game Visionary, Sky, Senior Outdoor Trail Adventure, Paddling

Earn Y2 Global Action Award

Earn World Thinking Day 2025 Award

Volunteer a minimum of 30 hours in the community - exceeded; volunteered 295. 25 hours total this academic year

Meditate for 10 minutes each day

Complete daily Bible studies each day

Other:

Post studyblr updates at least 2 times per week - Nope, but I did my best!

Limit video gaming to 6 hours Friday-Sunday, 3 hours max per day - I barely had the chance to play through the year

[lainahastoomuchsparetime]

…clearly I couldn’t think of a title for this post. Original Twitter thread found here.

Today we’re going to be trying to figure out the time period that Anne of Green Gables is set in and talking about the fashion of that time. This is going to be a multi-part series with a lot of images. Seriously, I have like 10 pages of notes and a LOT of pictures bookmarked.

So I’m gonna ask y’all to be patient with the speed on this one, okay?

Let’s start with what we know about the time period of Anne of Green Gables. (Not any of the sequels – in this thread, I will be treating AOGG as a standalone work.)

First, Montgomery wrote it in 1906 so it can’t be any later than that. In “Anne to the Rescue”, the Prime Minister who’s visiting Charlottetown is definitely John A. Macdonald. Marilla comments on his nose and that was something many political cartoonists caricaturized about him.

He was Canada’s first Prime Minister, and also technically the third as he served twice with another dude between his two terms. The first time was from 1867 to 1873 which is way to early to be Anne’s time period IMO.

Going by the fashion of the time alone, you’re looking at straight, tight sleeves and very slight bustles. Puffed sleeves don’t fit.

    Purple dress by Southend Museum Services via Wikimedia commons. Red dress photo is public domain from the Met via Wikimedia commons. First fashion plate is public domain via Wikimedia commons and the second is by Nicole.c.s.y93 via Wikimedia commons.

John A. Macdonald’s second term was from 1878 to 1891. “Anne to the Rescue” takes place in January of Anne’s second year at Green Gables. December of Y2 is when Matthew gives Anne the Christmas dress, and that year the size of the puffs have gotten even larger.

Let’s backtrack slightly and define our time periods.

Canada became a country (according to white people) in 1867. I’m sure y’all knew that. In any of the time periods Anne could be set in, the British influence will still be very strong. Because of that, in this series, I’m going to use the British eras for reference. (Eras in British history refer to who was ruling at the time.)

Queen Victoria = the Victorian era. King Edward VII, her son = the Edwardian period. Victoria’s reign was 1837 to 1901, and Edward was on the throne 1901 to 1910, but there is actually some overlap when you’re talking fashion, since fashion changes aren’t instant. Like, if you look at early 1990s, they look very 1980s.

As well, sometimes the term Edwardian is retroactively applied to fashion things that happened during the actual Victorian period as Edward was a big leader and influencer of fashion. So some stuff from before 1901 can be considered Edwardian. I know it’s a bit complicated, but we’re all on the same page, yeah?

Also Victoria Day is May 20th this year. Her birthday was May 25th so our holiday is the Monday before the 25th. May long weekend is also my town-wide garage sale. Not related, just a fun fact.

As Canada is a Commonweath country, obviously the British influence was huge. And still is, to some extant. We have the Queen on our money, we have Victoria Day, Boxing Day, we spell thing with u’s. It was even greater in Anne’s time period, though. Canada was colonized under Queen Victoria’s reign. So when we’re talking fashion, it makes the most sense to me to look to that direction than to look to the US for context.

Another thing I find interesting – they have afternoon tea in Anne, and Queen Victoria was the one who made that a Thing. One of her ladies in waiting began having a small meal in the afternoon, usually around 4, as she couldn’t wait for til a 9pm dinner. (I get that. My blood sugar isn’t down for that schedule either.)

