#What edition of Sans cards are we on now?

[topazshadowwolf]

Chapter 13: A Colorful Combatant

Summary:

It is time to face Ink and bring Cross home... But will the plan work as it is supposed to?

[yuikomorii]

Happy Birthday, Ayato! ❤️

// Today is the golden boy’s birthday!! Sweet and spicy visual god, you are the reason of my unattainablly high standards… and also of my questionable financial decisions, lol.

This looks more like an Ayayui shrine than an individual Ayato one, but I couldn’t fit all the items in one pic, therefore I chose the ones that were the easiest to find in my room. :”)

Nevertheless… I did try to prepare a SCENARIO too! I used my nsfw edit as the cg, although I didn’t show everything. The romantic part is really cheesy and cringe, but if you’re into fluff, you will like that. 💕💕

~Operation: Ayato-kun’s birthday~

Yui: ( Haa… it feels as if there’s no ending to these anymore… )

( I woke up earlier today, hoping to finish all these exercises, yet I really can’t bring myself to understand how to solve them at all…! )

( My mind is completely in a whole different place right now. Today is Ayato-kun’s birthday after all. )

( Unfortunately, all the assignments kept me so busy this week that I wasn’t even able to bake a cake for him… )

( However, it’s still not too late for that, right? )

( Once I’m done with this page, I will definitely try my best to prepare it as soon as po—)

Reiji: Komori Yui, are you slacking again?

Yui: …!

R-Reiji-san!

( Oh no, he picked up my notebook! )

Reiji: Good grief, there are mistakes everywhere! Do I need to remind you that you are not permitted to bring disgrace upon the Sakamaki family as long as you reside under this mansion's roof?

Yui: Uuh… I-I’m really sorry, Reiji-san. I promise I’ll—

Reiji: Silence. I recently received your report card as well, and I must admit that I’m not pleased with your performance in the slightest. I was expecting such indifference from my brothers, but it’s rather disheartening for a human girl not to care about her education.

Yui: Y-You got it wrong! It’s not like I don’t care about school, but… simply put, the teachers have been giving us much too many tasks lately, and I find them quite difficult to solve, which stresses me out a little, to be honest.

Reiji: Hmph, excuses. I find it incomprehensible how such simple exercises cause you mental difficulties.

Nevertheless, I shall teach you then. Even if it requires the whole day to achieve that.

Yui: You will? Woah, thank you so much, Re— W-Wait, no! We can’t do that today!

Reiji: Pardon? Are you rejecting my offer to tutor you?

Yui: No, no! Not at all! It’s just that today is Ayato-kun’s birthday, and well… I would obviously want to celebrate it with him.

Reiji: Denied.

Yui: Eh—?

Reiji: You truly are a fool. Vampires show no interest in the day of their birth. Now, take a sit.

Yui: …

( I know Reiji-san is not in the wrong, but… I really do want to celebrate Ayato-kun’s birthday. That day may not be special to him but it’s so special to me. )

( Am I being selfish, I wonder…? )

*Timeskip*

Reiji: It appears that you’re finally able to understand how to solve this exercise. The next ones are similar to it, therefore there shouldn’t be any obstacles.

Yui: Yes, I see…

( I appreciate Reiji-san’s help, yet too many hours have passed by and baking a cake from scratch is not possible anymore… )

Place: Living room

Yui: ( Hmm… apparently I still have enough pocket money to buy a cake. I know a self-made one would have been more meaningful, but I really couldn’t… )

Kanato: Yui-san, are you spacing out?

Yui: Eh—? Ah, Kanato-kun, I didn’t see you there. I’m fine, but I’m a bit in a hurry, so… see y— Kya!

( He grabbed my wrist! )

Kanato: You’re going to buy a cake for my brother, aren’t you?

Yui: Uhh… well yes, I mean, it’s his birthday after all.

Kanato: My birthday was yesterday and I didn’t see you get any cake for me, nor for Laito. Teddy thinks you forgot about us. Tell me, Yui-san, is that true?

Yui: T-that’s not it!

Kanato: So you’re going to buy a cake for me as well after all? I might forgive you if you do that.

Yui: ( What did I get myself into…! I’m sure Kanato-kun will throw a tantrum if I say “no”. )

But… I don’t think I got enough money for two cakes.

Kanato: Please don’t worry about that, Yui-san, I know my ways. Or what, are you doubting me now?

Yui: …!

— shakes head —

Kanato: Good, now let’s go.

Place: Demon World Cake shop

Yui: Woah, I’ve never seen such big cakes before!

Kanato: Please don’t shout. Your looks already make you resemble a servant, you don’t have to act like one as well.

Yui: ( Hey, that’s mean! )

Cake shop owner: Welcome, how can I help you?

Yui: We’re searching for a birthday cake, but uhm… one a bit smaller than the ones displayed here, if possible.

