#Rich Text Editor

[thememakker]

Mplify - Versatile Bootstrap 4 Admin Template by Thememakker

Mplify Admin makes the development process easy and fast for you and aims to help you implement your idea in real time.

Product Highlights

Mplify is a fully professional, responsive, modern, multi-purpose, and feature-rich admin template. It can be used to create various websites, admin templates, admin dashboards, backend websites, CMS, CRM, blogs, business websites, timelines, and portfolios. This versatility makes it an ideal choice for developers looking to build functional and aesthetically pleasing web applications efficiently.

Key Features

Bootstrap 4.3.1: Ensures compatibility and modern design standards.

jQuery 3.3.1: Offers extensive plugins and support.

Built-in SCSS: Provides more flexibility and control over styles.

Light & Dark Full Support: Allows users to switch between light and dark themes.

RTL Full Support: Right-to-left language support for global accessibility.

W3C Validate Code: Ensures high coding standards and practices.

Mobile and Tablet Friendly: Responsive design for all devices.

Treeview: For hierarchical data display.

Drag & Drop Upload: Simplifies file uploading processes.

Image Cropping: Integrated tools for editing images.

Summernote: Rich text editor integration.

Markdown: Support for markdown formatting.

Beautiful Inbox Interface: User-friendly email management.

User-Friendly Chat App: Built-in chat application.

Scrum & Kanban Taskboard: Task management tools.

Add Events to Your Calendar: Event management capabilities.

File Manager: Efficient file organization and management.

Blogging: Tools to manage and create blog posts.

Testimonials: Features to showcase user testimonials.

Maintenance: Tools to manage and schedule maintenance.

Team Board: Collaboration tools for team management.

Search Result: Enhanced search functionalities.

Beautiful Pricing: Elegant pricing tables and plans.

Contact List & Grid: Efficient contact management.

User Profile: Customizable user profiles.

Extended Forms: Advanced form functionalities.

Clean Widgets: A variety of clean, modern widgets.

Technical Specifications

Bootstrap 4.3.1

Bootstrap 4.3.1 is a powerful front-end framework for faster and easier web development. It includes HTML and CSS-based design templates for typography, forms, buttons, tables, navigation, modals, image carousels, and many other interface components, as well as optional JavaScript plugins. Mplify leverages Bootstrap 4.3.1 to ensure a consistent and responsive design across all devices.

jQuery 3.3.1

jQuery is a fast, small, and feature-rich JavaScript library. It makes things like HTML document traversal and manipulation, event handling, and animation much simpler with an easy-to-use custom API integration that works across a multitude of browsers. Mplify includes jQuery 3.3.1 to provide enhanced functionality and interactivity to your applications.

Built-in SCSS

SCSS is a preprocessor scripting language that is interpreted or compiled into CSS. It allows you to use variables, nested rules, mixins, inline imports, and more, all with a fully CSS-compatible syntax. With SCSS, Mplify offers a more powerful and flexible way to manage styles.

Light & Dark Full Support

Mplify comes with built-in support for light and dark themes, allowing users to switch between these modes based on their preferences. This feature enhances user experience and accessibility, especially in different lighting conditions.

RTL Full Support

For developers targeting global audiences, Mplify provides full right-to-left (RTL) language support. This feature ensures that languages like Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian are properly displayed, making the template versatile and inclusive.

W3C Validate Code

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sets the standards for web development. Mplify adheres to W3C's coding standards, ensuring that the template is built with clean, valid code, which improves browser compatibility, SEO, and overall performance.

Mobile and Tablet Friendly

In today's mobile-first world, having a responsive design is crucial. Mplify is designed to be fully responsive, ensuring that your mobile application looks great and functions seamlessly on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

Applications

Mplify’s versatile design and feature set make it suitable for a wide range of applications across various industries. Here are some key applications:

Admin Dashboards

Mplify provides a robust framework for building admin dashboards. With its extensive set of UI components, charts, forms, and tables, you can create comprehensive dashboards that provide valuable insights and data visualization.

CMS (Content Management Systems)

With features like blogging, file management, and user profile management, Mplify can be used to build powerful CMS platforms. Its clean widgets and beautiful interface ensure that the content management experience is both efficient and enjoyable.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Mplify’s built-in tools for managing contacts, scheduling events, and maintaining communication through a chat app make it an excellent choice for developing CRM systems. These features help businesses manage customer interactions and data effectively.

Business Websites

The multi-purpose nature of Mplify allows it to be used for various business websites. Whether you need a portfolio, a blog, or a corporate website, Mplify provides the necessary tools and components to create a professional online presence.

Blogging Platforms

With integrated tools like Summernote for rich text editing and Markdown support, Mplify is ideal for creating blogging platforms. The beautiful inbox interface and testimonial features enhance the blogging experience, making it easy to manage and publish content.

Benefits

Easy and Fast Development

Mplify is designed to streamline the development process. With its pre-built components and templates, you can quickly assemble functional and aesthetically pleasing applications. This reduces development time and costs, allowing you to focus on implementing your ideas in real time.

Professional and Modern Design

Mplify offers a clean, modern design that is both professional and user-friendly. The template includes a variety of customizable widgets and components that adhere to the latest design standards, ensuring your application looks polished and up-to-date.

Comprehensive Feature Set

From task management tools like Scrum and Kanban boards to extensive form functionalities, Mplify provides a wide range of features that cater to various needs. This comprehensive feature set makes it a versatile solution for different types of projects.

Responsive and Mobile-Friendly

With Mplify, you can ensure that your application is accessible on all devices. Its responsive design adapts to different screen sizes, providing a seamless user experience on desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

Global Accessibility

Mplify’s RTL support and multi-language capabilities make it suitable for global applications. This feature ensures that your application can cater to users from different regions, enhancing its reach and usability.

Regular Updates and Support

When you purchase a license for Mplify, you receive all future updates for free. This ensures that your application remains up-to-date with the latest features and improvements. Additionally, Mplify provides excellent customer support to assist with any issues or queries.

Challenges and Limitations

Learning Curve

While Mplify is designed to be user-friendly, there may be a learning curve for beginners who are not familiar with Bootstrap or jQuery. However, comprehensive documentation and community support can help mitigate this challenge.

Customization

Although Mplify offers a wide range of customization options, extensive customization may require advanced knowledge of SCSS and JavaScript. This could be a limitation for developers who are not well-versed in these technologies.

Performance

As with any feature-rich template, there is a potential for performance issues if too many components and plugins are used simultaneously. It is important to optimize the application and selectively use features to maintain optimal performance.

Latest Innovations

Enhanced UI Components

Mplify continues to evolve with regular updates that introduce new and improved UI components. These enhancements ensure that your application remains modern and functional.

Advanced-Data Visualization

Recent updates have focused on improving data visualization capabilities. With enhanced charting tools and interactive elements, Mplify allows for more dynamic and engaging data presentation.

Integration with New Technologies

Mplify is continuously updated to integrate with the latest web technologies. This ensures compatibility with new frameworks and libraries, providing developers with more tools to build advanced applications.