The lady would invite friends into her dressing room for it and Victoria caught wind of it and really liked the idea, and it became an elaborate thing. That’s where “tea gowns” are from. Which I’m not going to get into because this thread is going to be long enough, but look up sometime. That was in the 1850s and you can see how normalized it is in Anne by our time period.

I just thought that was neat lol.

So, 1870s fashion we talked about.

Moving into the 1880s, it’s not too different. Still narrow sleeves, and skirts narrow as well besides a brief resurgence of the bustle in the middle of the decade. This is, I believe, the fashion period that Marilla is using to make Anne’s dresses in the beginning of the book.

This, for instance, is a great picture from the mid 1880s – from this site, used with permission.

This was a wealthy family from Ontario wearing their best clothes, so this wouldn’t be so much everyday clothes but it helps you get the idea.

Random trivia, the lady on the bottom left with the very short hair – she may have been recovering from a bad illness. A lot of the time when women in this time period cut their hair very short, it was because they were very seriously ill and couldn’t manage the upkeep.

In general, your early 1880s has a lot of 1870s influence… typical for most decades of fashion. It’s pretty minimal in silhouette.

    Brown plaid dress and floral dress by the Met via Wikimedia commons.

The bustles from the later half of the decade are kind of great though. (Bustles are the big butt bumps.) This isn’t even as big as they could get.

  LACMA, Met, Met, they’re all public domain, I’m getting tired here, lol.

Going up to the very end of the 1880s, you’re still in that same area.

Some pictures from 1888. Pictures from here out are from Libraries and Archives Canada or the Met’s fashion plate collection. All are public domain. Click to enlarge I think.

    And some stuff from 1889

    Oh and this is a series of photos from I think an ice show in early 1889 which… what is going on in this ice show? There’s another I can’t find now, I think, where her skirt is just a tennis net?

  Okay, back to establishing our timeline. Sleeves begin to puff as we move into 1890. Some of these pics have specific dates which is super cool.

So, we have March 1890, May 1890, and July 1890.

  I particularly like this one from October 1890 that’s titled as “Nidd, Mrs. & Friend” and how much it looks like an awkward prom picture.

Last one from 1890, specifically December 1890.

Moving into 1891, the sleeves continue to get larger but usually not as huge as they’ll eventually become.

Also I keep wanting to make up backstory for these people. Like that second picture especially. Who are they?

    More from 1891

  Now the reason I’m focusing a little extra on 1891 is because that is the absolute latest that “Anne to the Rescue” could happen. John A. Macdonald was no longer Prime Minister after June 1891.

He was also dead.

I found a couple articles that referenced Macdonald visting P.E.I. in 1890, but it was a casual visit to a Senator friend in Charlottetown. The political meeting of the book seems to be purely fictional.

That Senator friend just happened to be Donald Montgomery, one of L. M. Montgomery’s grandparents. (Her father’s father, not the one she lived with after er mother died.)

Montgomery even met Macdonald on that visit. It happened in August 1890.

There’s an article out there called “The Hijacking of “Anne”” by Virginia Careless that puts the year Anne came to Green Gables as 1880. She uses the sequels to make this timeline and honestly? My suspicion is that as we get into sequels we’ll mostly discover that Montgomery wasn’t great at math.

Careless uses later events that I’m not looking at because I only want to use evidence from AOGG itself for this particular thread.

And I’m sorry, but puffed sleeves were NOT a thing in 1880.

Do you see a sleeve puff??

  Careless says, “That date is more in keeping with her longing for puffed sleeves in 1880, when she came to Green Gables. In 1877, her eleventh year according to the Treasury, such sleeves were not possible with the fashions then current.”

NOPE makes no sense! I know the article is from 1992 but like. You got paid for that, Careless.

Going by the date of Macdonald’s visit to Charlottetown and his death, and the fashion trends of the time, I am comfortable saying Anne came to Green Gables between 1889 and 1891. Specifically I think she came in June 1890. I think Macdonald’s fictional visit happens in 1891, and Anne gets her dress in December 1891.