Cake shop owner: Any flavor you got in mind?

Yui: ( Speaking of flavor, I don’t think Ayato-kun has ever told me anything about his favorite. He would probably say Takoyaki but a Takoyaki cake… that doesn’t feel right. )

I think he likes straw—

Kanato: Raspberry!

Cake shop owner: Wonderful! We just finished a raspberry cake a few minutes ago!

— brings cake —

Yui: ( It truly looks delicious…! Besides, it’s red as well, which is Ayato-kun’s favorite color, so I believe he would truly like this one! )

Kanato: Alright, we’ll take it!

Place: Mansion

Yui: Phew, I’m glad the cake didn’t get crushed on the way.

Kanato: It’s time to eat!

Yui: Wha—! No, Kanato-kun, you can’t!

Kanato: Excuse me, but who do you think you are? This is my cake, therefore I’m allowed to eat it whenever I want!

Yui: W-Well, don’t you want to wait for Ayato-kun too? This way, you two will be able to eat it together like bro—!!

(He pushed me in the cake!?)

Kanato-kun, why did you do this!?

Kanato: You ruined the cake!

Yui: Me!? But Kanato-kun was the one who pushed me there!

Kanato: Teddy says you’re annoying, and I agree. Now how will you fix your mistakes?

Yui: ( I can barely see anything…! )

Kanato: Fufu, look at her Teddy! She’s full of cake from head to toe! Now, let’s give it a taste che—

Yui: You can’t!

— moves cake away from him —

Kanato: I can!

— moves cake back —

Yui: No!

— moves cake away —

Kanato: Hmph, just give up already, will you!?

— pushes her away —

Yui: Wait, no—!!!

???: Oi, what the—!

— cake falls on them —

Kanato: Noooo, the cake!!!! Ngh, this is no fun anymore!

Yui: Uuh… Why is the floor so soft…?

Ayato: ‘Cause it’s not the floor, you idiot.

Yui: Ah! A-Ayato-kun!

Uhh… Happy birthday…~?

Ayato: Geez, c’mere, you’re an even bigger mess.

— picks her up —

Place: Bathroom

Yui: ( This is so embarrassing…! )

Ayato: Haa… You’re finally not covered in cake anymore.

Yui: I… I’m sorry…

Ayato: Huh? What are you apologizing for? I’m not mad that you dropped that cake on me.

Yui: That’s not the only thing I’m sorry about…

If it weren’t for my carelessness, you would have gotten a nice birthday, but now… you don’t even have a cake anymore.

( Ah, I’m feeling as if I’m about to cry right now… )

Ayato: Hey, c’mon that’s not worth the tears. I’m a vampire, remember? I don’t care about my birthday, so there’s no need to worry about such stuff.

Yui: Maybe you don’t care about it but… I do. I know that I’m about to sound selfish, but your birthday is very special to me. It represents the day you were born and I… I simply can’t imagine not celebrating it.

Ayato-kun is important to me, therefore that automatically makes his birthday important to me too.

Ayato: You klutz…

— hugs her —

Yui: W-Wha—! Ayato-kun…!

Ayato: Seriously, are all humans really that sentimental? Or does this only apply to cute girls like you?

Yui: …!

(He… he called me cute! )

— blushes —

Ayato: The day’s still not over, y’know? There’s still time to celebrate it if you’re really that obsessed with it.

Yui: …! So, are you really okay with that?

Ayato: Yeah? If I weren’t, I would have told you, idiot. On top of that, it’s not like I got anything better to do anyway.

Now tell me, Chichinashi, what exactly do you have in store for today?

Yui: Hm… uhm… nothing comes to my mind at the moment, but for now… I can’t say I mind spending time like this with Ayato-kun.

Ayato: Heh~? You suddenly don’t mind being in my arms while naked?

Yui: P-Phrasing it like that…!

Ayato: Well, if that’s the case, then… you wouldn’t mind if I sucked your blood either, right?

Yui: Go ahead.

Ayato: Hah? No talking back? Are you really that easy to convince today? Or, could it be that you finally admit enjoying the pleasure these fangs give you?

Yui: It’s not only about your fangs, Ayato-kun. I really like you as a whole.

I wasn’t even able to find a gift for you, therefore giving you my blood is the least I can do.

Ayato: Heh, I see… I don’t need your blood as a gift though.

Yui: You don’t…?

Ayato: Nope, ‘cause I already got the best gift ever.

Yui: Is that so?

( Did someone already give him something for his birthday? If that’s the case, then who could it be? )

( Ah… I guess I’m just overthinking, but now I’m really curious. )

Ayato: You really wanna know, don’t you? It’s already written on your face.

Are you getting jealous~?

Yui: T-That’s…—!

Ayato: Pfft, you really did get jealous, huh?