Future Prospects

AI and Machine Learning Integration

The future of Mplify may include integration with AI and machine learning tools. This would enable developers to build more intelligent and automated applications, enhancing user experience and functionality.

Expanded Plugin Support

As the web development landscape evolves, Mplify is likely to expand its plugin support. This will provide developers with more options for extending the functionality of their applications.

Improved Accessibility Features

Mplify is expected to continue enhancing its accessibility features. This includes better support for assistive technologies and compliance with accessibility standards, ensuring that applications built with Mplify are inclusive for all users.

Comparative Analysis

Versus Other Bootstrap Templates

When compared to other Bootstrap templates, Mplify stands out due to its comprehensive feature set, modern design, and extensive customization options. While other templates may offer similar components, Mplify's unique features like RTL support and advanced task management tools give it an edge.

Versus Custom Development

Opting for a pre-built template like Mplify can significantly reduce development time and costs compared to custom web development. While custom development offers more flexibility, Mplify provides a robust foundation that can be easily customized to meet specific needs.

User Guides and Tutorials

Getting Started with Mplify

Installation: Download and install Mplify from the official website or marketplace.

Configuration: Configure the template settings according to your project requirements.

Customization: Use the built-in SCSS files to customize the styles and appearance.

Integration: Integrate Mplify with your backend systems and databases.

Deployment: Deploy your application on your preferred hosting platform.

Advanced Customization Techniques

SCSS Variables: Use SCSS variables to easily change colors, fonts, and other styles.

JavaScript Customization: Extend the functionality by adding custom JavaScript code.

Component Modification: Modify existing components or create new ones to meet specific needs.

Performance Optimization: Optimize the performance by minifying CSS and JavaScript files, and selectively loading components.

Conclusion

Mplify is a powerful, versatile, and user-friendly Bootstrap 4 admin dashboard template. It offers a wide range of features and customization options, making it suitable for various applications, from admin dashboards to business websites. With its modern design, responsive layout, and extensive documentation, Mplify simplifies the development process, allowing developers to implement their ideas in real time efficiently.

Whether you are building a CMS, CRM, or a personal blog, Mplify provides the tools and flexibility needed to create a professional and functional web application. Its ongoing updates and support ensure that your projects remain current and compatible with the latest web technologies.

[eulaliasims]

Finally started making the actual posts for Veridia on dreamwidth and I'm shocked at how much html I remember. I'd like to thank Neopets for this moment.

[wrestlezon]

Best Friends & Orange Cassidy vs Miro & Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford Feud (Oct 2020 - Mar 2021)

Hey, I finally finished putting this together! (its just tv stuff, i missed any twitter tweets)

I've supplied (brief) summaries, hyperlinks, and timestamps for each show, mostly to fite/triller where you can directly watch them if you have an AEW+ sub. If you don't, I tried to include some youtube/twitter alternative links where applicable. I've also left the bilibili video ids from before I got fite/triller, they're in blue.

(My advice: feel free to skip straight to Jan 06 2021.)

It's a looooong post, so its under this readmore. You can also find it as a separate page on my tumblr here. if i end up hosting it anywhere else i'll edit the original post and put a link here as well maybe

by zon :)

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

OCT 14 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-anniversary-show-live-results-four-title-matches-322571

The feud begins. The first match of the show is Best Friends vs FTR. Kip and Penelope are… playing… on an arcade cabinet in the arena. Trent accidentally destroys the cabinet while fighting FTR. Kip and Penelope to run off. After the match ends, they return with Miro who beats up Chuck and Trent. After a commercial break, Miro/Kip have a tag match (squash) against Lee Johnson/Sean Maluta and then do a promo about the broken arcade cabinet.

0:16:21 arcade break | 0:20:00 Miro Appears | 0:26:00 Miro/Kip/Penelope postmatch promo

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-42-20/2p88b/ BV1Rp4y1r7y9

(later on in this show, Orange has a match against Cody for his TNT Championship.)

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

OCT 28 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-live-results-world-title-eliminator-semifinals-323741

Returning from supporting Orange Cassidy in his lumberjack match, Best Friends bump into Miro, Kip, and Penelope (MKP, if you will) in the halls. MKP are pretty chill about the whole broken arcade thing and offer them some presents and halloween treats. Chuck and Trent are unamused. MKP then reveal that it was merely a halloween trick™ and beats them up.

1:17:00 best friends + MKP backstage promo

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-44-20/2p8ac/ BV1j5411L7GM

Also, Orange has a rematch against Cody for that TNT championship since their last match ended due to the time limit. This time its a lumberjack match. Best Friends are present and also take part in the chaos.

54:28 Orange’s match entrance | 57:50 Cody’s entrance (and the rest of the match)

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

NOV 2 2020

Excalibur interviews Trent and Miro ahead of their upcoming match on Wednesday over webcam. It’s 6 minutes long, and mostly Excalibur bearing witness to Trent and Miro arguing. Gonna give a shout out to their distinct webcam setups, lol (Trent is using workout earbuds and sitting in what has to be a large dim empty room, Excalibur is in his bedroom, and Miro is in his gamer office with a headset)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N1SZTP8ywc

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

NOV 4 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-live-results-full-gear-go-home-show-324296

Trent vs Miro. During the entrances they show a clip from the interview from Nov 2nd. Orange and Chuck are hanging out ringside, as well as Kip and Penelope. Eventually Chuck runs off stage while fighting Kip. Dark Order appear to beat up Orange since hes fighting John Silver at the upcoming Full Gear. Miro scares them off and then defeats Trent with his submission hold. After the match, Miro puts Trent back into his Game Over submission and Chuck runs in to save him. Kip was following close behind. Chuck and Trent get both of their asses kicked. Orange attacks MKP and the two sides split off.

0:23:25 Trent vs Miro | 0:28:00 Chuck leaves | 0:31:00 Dark Order appears | 0:37:23 Match Ends | 39:40 Postmatch ends

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-45-20/2p8cy/ BV1wV41117E7

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

NOV 6 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dark-results-daniels-vs-sydal-taylor-vs-johnson-324511

Chuck Taylor fights Lee Johnson on AEW Dark. Nothing MKP-related happens, but at the start Excalibur briefly brings up the ongoing feud Best Friends are having with Miro/Kip/Penelope. Plus its a fun match for AEW Dark.

43:56 Chuck Taylor vs Lee Johnson

https://youtu.be/S_ShrIJ4hVQ?t=2636

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

NOV 7 2020

www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-full-gear-live-results-five-title-matches-omega-vs-page-324571

Full Gear! Orange has a match against John Silver. Later on, he gets interviewed by Dasha alongside Best Friends. MKP interrupt the interview– Kip’s mad that Orange’s beef with the Dark Order caused them to show up at the Trent vs Miro match, and that they could’ve hurt Penelope. He asks for an apology from Orange and then immediately slaps him anyway. Best Friends get mad on his behalf but Orange casually says everythings cool and walks with the two of them offscreen. Everyone is confused at how chill he is.

3:09:53 Backstage Interview

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-full-gear-2020/2p83a/ BV18K4y1E7uE

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

NOV 11 2020

They play the segment from Full Gear on this Dynamite and announce Kip vs Orange for next week.