Thing in the sequels may contradict this, but that’s where I think we stand judging by AOGG alone.

The timeline I think works: 1890 – Anne comes to GG in June, is 11, Y1 1891 – Croup in January, Christmas dress, Anne is 12, Y2 1892 – Hair dye, Queen’s class, Anne is 13, Y3 1893 – Mostly just a lot of school, Anne is 14, Y4 1894 – Queen’s exam, white sands hotel concert, Anne is 15, Y5 1895 – Year at Queen’s, Matthew’s death, Anne is 16, Y6

Also you can’t just say any puffed sleeve fits Anne’s time period. Sleeve puffs in the 1830s are much lower than the ones in the 1890s (and beyond).

Plus it doesn’t work with the tea thing. Can you tell I’ve discovered a pet peeve?

I think that’s about good for today. Not the last thread you’ll be seeing on this though! We have many things to discuss.

Shout out to Library and Archives Canada and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fashion plate collection.

Both were big helps in this and future threads.

Editing Laina: #LainaReadsAnne will be returning live soon! I’m getting caught up on a few things, and then we’ll be getting back into recaps! My summer job just got in the way.

Peace and cookies, Laina

#LainaReadsAnne, but make it fashion ...clearly I couldn't think of a title for this post. Original Twitter thread found here.

[toa-masquerade]

“ You must have a lot of energy, then… ” An admittance in the form of breathlessness. “ …I am afraid I am not the same. ”

Still, they seem to mull over that statement a moment longer, unfocused as they continue to rely on the other mask’s lead. Quietly, “ Are your interests something embarrassing? … You don’t need to answer that, if you don’t wish to. ”

A soft laugh, “ How will you find me? There are a great many singers amongst the ranks of the monastery. ”

 “ … But if you do, I shall sing you a song of my own creation. ” They demur, countenance gentle.

"Oh, nice! I'm no musician, but I know a few lullabies." The confession comes without a second beat, his next movements becoming more scattered, his gait wide and open as opposed to reserved as it had been. There's a twinge of confidence that he didn't normally exhibit, despite the fact that his own endurance was being stretched thin by repetitive motion.

He isn't sure how to best answer that question without giving himself away entirely. "Oh, you know. I just like to keep moving. I get restless if I'm sitting still for too long."

Not exactly a lie.

"You should sing for me sometime, once all this is over." Nice save.

[toa-masquerade]

“I’m afraid… I don’t have much talent with it either,” They confess, going quiet for a moment. “But I wonder if it would be better to study other usages of this spell than just for a night at the bottom of the ocean…”

Bashful, “There must be countless researchers that would be desperate to get an experience like this. It just feels a little… wasteful, you know?”

"I think so. I'm... not the greatest with it myself, but I've seen many amazing feats accomplished with magic. If it's capable of something as wondrous as this, then I'm sure there's even more it can do."

She smiles, "What about you? What is your view of magic?"

[toa-masquerade]

Were they serious right now...?

"It's not lying," they reply flatly. "It's called trying to make conversation, but I see you're set on picking fights in both the physical and metaphorical sense. We'll put a pin in this after all. You sure know how to take the fun out of things."

The coral in their hand hangs limply. Then, it's dropped so that it hits the ocean bed with a soft thud.

"It's not inconsiderate when I tried to play along the best way I could, but a ball is no place to work through your anger. It's one thing to stage a fight for the theatrics of it all, but if you're going to be difficult, then I'd rather spend the night with another partner."

They turn to leave.

"I can sympathize with not liking yourself," they call over their shoulder. "But taking it out on others isn't the way to go about it."

"Good evening."

[END]

"I like to believe I'm generally someone well-mannered I simply never expected someone who accepts my offer to a duel to then keep on talking. I cannot lie, I have a lot of anger to burn though tonight and thought this would one and done."

It really doesn't feel to strike, even with a training sword; they follow the other person's idea and snap off a different piece of that coral with their heel.

"I never did it for fun before, and if you don't like it, I really don't want to force you.