Yui: ( Ugh… he’s making fun of me now! )

Ayato: Anyway, there’s no need to. After all, the best gift I’ve ever gotten…

It’s you, Yui.

— Smooch —

The end

[the-quiet-youve-been-longing-for]

Has anyone tried to look at Daniel's notes from the beginning of 2x05, before he asks Louis about 1973? I like these little easter eggs, but there are parts I cannot make out for myself

First page that we see, unfortunately I couldn't get a screenshot where the paper was flat so I can't make out the bottom part. I put in brackets my own notes/guesses

It looks like he had tried to piece together the 1973 memories:

Polynesian Mary's

Grasshopper Amex (the card Louis used? Not sure)

Divisadero St (fuck friend?) (I'm not sure about friend, the first word looks like fuck)

Corpses? In plastic?

9/4 - 9/9 - Six days???!!!

Lonely?

Captive the old Trick (is this referred to Armand fishing in his memories?)/Buick

The clear

I cannot make anything out from below 'the clear'

Second page is better, and honestly interesting. It looks like he started writing about the Talamasca, but then switched back to 1973

Monitoring (fatal?) agents

Wire tap

Access to tapes?

Indoor monitoring

Moviment tracking

Louis paid

Cab

Kill (pad?)

Sleazy /Drab

(Quaaludes?)

Interview from tapes

Bitten

I'm on the floor

Jealousy (this is so interesting)

Paramours/parameters of "love of my life"

(Armand?) publication avail. back then (I have no idea what the crossed out word is)

/ Claudia as trigger (edited after seeing responses, Claudia makes more sense)

We saw this one several times, but it's the most chaotic of the three

Where is the coven now?

Today?

Cell phones, Google, cctv (possibly in reference to what he asked Armand)

San Francisco, Polynesian Mary?

Playboy Magazines

Alice and Kate (I guess the way they are written to put them in the same row)

They'll come for next (???) Lenora Lestat

As a doorstop CLAUDIA! (use Lestat and Claudia as a blocker if they make him think or bring up Lenora)

MARY'S CAB - COKE BETH (???)

THIS TIME I WON'T SAVE YOUR LIFE

MI6? AEGIS? BLACK CUBE?

HACKED YOUR LAPTOP!!!

If someone would like to help me out with the pieces I'm missing, I would be entirely grateful, thank you!

[chewingbatmanlikeasqueakytoy]

Okay this is actually a partial reply to another post

but my reply got so long i think tumblr literally cant cope LMAO so (context the Amity park perception filter thread with @kaidatheghostdragon which i will edit a link into after posting (X) Edit: the context link is now attached)

Honestly they might not CRASH crash the economy but I honestly think they could do some serious damage. At the very least if Amity is going to start essentially printing USD with these cards to get infrastructure and the like set up the inflation within the town is going to go crazy and they might just need a new currency. I think it's also determined by how LARGE you consider Amity to be. As I've always seen it described as a small town I've always envisioned it to have a population of around 10,000 people. AS IT TURNS OUT the wiki describes it as 'Amity Park is depicted as a moderately large urban city, reminiscent of Chicago, San Francisco, and/or Philadelphia' WHICH IS WAY LARGER THAN I IMAGINED. I don't know SHIT about American cities or their layouts apart from the fact that Everything Is Squares and also apparently the junctions are death(? Apparently America doesn't have roundabouts??? Bro??? I don't know if that was a Simpsons gag but I think about it maybe half as often as I use roundabouts), BUT the point is that google says those cities are somewhere around 800,000 to 2.6 million.

Honestly I think those are weird numbers because those are enough of a range to not be at all considered the same size imo but we'll take Philadelphia as our base bc that's the one in the middle at 1.5 million. In "Amity Park's" population statistics (X) if you take everyone from 20-44 (we're pretending people under 20 can't get one bc apparently 13 year olds can get them with special permissions and that fills me with a special kind of anguish to have learned) but if you take everyone from 20-44 that population totals something like 613,028.

We'll give an error margin of 10% to account for people who are auto disqualified for whatever reason and between that error margin and the people I'm ignoring I think it's realistic to assume you could get 551,726 people credit cards. Unlimited ones? maybe not. But look me in the eyes and tell me if Sam Manson was told 'We can fix the public infrastructure that's damaging the environment and cause serious damage to predatory lending companies' She would not use her families wealth to be backing people as some kind of collateral/co-signer to get OBSCENLEY high credit cards SO FAST. That's to say nothing of if Tucker and the Other Nerds decide it's actually completely fine for them to hack into these companies and auto approve all these credit cards. Like the towns in dire straights so why not? It's unfortunately a pretty human tendency to see the people you care about in trouble and decide you're willing to throw literally anyone and everyone under the bus so I can see him/them doing it.