1:36:45

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-46-20/2p8ef/

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

NOV 18 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-live-results-pac-returns-world-title-contract-signing-325391

Kip Sabian vs Orange Cassidy. Best Friends accompany Orange for his entrance, but return to the back. Miro’s on commentary calling Trent his Young Boy. JR brings up Kip and Penelope’s upcoming marriage. After Orange wins the match, Miro sprints from the commentary table to punch out Orange. Best Friends show up immediately after and MKP run off.

0:26:53 Match Start | 39:50 Match End

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-47-20/2p8ft/ BV1jK4y1j79q

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

NOV 24 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dark-results-dark-order-vs-janelakiss-vs-chaos-project-325946

Trent vs Michael Nakazawa Chuck and Orange are hanging around ringside. Not necessarily MKP-related, but Excalibur mentions their feud. The Wrestling Observer article says that Nakazawa sabotaged Trent during his match against Miro way back when, but I’m not sure where that’s specifically mentioned. It’s really just in service of facilitating this goofy comedy match.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf1mr41FoLQ&t=1123s

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

NOV 25 2020

Miro & Kip’s game livestream is interrupted by OC. Its a trap by the Best Friends!

twitter.com/AEW/status/1331783338214961153

or:

1:11:03

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-48-20/2p8h6/

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

DEC 1 2020

Best Friends have an AEW Dark match against Sean Maluta & Adam Priest. Unrelated to the feud, it seems? https://youtu.be/oLW9pywcIYI?t=2722

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

DEC 2 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-winter-coming-live-results-moxley-vs-omega-326461

The show starts off with the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale, and it has Orange Cassidy in it. It comes down to him, Wardlow, and MJF, and Orange eliminates Wardlow to end the match and qualify for the dynamite diamond ring match next week. Best Friends come out to pick him up congratulate him. Orange flops to the ground like a sack of potatoes. MKP come out to antagonize them and are held back by every referee.

13:45 Match End | 15:03 Postmatch End

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-49-20/2p8i3/ BV1KK41137KR

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

DEC 9 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-live-results-sting-interview-omega-title-win-fallout-327116

The dynamite diamond ring match! Best Friends accompany Orange and hang around ringside along with a group of others to even out the odds as MJF has the entire Inner Circle backing him up. This is a pretty fun match. At the end, Miro comes out to knock Orange out while the ref is preoccupied by ringside chaos, and then MJF takes advantage of this to pin Orange for the win. Best Friends fight with Miro & Kip, but the refs get them away. Miro proceeds to kick the shit out of every security guard.

1:43:36 Orange’s entrance + match start | 1:57:35 Ringside Chaos + Miro Appears

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-50-20/2p8jf/ BV1QK41137mb

unrelated, but MJF has a short promo against Orange at 14:40

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

DEC 15 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dark-results-best-friends-vs-chaos-project-shida-vs-king-327711

Best Friends vs Chaos Project fight on this episode of AEW DARK. Miro comes out at the end to yell at them, but the refs keep him away.

1:42:00 Match intro | 1:53:00 Miro Appears

https://youtu.be/7_xHd64xeeQ?t=6171

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

DEC 16 2020

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/results/aew-dynamite-live-results-omega-vs-janela-no-dq-match-327716

(trent had a fight against jericho earlier, and had a staredown with ortiz/santana…)

Best Friends do a promo– They’re unhappy about Miro sabotaging Orange Cassidy, and hear that Kip and Penelope’s wedding date is being announced next week, and warn that they’ll also be at that show.

1:41:20 Promo

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-51-20/2p8ka/ BV1bt4y1k7SC

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

DEC 23 2020

Wedding date reveal segment. Best Friends’ intro starts, but its just a prank. They then show Trent being loaded into ambulance.

1:11:00-1:14:55

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-52-20/2p8l5/ BV115411H7PA

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

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

JAN 06 2021

Chuck and Orange give an update on the status of Trent’s injury, Miro and the gang show up. Miro tells Chuck that he needs to stand up for himself instead of hiding behind his friends, or better yet be Miro’s friend and do all his chores. Chuck challenges Miro to a match next week, and Miro accepts with the stipulation that if Chuck loses he’ll have to be his young boy/rookie. Chuck agrees just to get this stupid beef over with faster.

0:24:27-0:26:18

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-01-21/2p8ne/ BV1c54y1s71A

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

JAN 13 2021

chuck vs miro. we know who wins– obviously. how would there be a butler segment otherwise?

0:15:20 chuck entrance | 23:02 match ends

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-02-21/2p8oj/ BV1xh411y7XX

You can also just watch the last 3 mins of the match on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vRsizDs838

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

JAN 21 2021

We get the Charles Taylor butler reveal during Leyla Hirsch vs Penelope Ford. Orange is in the crowd, rather unhappy. After the match, Miro commands Chuck to enter the the ring and bosses him around. He then forces Chuck to look at Orange in the crowd and say into the mic that Miro is his best friend now.

1:25:22 Penelope Ford Entrance | 1:34:55-1:37:33 Postmatch Promo

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-03-21/2p8pk/ BV14v4y1f7tr

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

FEB 03 2021

Miro and Kip have a short backstage promo about being excited for the wedding. Chuck is standing next to them, miserable. Vickie Guerrero then fetches them for the big wedding.

Miro gets Chuck to bring the champagne, then drinks Chuck’s glass cuz he is working. Miro gets mad at the person sized present hanging round the ring. Chuck says its a wedding gift from him. Miro is on to him, and trashes the gift. Chuck cuffs Miro's leg while he isnt looking, then Chuck turns on them. Orange also appears :)

1:00:12 Wedding Stage Setup | 1:00:56 Backstage Promo + Wedding | 1:12:08 Wedding… Ruined | 1:16:23 (segment end)

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-05-21/2p8sj/ BV1vU4y1x7E8

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

FEB 10 2021

Recap of last week’s events.

47:35-49:24 MKP's promo, then Orange and Chuck

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-06-21/2p8tp/ BV1ur4y1N7Fd

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

FEB 17 2021

Orange Cassidy vs Luther on dynamite. Chuck and Serpentico are ringside. Neither Miro nor Kip Sabian make an appearance.

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

FEB 24 2021

Tony Schiavone has an interview with MKP. They’re very very mad about the wedding. Miro wants to beat up Orange. He says he likes Chuck Taylor and wants him to come back and be a butler for him again. Someone gives tony a note. Its one of those little “will u wrestle us at revolution? y/n/maybe :)” asking-someone-out-in-highschool kind of notes. Miro gets mad and says its childish and that Orange Cassidy is such a bad influence on him. But if Chuck comes home he’ll teach him how to be a man. Miro then crumples up the note and eats it, and then spits it back out at Tony.

37:13-39:35 Promo Segment

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-08-21/2p8w5/ BV1cp4y1H7Qv (0:37:25 ?)

alternatively: https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1364752741889900545

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

MAR 03 2021

Revolution 2021 Miro + Kip vs Chuck + Orange match announcement, plus a short backstage promo from Miro.