Tonight I am not myself, for I hate her, but it seems the person who lies is horribly inconsiderate."

[toa-masquerade]

"I like to believe I'm generally someone well-mannered I simply never expected someone who accepts my offer to a duel to then keep on talking. I cannot lie, I have a lot of anger to burn though tonight and thought this would one and done."

It really doesn't feel to strike, even with a training sword; they follow the other person's idea and snap off a different piece of that coral with their heel.

"I never did it for fun before, and if you don't like it, I really don't want to force you.

Tonight I am not myself, for I hate her, but it seems the person who lies is horribly inconsiderate."

Oh! Look at that! The Wildebeest-slash-Black Knight does have manners!

They tilt their head at the stranger, observing them with renewed interest. Silently, they take in the scraps of information they’re given: a sword user, someone who knows healing magic, and a person who desires to escape the confines of their regular life...

Hmmm. Is it an act to lower their guard, or something more sincere? It’s already hard to tell in the real world, let alone in this enchanted bubble of theirs.

“...Sure. This isn't exactly how I wanted to spend the evening, but I'll entertain it this once.”

Deftly, they reach for one of the coral plants. With some effort, it's snapped clean off the bush. In their hand, it becomes a misshapen sword of some kind, though with all its branches, it resembles something akin to a trident. Fitting for the self-proclaimed Master of the Tides.

“If there’s anything my experiences have taught me, it's that you should expect to be underestimated and be prepared to prove people wrong.” They brandish the "weapon" with a small flourish at their partner, then at the bush again, as if to say, go on, get yourself one.

"Unlike you, I don't fight for the fun of it. I learned because I had to."

[toa-masquerade]

Oh! Look at that! The Wildebeest-slash-Black Knight does have manners!

They tilt their head at the stranger, observing them with renewed interest. Silently, they take in the scraps of information they’re given: a sword user, someone who knows healing magic, and a person who desires to escape the confines of their regular life...

Hmmm. Is it an act to lower their guard, or something more sincere? It’s already hard to tell in the real world, let alone in this enchanted bubble of theirs.

“...Sure. This isn't exactly how I wanted to spend the evening, but I'll entertain it this once.”

Deftly, they reach for one of the coral plants. With some effort, it's snapped clean off the bush. In their hand, it becomes a misshapen sword of some kind, though with all its branches, it resembles something akin to a trident. Fitting for the self-proclaimed Master of the Tides.

“If there’s anything my experiences have taught me, it's that you should expect to be underestimated and be prepared to prove people wrong.” They brandish the "weapon" with a small flourish at their partner, then at the bush again, as if to say, go on, get yourself one.

"Unlike you, I don't fight for the fun of it. I learned because I had to."

Damn, so what are they supposed to do now?

Should they back down and explain, since they gave the other person a very skewed perception of themselves?

The formalities of nobility tire them emotionally, so they just wanted to get down to it quickly.

"I wanted to fight to escape my usual life strappings. And I have no issue with your conditions; in fact, something I now recognize I should have made clear from the beginning is that I know healing magic and intended to heal any of your scrapes.

And well, thank you for your time."

It really doesn't seem right to attack the other person armed while they are not. They take their sheath off and give their weapon away.

"Unlike you, I have no experience fighting barehanded, but if it would be okay with you, I'd like to give it a try."

They're not someone of much strength, but how much of this has been truly about winning?

[toa-masquerade]

Damn, so what are they supposed to do now?

Should they back down and explain, since they gave the other person a very skewed perception of themselves?

The formalities of nobility tire them emotionally, so they just wanted to get down to it quickly.

"I wanted to fight to escape my usual life strappings. And I have no issue with your conditions; in fact, something I now recognize I should have made clear from the beginning is that I know healing magic and intended to heal any of your scrapes.

And well, thank you for your time."

It really doesn't seem right to attack the other person armed while they are not. They take their sheath off and give their weapon away.

"Unlike you, I have no experience fighting barehanded, but if it would be okay with you, I'd like to give it a try."