1:43:26 Miro Promo

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-09-21/2p8xm/ BV1MK4y1D737

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

MAR 08 2021

The Match At Revolution. feat. a lightly bloodied chuck

1:21:54 Marvez backstage interview w/ Chuck and Orange (that leads into the rest of the match) | 1:33:26 Match End

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-revolution-2021/2p8rn/ BV1Pf4y1t7GL

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

MAR 10 2021

Chuck and Orange requests a rematch. Arcade Anarchy!

31:30 Promo Start

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-10-21/2p8zg/ BV1rN411Q7c2

alternatively: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SGY6GgdLJU

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

MAR 17 2021

Marvez interviews Miro about how Chuck and Orange challenged them to a rematch. Miro’s not interested, says he is over it. Kip interrupts and says he super isn’t over it, and is mad that Miro doesnt care and also hurt his wife! Kip accepts the rematch.

1:33:27-1:35:01 Backstage Promo

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-11-21/2p90p/ BV1Cf4y1s7uv

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

MAR 24 2021

Video package about the upcoming Arcade Anarchy match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwRMbFy4SU8

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

MAR 29 2021

AEW DARK miro shows up at the end of orange/chuck’s match. :O https://youtu.be/d2hjXKRuHVY?t=94

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

MAR 31 2021

The Arcade Anarchy match! By pinfall or submission only.

1:39:29 Match Intro / Miro + Kip Entrance | (commercial break) | 1:43:34 Orange + Chuck Entrance

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-13-21/2p93m/ BV1yf4y1x7Kq 1:26:40 (?)

supplemental material for the arcade match lol: https://twitter.com/callmekrisstat/status/1377705137792290821

ah damn wtf hold on the tweet’s deleted. here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210914041200/https://twitter.com/callmekrisstat/status/1377705137792290821

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

what happens later?

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

APR 07 2021

Best Friends interrupt Death Triangle's in-ring promo and start shit up with them (again):

15:18

https://www.trillertv.com/watch/aew-dynamite-episode-14-21/2p94w/ BV16K411w7Ug 0:16:00 (?)

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

APR 14 2021

Kip Sabian is nowhere to be found, which Miro finds pretty annoying! He just wants to talk, cmon. Well, since he can’t find him, he’s moving on to challenging anyone in the company holding gold. https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1382498000484851713

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

APR 21 2021

miro promo again: https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1385035045799448585

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

APR 26 2021

Kris Statlander started feuding with Penelope Ford, too. Here’s a Road to Dynamite where Chuck, Trent, and Orange support Kris through a promo video package. It’s one of my favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYScNUG1ego

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

APR 28 2021

Kip goes to see whats up with Miro :) https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1387583461939101698

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

Over the course of 2022 you’ll occasionally see a guy in the crowd with a cardboard box on his head. That’s Kip Sabian, out of kayfabe he was dealing with recovering from a shoulder injury? It lasted a while and when he recovered he came back as a my chemical romance lookin’ dude who may or may not have thought the cardboard box was controlling him? The gimmick didn’t get over so it got dropped pretty fast. He also had a short feud again against Orange Cassidy in 2023 when Orange had the All-Atlantic Championship– he got under Orange’s skin so bad! Anyway thats neither here nor there. Thanks for reading!

[lamortwrites]

wip weds ✨

tagged by @bharv, ty! tagging @dandelion-bride @calcazars @eregar @chronurgy <3

Humans have a great love of something they call refreshments: food and drink to be consumed alongside their various activities. During the official negotiations, many humans sip from cups of water (fresh water, devoid of salt, harvested further inland and hauled out to the shore since humans are incapable of sustaining themselves on the regular seawater merfolk subsist on) or mugs of a liquid called coffee that is served hot. Gortash had explained to them that this liquid contains a stimulant, some sort of chemical that human bioengineers have managed to develop that reduces or even removes their biological need for rest. An alarming revelation, to discover that human ingenuity extends not only to their artificial machines but also to mastery over their own bodies -- but when he had offered them a cup the liquid had been so vile that Labrys had been unable to stomach more than a couple of mouthfuls. They had felt no more energised after drinking it and slept no less that night, and so they can safely theorise that, unless the chemical is particularly effective on humans in small doses, it is not yet a threat worth diverting too many resources to.

During the long days of cyclical talks, humans make a big deal of breaking the time in half for something they call lunch. They have to admit, begrudgingly, that the human propensity for forcing others to cater to their weaknesses works doubly well here: humans have smaller stomachs, digest their food quicker, and cannot last the day without at least three meals. The first they have in the mornings, before the merfolk contingent arrives; the third, after they have finished for the day; and the second meal sits in between the two, when the sun is at its zenith and negotiations are starting to lean a little too far in the merfolk's favour.

Ever since Gortash taught them what the symbols mean on these strange circular devices that litter the human world, how they measure time in their made up numbers and not in the sun's position in the sky, Labrys has been sure to keep an eye on the times that things happen. The humans will claim to get too hungry to continue at a different time every day, will insist on taking a break just as the merfolk are starting to gain ground. When they reconvene afterwards, when the humans have flaunted their abundance of resources and eaten their lavish, wasteful meals, leaving the merfolk with nothing just as they plan to do with their ever increasing domain in the ocean, the humans are refreshed and ready to continue; the merfolk are tired, worn out, and just as hungry as they always are. It has become more difficult to go without as of late, Labrys has noticed, but when they had brought up the inequality to Gortash he had simply smiled and offered them a seat at the humans' table during their lunch hour. The implication had been clear: submit, and you will be rewarded. They had near mauled him for the suggestion, shaking with rage at the thought of even implying that their allegiance lies with those so intent on destroying their people.

When they had visited him that night, they had not allowed him to eat a single bite of his evening meal.

[redlettermediathings]

[banrionceallach]

Just leaving this here. For anyone who is looking into whether they're eligible for an irish passport for, y'know, reasons.

Documents for Adult Passport

[shadovvheart]

why does tumblr always refuse to apply formatting to the last or a couple last letters?

WHY?? HELLO?

[pinkeoni]

Since AO3 is down until who knows when, I wanted to reupload my favorite fic that I’ve written in a second location— Mike Wheeler Hates Cigarettes

Written depiction of smoking under the cut

“Those things will fuck up your lungs, you know.”

Mike Wheeler stood on the roof of Hawkins High School. His arms clung to his side, a slight shiver in his body from the brisk autumn air that was slowly turning into a winter chill.

A few feet in front of him stood Will Byers, looking out at what was left of their small Indiana town. The “earthquake,” as the townspeople called it, left the town in ruin.

“The world ended, and they’re still making us go to school?”

But Will came up here less for the view and more for the space. No one else was ever on the roof.

No one else except Mike.

Will turned his head back towards his best friend, slowly revealing the Marlboro Red that was carefully perched between his lips. He smiled at him. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew smoke out like a dragon.

Mike walked up to him as Will pulled out the half-empty pack of Marlboros from his pocket. He took a good looking one in his fingers.

Mike parted his lips, and Will ever so carefully placed the cigarette in between them.

This was Mike’s favorite part of the routine.

Will always got very close to do this. Sometimes his fingers would gently brush past Mike’s lips, and Mike held on to moments like this as long as he could. He knew it was the closest he would ever get to actually kissing him.

Will pulled a zippo lighter from his pocket and flicked it open, a sudden spark of fire in between the two boys. When Will would light Mike’s cigarette, they might briefly share eye contact, and for a split second Mike would think “Wait, does he also…?” before quickly resigning the thought.

To tell you the truth, Mike Wheeler hates cigarettes.

He hates the way they taste. He hates the way they smell. He hates that the smell would stay on his clothes for the rest of the day, leading to an inevitable scolding from his father. He hates the burning sensation that it made him feel in his chest.

But he loved being up here with Will.

He loved standing up there, just the two of them, in the peace and quiet of the open air. He loved that he could talk about anything up here, or he could talk about nothing.

And he loved watching Will smoke. He loved watching him purse his lips around a Marlboro to take take a long and slow drag, before leaning his head back and letting the smoke billow out of his mouth. It was a show worth pretending to like cigarettes for.

Mike remembers the first time he ever saw him smoke. It was right after Will had been attacked by One. Mike remembers looking out onto Hopper’s front porch as Joyce rubbed Will’s back. He couldn’t hear what they were saying though. A little bit later Joyce came inside, and Mike looked out to Will leaning over the side of the porch, dragging one of Hopper’s Marlboros. “Did you pick that up in California?” is what he asked Will when he walked back in. Will only responded with a half smile.

Mike took a quick drag of his cigarette and blew it out, not wanting to keep the toxic smoke in him for too long. To be honest, he wasn’t even addicted. This could easily be his last cigarette. But the same couldn’t be said for Will. So this was definitely not Mike’s last smoke break.

“I had another nightmare.” Will finally spoke. He took another puff and didn’t elaborate further. Mike understood. Sometimes Will didn’t want to go into details about that kind of thing, he just wanted to express that it happened. If Will wanted to talk about it further, he would have.

But Mike knew exactly what Will was talking about. His nightmare was about One. One was dormant, that’s what Will told everyone. Nonetheless, Will couldn’t shake the hold his tormentor had on him. All he could do was smoke cigarettes.

Mike wished there was more he could do. He wished he could kill One himself. The older kids sometimes went on hunting missions to the Upside Down with no luck— he was nowhere to be found. Mike wish he could go inside Will’s brain himself then, and squash all of the nightmares and bad feelings caused by One. He wish he could throw his arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, that he was always going to be right there for him, that they were going to fix it together. But he also knew that Will didn’t like to be coddled.

So he smoked cigarettes instead.

[nightshade-shot]

Does anyone still use Quotev??? I honestly love it. I wish more fanfic authors used it :(

[stained-glass-cicada]

the silly little sayerfic formatting is fun and cute when the chapter is one thousand words.

but as it turns out when the chapter is six thousand words it's a nightmare

[wheucto]

THHTHEY REMOVED WORDPAD.

[darcyolsson]

also this feature has been around for some time (i think it came with the new editor that rolled out a few years ago?) but i love that even if you edit a post in html, you can now also use the preview tab as a rich text editor at the same time. i hate to say it but [tumblr] kind of popped off with that one i fear

[cyberneticnightmares]

I hate how AO3 keeps putting spaces between italicized words and punctuation. I do not have the time to go through the whole chapter and get those fixed and it throws off the whole thing enough to annoy the fuck out of me. Like, bro, come on.

[alicentsultana]

You configure the fic

You post the fic

Ao3: let's mess everything you just did

[dvar-trek]

day 5 of this fucking migraine, but i'm finishing the february romance roundup post if it kills me

[umbry-fic]

Ultramarine Hymn

Summary: Vowing to grant her wish, Lloyd embarks on a new journey with Colette.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Colette Brunel, Lloyd Irving, Sheena Fujibayashi, Genis Sage, Presea Combatir, Noishe, Dirk, Martel Yggdrasill Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving Rating: G Word Count: 5205 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 10/08/2023