They're not someone of much strength, but how much of this has been truly about winning?

“You know what? Forget the dance.” Irked? Maybe just a tad. “You have the charm of a wildebeest. If it’s a spar you want, then let’s make this quick.”

They might be the gruff type or maybe the brusque type-- either way, not exactly the company they want to spend the evening with. Still, they’ll give the stranger this much: whoever it is at least has the decency to relinquish the weapon they brought. A willingness to make things fair is something to appreciate.

“You don’t have to give it up,” they sigh. “Keep yours. I’ll manage. I’m no stranger to having to.”

They glance around the ocean floor, past the throngs of veiled partygoers toward a bush of brightly colored coral.

“I have conditions.” They gesture for their partner to follow them to the coral, nodding toward the dome to indicate where they’re headed. “One round only, and no hits above the chest. If you manage to impress me, I’ll reconsider leaving. But bruise me on a night like this, and I’ll make you regret suggesting this in the first place. Do we have a deal?”

Ho, hum. Is that a hint of friskiness, or is it a genuine threat?

[toa-masquerade]

“You know what? Forget the dance.” Irked? Maybe just a tad. “You have the charm of a wildebeest. If it’s a spar you want, then let’s make this quick.”

They might be the gruff type or maybe the brusque type-- either way, not exactly the company they want to spend the evening with. Still, they’ll give the stranger this much: whoever it is at least has the decency to relinquish the weapon they brought. A willingness to make things fair is something to appreciate.

“You don’t have to give it up,” they sigh. “Keep yours. I’ll manage. I’m no stranger to having to.”

They glance around the ocean floor, past the throngs of veiled partygoers toward a bush of brightly colored coral.

“I have conditions.” They gesture for their partner to follow them to the coral, nodding toward the dome to indicate where they’re headed. “One round only, and no hits above the chest. If you manage to impress me, I’ll reconsider leaving. But bruise me on a night like this, and I’ll make you regret suggesting this in the first place. Do we have a deal?”

Ho, hum. Is that a hint of friskiness, or is it a genuine threat?

"I don't care who you are."

They begin to assume they might be getting led around instead of a duel and should just drop the mask and go back to dancing.

Guh never mind.

"I just had it with my luggage; it's a training sword if it's safe enough for a mock battle; I didn't think to tell the faculty about it. But fair point: if you have nothing to fight with, I will give it for safekeeping to the knights. If you can find something you feel comfortable using, feel free to earn your dance."

[toa-masquerade]

"I don't care who you are."

They begin to assume they might be getting led around instead of a duel and should just drop the mask and go back to dancing.

Guh never mind.

"I just had it with my luggage; it's a training sword if it's safe enough for a mock battle; I didn't think to tell the faculty about it. But fair point: if you have nothing to fight with, I will give it for safekeeping to the knights. If you can find something you feel comfortable using, feel free to earn your dance."

" Would it? I’ve lived a thousand and one lives. With that comes a thousand and one names. Could you still guess me then, Dark Knight?” 

It’s not their first pick of an activity to do in this once-in-a-lifetime event, but they’ll oblige. A party is a party. A guessing game is as good as the effort put into it. Not to mention, a chance to prove there’s more to them than meets the eye. 

“I'll accept under the condition that you dance with me after. You’ll also have to show me where you got your weapon. I wasn’t aware we could bring them with us. As for my name,” 

“Call me the Master of the Tides. ” 

[toa-masquerade]

" Would it? I’ve lived a thousand and one lives. With that comes a thousand and one names. Could you still guess me then, Dark Knight?” 

It’s not their first pick of an activity to do in this once-in-a-lifetime event, but they’ll oblige. A party is a party. A guessing game is as good as the effort put into it. Not to mention, a chance to prove there’s more to them than meets the eye. 

“I'll accept under the condition that you dance with me after. You’ll also have to show me where you got your weapon. I wasn’t aware we could bring them with us. As for my name,” 

“Call me the Master of the Tides. ” 

"I would assume knowing your name would go against the spirit of this event."