Notes: This is set after The Celestial Fox. It's a fluffy fic that let me slip in a bunch more lore I missed from the original. Title from Ultramarine Hymn by Eve.

~~~

Verse 1: Sheena

After the night when Colette had carried him through the skies, bringing him so close to the stars that he could have reached out and brushed his fingers against their never-ending brilliance, Lloyd had vowed to grant the wish she had entrusted to him with everything that he had. They would travel this vast world together, seeking out its every hidden corner. Along the way, he would point out every detail he had learned from his own journey, his heart never failing to swell in his chest at the bright smile that graced her face each time he did so. An endless deluge of curious questions would spill from her mouth, and he would answer every single one as best he could as she attentively hung on to his every word.

He hoped he could visit every person who had guided him to where he was now, who had provided him with a listening ear and not instantly turned him away for being a naive child who clung too tightly to dusty legends. And… He wished to show those he trusted the incredible girl who trailed stardust with each step she took.

Their first stop was Mizuho - a village tucked away in the depths of a dark forest, almost impossible to find if one wasn’t paying careful attention. He had spent the better part of a month there, learning all he could about the Celestial Fox. Mizuho was one of the last places to have full faith in their existence, refusing to relegate them to nothing more than a rumour that had spiralled out of control. They were revered and featured everywhere in the village. As patterns sewn onto protective charms, as a graceful presence on sliding doors, and even as wooden charms fairly similar to the one he had crafted himself and still sat on his bedroom shelf.

He wanted to thank those who had shown him hospitality - mainly Sheena, who had kindly offered him a place to stay and had regaled him with all of the exciting tales she’d heard from the Elder since she was young.

His other objective was to procure a disguise charm that could hide Colette’s ears and tail from prying gazes. He didn’t trust that no one would attempt to take advantage of the power that lay within her if someone were to figure out just who she was, but it didn’t seem fair for Colette to have to keep a hood on at all times. Her ears couldn’t breathe under all that cloth, no matter how many times she reassured him that she was fine with the current arrangement, her thumb running over the fox he’d stitched into the fabric.

“Um, Sheena? You alright?”

Frowning, he waved a hand in front of her face. Not a word had left her mouth for the last minute or so - she’d just been blankly staring at Colette ever since she’d pushed down her red hood to reveal a pair of furry ears, twitching under the scrutiny. Not that he had any room to judge. The first time he’d met Colette, he’d been just as dumbstruck. Being incapacitated by a sense of wonder that clutched one’s heart in its grasp… It was simply what happened when met with a being one had been convinced would never exist outside of bedtime stories.

“You… You’re…” Sheena finally snapped into motion, stumbling over her words. Disbelief, followed by awe, flitted across her face in rapid succession. “But that can’t be…”

“Hi!” Colette called out cheerfully, reaching for the other girl’s hands as her ears perked up. “You’re Sheena, right? Lloyd’s told me all about - Ah!”

In trying to get closer, Colette had inevitably tripped over a loose floorboard, kickstarting a chain of events which saw her crashing into a table, causing the vase sitting atop it to wobble and tip over. With the terrible sound of porcelain slamming against a solid surface, the vase shattered, scattering sharp shards and an assortment of flowers.

“Oh,” Sheena exhaled, all the breath leaving her as she crumpled to the floor so quickly that he didn’t have time to react, let alone catch her.

This had rapidly veered into the territory of a disaster.

“Sheena? What’s going on in there?”

Lloyd stiffened instantly, resisting the urge to scream, having recognised just who that voice belonged to. For all the days for him to make the long trip from Meltokio to Mizuho, did he have to pick today?

“Why’s there fur all over the…” The voice trailed off as a head of red hair poked through the entryway. Zelos, for once in his life, appeared to be at an utter loss for words as his gaze roved over the room, which looked as if a tornado had run through it and thrown everything into chaos, before finally landing on the unconscious woman on the wooden floor. “Sheena?!”

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” Colette squeaked, lifting her head off the floor, hair falling into her face. Lloyd could spy no cuts on her exposed skin, but there was a daisy in her mouth that she’d already begun to unconsciously chew on.

Groaning, he buried his head in his hands.

Verse 2: Presea

“No paw pads…” Presea intoned, gaze trained on the very-much human hands in her grip.

“I’m sorry,” Colette replied, Presea’s disappointment leaking into her own voice, her ears flattening against her head. She never could bear to see someone disappointed.

Sitting at his desk buried in paperwork, Regal failed to suppress a smile, while Lloyd, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, barely restrained his laughter from escaping his throat.

Presea was the same as ever. When Lloyd had told her about Noishe the last time he’d been in Altamira a year ago, her eyes had lit up with a rarely-seen sparkle. For a bit, he’d thought that she would dash out the doors of the office and head straight to Iselia in record time, fuelled by her desire to touch Noishe’s paw pads.

“Hm…” Colette bit her lip, her frown turning contemplative. “Oh, I know!” Dropping Presea’s hands, she strode over to the window and threw it wide open to reveal the moon, hanging round and high in the night sky. Its light, currently at its strongest, spilt into the room, painting all in its glorious silver. “You’re in luck! Tonight’s a full moon!”

Lloyd blinked, arms falling slack to his side as he realised what it was she was trying to do. “Colette, you don’t have to…”

 “It’s alright, I don’t mind.” Her eyebrows scrunching together, she shut her eyes, going completely still. Even her tail, perpetually in motion, came to a stop. Deep in focus, she resembled a statue, carved to perfection and lovingly painted.

In the blink of an eye, the girl before the window vanished from sight. In her place was a petite fox that barely reached their knees, fur rippling as she opened her maw to yawn, stretching her stiff limbs.

Presea gasped in delight, rushing over and dropping to her knees. Picking up the fox’s front paws, she cooed, a small smile on her face. “So soft…”

“I didn’t know she could do that,” Regal commented, one eyebrow raised. “The legends made no mention of it.”

“Didn’t know until a few weeks ago, either,” Lloyd replied, walking over to scratch Colette behind the ears. Her purrs reverberated through his hand as she rubbed her head against it. “She can only do it on the full moon.”

He’d found out after waking up in the middle of the night to find a fox curled up atop him, sound asleep. Colette, flushing rather furiously and refusing to meet his gaze, had explained that she had difficulty doing it unless she truly concentrated, but that it tended to happen at random when she was asleep.

“It seems that this world is still full of surprises,” Regal commented, expression gentle as he watched Presea and Colette frolic across the room.

“Yeah,” he replied softly, holding out his arms for Colette to jump into. She let out a happy yip, settling into his hold as a relaxed ball of fur, lapping at his offered hand. “It is.”

Refrain: Lloyd

Lloyd’s finger traced the blue line that ran down the map that was spread out across the wooden table, ending its journey on the brown dot that represented the town he called home. By his estimates, so long as he and Colette stuck close to the river, they only had about a week of travelling to go before they reached Iselia. Just a week, before he was back among familiar buildings and all the people he knew by name, before he could see his best friend and Dad again, after over a year of being away. Time certainly seemed to fly while he was out exploring the world and experiencing all the wonders it had to offer with Colette’s hand in his.

He would be glad to return after so long away. He wanted to check in on everyone and see how things had changed. While Dad had made it clear that he should chase his dreams and follow the whims of his heart, he had also knocked it into his head that home would always remain just that. Regardless of where he was in the world, whether he was following the currents of spring or charging recklessly into the unknown, he would always be welcome back home. And despite Dad never making any request of him, he’d promised himself that he would return time and again, to reassure Dad that he was fine.

“Is something the matter?” he asked, rolling up the map now that he was finished consulting it, leaving the inn’s table bare apart from a lone lamp, the flickering flames within it helping to chase away the darkness of night. There were a few more rips in the sides of the map than when it had first been handed to him by Dad, but it was none the worse for wear. “Colette…?”

She’d been weaving in and out of the corner of his vision ever since he’d started planning their route, easily recognisable by the shade of gold that defined her. Even now, he was still getting used to seeing it as he travelled, a wave of joyous wonder threatening to bowl him over each time he caught sight of it. Her hair, swaying in the wind as she laughed and ran ahead of him, her eyes shining bright as she took in the world she’d never gotten the chance to see. The accents on her outfit, the one she’d worn when they’d first met and refused to part with, its billowing sleeves embracing him as she wrapped her arms tight around him. The fur of her tail, soft against his skin whenever it snuck its way into his lap while they rested by a campfire.

“Nothing!”

“You’ve been fidgeting all evening,” he pointed out, turning the chair around so he could face her and figure out what was bothering her. It was unusual for her to not still be out exploring the town - she rarely returned to the inn room before the moon had replaced the sun in the sky.

“It’s… It’s nothing important!” Colette hurriedly explained, inching closer, her tail shifting nervously on the carpeted floor. “It’s just… The fur in my tail has been getting all tangled because of all the rain recently, so…”

Instantly, he recognised her unspoken request. Her fur did tend to get messier when it rained, and over the past week, the heavens had been constantly upset, resulting in a non-stop downpour that they sometimes had had no choice but to run through, their only measly shelter from the rain their hands held over their heads.

“I can do it by myself! It’s… it’s just…”

Without a word, he stretched out his hand, acquiescing. Her voice trailing off, Colette pressed something small into it - the brush he’d personally whittled out of wood for her a few months back.

“You could have asked at any time.” He stood, taking her hand and guiding her over to one of the two beds that were in the room he’d rented for the night.

“I didn’t want to interrupt what you were doing,” she mumbled, red creeping into her cheeks as she laid her tail flat on the bed. A sight cute enough to bring a smile to life on his face as he aligned the tines of the brush with the abundance of her fur.

“I wouldn’t have minded, silly. You can ask me anything you want, at any time.”

Taking his time, he slowly undid the various knots that had accumulated over their travels, taking care to keep his actions gentle so as not to tug at any strands painfully. He hummed as he did so, enjoying the softness of her fur beneath his fingers. The tension gradually seeped from her shoulders, her contented purring filling every corner of the room and flooding his heart. The happiness he experienced with her came not just from the extraordinary, but also from the mundane moments such as these. The knowledge that she trusted him to tend to her fur was enough to light a warm fire in his chest. The ability to spend his life by her side… He could want for nothing more.

Satisfied that every strand of fur had been straightened to perfection, he placed the brush on the bedside stand, noticing that the purring had cut off. He glanced at her, only to find her head drooping onto her chest, eyes peacefully shut.

On summer afternoons long ago, he had occasionally fallen asleep to the buzz of the cicadas, watching the vivid greens and browns of the forest blur before his eyes while Dad dragged a comb through his unruly hair. It had been easy to succumb to his drowsiness when he knew that he was safe, and loved.

Chuckling, he scooped her into his arms and set her down on the other bed, quietly tucking her in. Sometimes, he wondered how she’d managed to carry him while on her voyage through the skies - she weighed almost nothing in his arms. Was she truly constructed solely from the essence of the stars? A substance that would surely slip between his fingers, yet burned so brightly. A miracle that the universe had given form to, that he had somehow stumbled upon.

She made a soft sound when he placed a kiss between her ears, her tail finding its way out from beneath the blanket to wrap around his waist. It had always had a mind of its own.

“Sweet dreams, Colette.”

Verse 3: Genis

“I have to be dreaming,” Genis mumbled for the third time, gaze tracking Colette as she wandered around his room, peering curiously at the various books that lined the shelves. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her, not once, as if certain that she would turn out to be a trick of the light if he did so. “Kick me.”

“Gladly,” Lloyd snorted, slamming his foot into his best friend’s leg.

“Not that hard!” Genis yelped, hopping up and down on his other leg, shooting him his best glare. He didn’t try to retaliate, for despite gaining a few inches in the time that had passed since Lloyd had left Iselia, he was still a full head shorter. Lloyd could easily evade anything he tried to throw at him.

“You two get along well.”

Both of them froze, turning to face Colette. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her, a smile on her face. Perhaps to anyone else, it would have come across as a joyous expression, but Lloyd knew better. He could spot the faint melancholy lingering in her gaze, the slight droop of her ears, the way her tail was wrapping itself around her leg as she made herself smaller.

She’d been alone for years upon years. The easy camaraderie of friendship would have been foreign to her in her self-imposed purgatory, where her only companion had been the whistling of wind between leaves and the clawed embrace of winter’s cold.

“Yeah, well, we’re best friends.” He grinned, slinging an arm around Genis’ shoulder, prompting a disgusted protest from him. “And now we can all be friends.”

“Really…?” The question slipped from her, as a hopeful light returned to her eyes.

“Sure, why not.” Genis shrugged, grinning too. “Would be pretty cool.”

Colette giggled, her cheer restored. “I’d love to.”

“So, ready to admit I was right yet?” Releasing Genis, he leaned against the cabinet that he was fairly certain held Professor Raine’s teaching materials. The smug smirk on his face couldn’t help but grow larger at Genis’ frustrated groan. It was satisfying to finally get something correct that Genis hadn’t - those “childish dreams” he’d made fun of had been reality all along.

“Fine, but only because I can’t deny what’s right in front of me.”

“So, since I won that bet we made six years ago, you have to make one year’s worth of sandwiches for me,” he stated, watching Genis’ eyes widen in horror.

“You - you remembered that? Of all the things to remember -”

“Sandwiches?” Colette’s ears shot up straight in the air, her tail thumping on the floor as she rose on the balls of her feet. “I love sandwiches! There are so many ways to make them with so many different ingredients, and I’m certain I haven’t tried them all! I’d love to try yours, Genis!”

Genis’ protests died in his throat as he was hit with the full force of Colette’s pleading stare. Those wide blue eyes combined with the force of her fluffy ears and tail were enough to crumble anyone’s defences.

“Fine, fine!” Genis threw his hands up in the air, grumbling under his breath as he headed towards the stairs that led back down to the living room of the house he and Professor Raine shared. And more importantly, the kitchen. “Guess I might as well get started now.”

“Yay!” Colette cheered, trailing after him. “Sandwiches! Sandwiches!”

Verse 4: Noishe

Lloyd sighed, glancing worriedly at Colette, walking in silence beside him. She hadn’t uttered a single word since they’d left Iselia to cut through the forest on their way to Dirk’s house.

She’d been all smiles in the kitchen of the Sage’s house, scarfing down sandwiches while leaving tiny crumbs at the corner of her mouth that he’d had to brush away. In fact, she’d been like a ball of energy that could rival the sun, alternating between showering Genis with compliments and listening attentively to any anecdotes he and Genis had to share about growing up in Iselia.

Once they’d taken their leave and he’d begun to show her around the village proper, however, she’d retreated into herself, falling quiet. Shadows had gathered in her eyes as she’d stared, transfixed, at certain landmarks like she knew them just as well as he did. The schoolhouse, or what little remained of it, which Professor Raine had once explained far pre-dated any of them. The circle of trees near the centre of town, the trees within towering above them all, their branches reaching towards the heavens. The well-cared-for graveyard that was often wreathed in fog, the oldest of the gravestones there beginning to crumble, the words that had once been carved upon stone now smoothened by time to the point that they were indecipherable.

It was almost as if she’d grown up amongst them just as he had, which was impossible.

Wondering just what about Iselia had spooked her, he’d taken her hand and gently guided her out of the village, hoping that would be enough to pull her from her shell. Yet it seemed she hadn’t even noticed they’d left, her ears flat against her head as they walked without a word passing between them, the only sound that reached his ears the trill of birdsong. She had tripped over quite a few twigs on the path, but even though he’d been able to catch her every time before she fell to the ground in a heap, there was barely any reaction from her. Even with their palms pressed together, Colette seemed a world away, an air of melancholy clinging to her.

“You alright?” he whispered, brushing his thumb against her hand.

“Hm?” she hummed absent-mindedly in response, glancing around as if finally registering they were in the middle of a forest. “I’m fine. I’ll… Tell you about it later, okay?”

He squeezed her hand, dropping the concerned question that weighed heavily in his throat. If she said she was going to tell him later, then she would. There was no use prying.

A bark ripped through the heavy atmosphere, a blur of green and white bounding its way towards them.

“Noishe!” he cried out happily, before bracing himself for impact. He'd missed the hulking dog that had always been by his side for as long as he could remember, occasionally serving as his mode of transport to and from school. Whenever he felt down, he could always rely on Noishe being there to cheer him up with his silly antics. What he couldn’t exactly say he missed was the way Noishe loved to greet him - throwing his large body at him with enough force to send him thudding painfully into the dirt.

Instead of doing as he’d expected, however, Noishe skidded to a stop a few feet away, eyeing Colette. She eyed him back, neither of them moving a muscle.

Lloyd swallowed nervously, wondering whether he should attempt to break up whatever was going on between them. He’d heard about dogs and cats being natural enemies before, but surely that was just a myth? And surely it didn’t extend to foxes?

With another loud bark from Noishe, the spell shattered, the two of them snapping into frenzied motion as he seriously contemplated throwing himself between them - only for them to start chasing each other in circles.

Colette’s giggles, like the clear sound of silver bells, rose into the sky as she stretched out her arms in an attempt to grab onto Noishe’s tail. Noishe, likewise, had opened his mouth a little wider to try to reach Colette’s tail, a much easier target considering how bushy it was.

The strange game occurring before him didn’t last very long - perhaps the outcome had been inevitable from the very beginning. Colette, not paying attention to where she was going, tripped over a smooth stone, giving Noishe the opportunity to pounce and take hold of her tail in his mouth. He lifted it into the air in triumph, making sure not to get it caught in his teeth.

Laughter bubbled up within Lloyd, forcing him to bend over as it burst out of him, floating to the treetops. The grin on his face was so wide it hurt, relief flooding his heart at the mirth in Colette’s actions.

He was glad to see her smiling again. And it seemed his worries had been unfounded after all.

Colette could never be anyone’s natural enemy… She had far too large a heart for that.

Intro: Dirk

“That tickles!” Colette protested, hands on either side of the giant dog’s head as he slobbered all over her face, his large tongue rough against her skin. It was a markedly different experience from the faded memories she held of her mother grooming her when she’d curled up against her as a tiny fox cub, surrounded by a bubble of warmth.

How glad she was to meet Noishe, another of Lloyd’s closest friends. One who had watched him grow up, who had seen him at his highest and at his lowest, who had a place on the colourful tapestry of his life. His willingness to share all of him with her never failed to light a warm flame within her soul. He had no qualms letting her peer into the depths of his heart, treating her no differently despite who she was.

The last few months she’d spent with him had been the happiest of her life. His gentle touch had brought back the colours that had vanished during the near century of loneliness she had endured, locked away in a forest from the rest of the world as punishment for failing to accept a fate that had not been of her own choosing. She’d been reduced to nothing more than a shrivelled flower, but he’d pulled her back into the sunlight and let her bloom again, whispering in her ear that he’d take her anywhere she wanted to go. And she believed him. He would be the one to grant her wish, through his endless determination and his overflowing kindness.

Iselia had been… disconcertingly familiar. As she’d followed Lloyd down the well-worn paths that weaved through the tiny village, the ghost of memories and fractured slivers of emotions had echoed in her mind, unable to fully escape the fog that choked the time before she’d first awoken in the shrine with her Mother’s kind hand on her head. She would tell him about it later. Perhaps they would be able to get to the bottom of the mystery, perhaps they wouldn’t. She did not need to know who she had been before - she was satisfied knowing who she was now.

Heavy footsteps sounded in her ears, coming from further down the path, prompting Noishe to leap off her. Jumping to her feet, she found that another man now stood before them - short and stout, with a beard that could rival her tail in terms of bushiness. His thick eyebrows were furrowed as he observed her. She swallowed nervously, wringing her hands as she anxiously wondered if there would be any issues with her presence.

This must have been -

“Dad!” Lloyd grinned, but before he could take a single step forward, Dirk strode towards them and gathered them both into a hug that could easily force all the air from one’s lungs.

“Oof! Dad, that’s - that’s too tight!!”

Any and all fear she had harboured in her heart vanished as she sunk into the hug. Its warmth was one she recognised well, even if it had been a long, long time since she’d felt it. Not since quiet mornings in a forest grove, windchimes whispering between the trees, when Mother had hugged her close and combed her hair.

A parent’s love… Lloyd was incredibly lucky, and she was certain he knew that. He would always have a place to return to.

Perhaps one day, it could be a place for her to return to as well.

“I’m glad you made it back home safe, lad,” Dirk chuckled, the boisterous sound filling the forest air. He turned that bushy smile on her. “And it seems you found whatever it was you were looking for. It’s good to meet you, miss…?”

As Lloyd continued to protest in wheezing gasps that his ribs were breaking, she smiled back, happiness blooming in her heart at the prospect of having found a home.

“Colette. It’s nice to meet you too. Lloyd’s told me so much about you!”

Certainly, there would be obstacles in the future. Fate was not so kind as to remove all misfortunes in the path she walked. There would be pain, days where her heart felt as if it was breaking beneath the weight it carried. But there would also be days where airy laughter would escape her, where she felt light as a bird, capable of flying when she jumped off the ground instead of needing a cliff to soar. She would take them both in stride, and together with the courage Lloyd had helped her discover, would use them to write the song of her very own life.

And one day, one day the light that burned so brightly within Lloyd would be extinguished by the river of time.

But that day was far in the future. Right now…

Right now, her journey was only just beginning.