It uhhh still might have been a better idea to do so....

"If you really need something to call me by, it can be Dark Knight."

It sounds pretentious as fuck, but it's the first that comes to mind, and they are working towards that class. And the other black knight also uses swords, but now they're just getting distracted.

"So, are you interested? The prospect of fighting underwater is quite fascinating to me."

[toa-masquerade]

"I would assume knowing your name would go against the spirit of this event."

It uhhh still might have been a better idea to do so....

"If you really need something to call me by, it can be Dark Knight."

It sounds pretentious as fuck, but it's the first that comes to mind, and they are working towards that class. And the other black knight also uses swords, but now they're just getting distracted.

"So, are you interested? The prospect of fighting underwater is quite fascinating to me."

"A duel?" A duel at a masquerade, no less. They raise an eyebrow inquisitively--perhaps even disapprovingly, though that proves hard to discern behind a mask. "And you won’t even ask for my name first? Tsk, tsk. Whatever happened to making a good first impression?" 

[toa-masquerade]

"A duel?" A duel at a masquerade, no less. They raise an eyebrow inquisitively--perhaps even disapprovingly, though that proves hard to discern behind a mask. "And you won’t even ask for my name first? Tsk, tsk. Whatever happened to making a good first impression?" 

They had no idea the mascarade was going to be underwater. What the hell??? It's going to be alright. Breathe. Just breathe. Breathe water; in this case, this is a bit insane...

Either way, they're not quitting, especially with the effort changing and getting their stuff taken.

They take their weapon; an underwater fight might somehow end up a valuable experience after all.

They put it in front of the sparing partner of their choosing.

"I would like you to challenge you to a duel."

[toa-masquerade]

“ Hm… ” They muse, letting the flow of the dance continue for a moment before they answer, “ I apologize, I’ve simply been busy in the last few months… ”

Fluttering attire swirls in their dance, as it morphs into something faster- merging with the waters of the sea.

“ …I like to sing. ” They end, simply. Still quiet, a hint of pride seeps into their voice, “ Sometimes I write my own songs, as well. ”

Another step, they move slightly closer to the other as the movements grew more lively. Even if they could not keep this up for long, they wish to enjoy it, for the moment. “ And you? What is it you enjoy doing…? ”

"Auberon." He repeats, as though tasting the word upon his tongue.

He takes another step with a subtle flourish, evidently overjoyed to be led into a more lively set of movements. When they spin, a school of fish surround them in abject fascination before wading away, leaving the pair alone once more to converse at their leisure.

"It is good to meet you. Auberon. If we haven't met already." He echoes their words, before taking their hand in his own. "What do you like to do for fun?"

[toa-masquerade]

Despite their earlier protests, they fall into step easily, not quite pulling closer, yet not pushing away. A simple distance, and a similarly simple step; as much strangers to the water as each other. They take to following the other’s lead, as if it were as natural as the way the water danced alongside. 

“ You can, ah, call me… ” A pause, abashed, despite the fact that they had been the one to pose the question originally. “ Auberon. ”

It is a name they slide into.

“ It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bell, ” They say, gently, slowly guiding the two into a spin. “ ...If we have not met before. ”

"I try to be."

There's a warm laugh, and for a moment he swore that if there wasn't magic keeping the water at bay, bubbles might emerge from his lungs and rise to whatever surface lay above them.

"An alias... hmm..." He didn't have a mysterious bone in his body. "Let's go with... Bell." 

With that initial bit of resistance settled, he leads them into something simple: a sway that wasn't too intimate, nor too distant from one another. If this one were to push, he would back off. Likewise, if they were to pull he would move closer. With each subtle movement it felt as though he was gliding through the water. It merely was—peaceful and tranquil as the subtle waves that surrounded them.

"What about you?" It was a challenge to force one's voice to be softer than it normally was. "Do you have an alias I should call you this evening?"