~~~

A/N: Thanks for reading! You can find some additional notes on AO3. The section after this is one that didn't fit with the flow of the fic but that I still quite liked.

~~~

Bridge: Martel

Martel stretched, letting out a yawn she’d been holding in since the sun had begun to set, in the world that lay outside the confines of the inn. Welcoming customers could be tiring business, and the bulk of the exhaustion tended to strike in the late afternoon with little to no warning, settling deep beneath her bones and refusing to release its grip. Nothing she wasn’t accustomed to soldiering through with pure force of will and a desire to get paid, but she was always ready to collapse into bed and sleep for ten hours once the day was over.

Stepping out, the cold night air hit her skin in a rush. Goosebumps rose as she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She’d forgotten just how low the temperature could drop at night - or maybe, she wasn’t as impervious to the weather as she had been when she was younger, sneaking out of her room once the stars came out to play to sit atop the old clocktower, swinging her legs back and forth as she enjoyed the feel of the wind.

There was nary a soul to be seen on the road. Families were ensconced within the houses along the street, warm light emanating from the windows as snatches of conversation and the giggles of children leaked out from beneath the doors.

It was time for her to head in and get out of the cold, she supposed. Wouldn’t do for her to fall sick, after all. If she did and her brother somehow caught wind of it, she’d be at the mercy of his fussing for… however long it took her to heal. Just the thought was enough to make her shudder. He could be a bit too much sometimes with all the worrying, even if he meant well.

Spying something on the roof of her inn, she came to a stop, squinting in an attempt to pierce through the veil of darkness. It couldn’t be a thief, could it? She was perfectly capable of defending herself with a frying pan, but she’d rather not. She was exhausted.

“Oh.” She heaved a sigh of relief when she realised it was just Lloyd, and the girl that he’d been staying with for the past week. Colette, if she recalled correctly. Lloyd had introduced her, but the poor girl seemed to have a serious case of shyness. She was always hiding under a red hood, the one that Martel was very certain came from Lloyd. “Young love, I guess. I would prefer if they didn’t hang out on the roof of my inn…”

Goodness. She was complaining like an old woman now.

A sudden gust of wind bid her shield her face by throwing her arms up. Through the gaps, she spotted a flash of - ears? Furry ears, twitching atop golden hair…

Letting her arms fall, she squinted once more, but there was no sign of fur. Colette was still hiding securely under the hood, hands gripping onto the edges of it to prevent the wind from blowing it back.

“I really am getting old,” she mumbled to herself, horrified, as she went back inside, rubbing her eyes.