So. 551,726 people, with theoretically unlimited money to spend. CONSERVATIVELY if they racked up $500,000 USD on each card, the amount of money spent by Amity would end up being $275,863,000,000 or $275.8 BILLION Now the GDP of the USA is $25.44 Trillion, which looks like $25,440,000,000,000 so it's not a LOT in the grand scheme of things but it is just over 1%, I'm not going to pretend I know what that does economically to the entire USA but consider that Beer sales in the USA accounted for $106 billion in 2022, and that amity would potentially be generating nearly three times that. (X) I have just gone on a fucking TANGENT about the economy in this silly fun times thread of ours so I apologise I will try and sum up very quickly why I think they could spend so much so quickly. Philadelphia has a total of 37 hospitals. They built a new one sometime around 2021 to the tune of $1.6 billion (X) If Amity built a new hospital for liminality care and a few new ones Just Because They Realised They Can, say they build ten new hospitals, which is a VERY LARGE amount of new hospitals to build on workforce Alone, but they probably have tireless ghost workers who are probably obsessed with construction and regular living workers who want to be paid in the times before everyone had acclimated to the ghosts properly. Split among 551,726 people that's actually a fairly reasonable $28,999.90, which, hilariously, is actually just in and around the average limit to credit cards. So they wouldn't even need Sam or Tucker to mess with credit cards yet (X) Averages typically suck as a way of measuring stuff but this isn't a Real Life Government Project so I'm willing to call that acceptable. So if it's only $30k for ten hospitals why the hell am I citing a fat $500k each? Luxury Shit. A few luxury cars and some big name watches and you've blown through that $500k no problem. That's to say nothing of all the REST of the infrastructure that needs fixing - the roads, the schools, the libraries, the replacement materials for the transport system - hell building the APDC is going to probably be another billion dollar project if they want two portals large enough to get what is probably multilane traffic through in regards to transport. Sure the cars won't be useful for long maybe but that's just one example. Jewellery, coats - hell designer shoes and collector nonsense can go for STUPID amounts and as people who are desperate to outpace their neighbours in Cool Stuff They Own realise that their neighbours are capable of getting all the same crap they are? people are either going to stop caring or they're going to start buying some Really Obscure Shit. For the others who just wanted to buy pretty things? There's literally no reason to stop. Amity might have to limit the amount of crap people can get shipped in per week/impose serious shipping tariffs just to make sure the new FTL supply chain doesn't collapse because people are determined to get their new Cashmere and Mohair coats with Gold Embroidery or what the hell ever on next day delivery. Honestly in this scenario the cards over time thing probably doesn't matter because I'm pretty sure the Amity expenditure would DESTROY the lending company, which might then actually be the thing to get Amity rediscovered or maybe they space all these buildings out over time so they keep living the sweet life.

[putschki1969]

2024/06/10 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン第10回目‼︎〜みんなのお父さん話と梅雨対策！横須賀ジブリ編その１〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Talk Garden Vol.10‼︎〜Stories About Your Father/Rainy Season Precautions! Yokosuka Ghibli Edition Part 1〜

Vol.#10 of Wakana's Talk Garden has been uploaded~😊We have successfully reached a big milestone, the 10 episode mark‼︎ It's all thanks to everyone who always listens and sends submissions…✨I am very grateful😊 I would like to continue posting my podcast at a leisurely pace, so please look forward to future episodes‼︎‼︎＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／

One of the topics for this episode was "Measures against the rainy season". Here's my favourite umbrella which I talked about in the podcast☂️💕It's very cute. I want to use it a lot during the upcoming rainy season🙄Someone mentioned in their message that "the air pressure during the rainy season is tough." I feel the same. During this time of year, the air pressure and humidity are likely to make you lose your energy. Don't forget to stay hydrated and it's best to do some light exercises to get through the rainy season in good health! 🥺

And since it is also Father's Day, I wanted everyone submit "Stories about your father" as a second topic for the podcast. By the way, I had completely forgotten, but my father was really into magic 😅He liked to do magic tricks with cars ♧♤♡♢Here is his very own card set. He would always bring out playing cards and perform some tricks wherever he was. He would even do little performances in front of my friends 😂He never let me in on the mechanics behind his tricks but he was definitely really good. Now I really want to see my dad's magic again 😊One day when I get to see him again, I'll ask him to show me~💫

So, for the next episode of "Wakana's Talk Garden" on July 10th, there will be no specific talk topic. You are free to submit anything you want me to talk about or you want to ask me･:*+.(( °ω° ))/.:+ The deadline is June 30th!! Please send your submissions!! ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／ Thank you so much to everyone who sent messages this time!!!

Now, I would like to talk some more about my trip to Yokosuka‼️⛱🏄🌊I already talked about it in my podcast so in this blog post I want to share some photos from the first big part of my trip when I visited the "Toshio Suzuki and Ghibli Exhibition" held at Yokosuka Museum of Art! (I'll post about my experience in Sarushima=Monkey Island in a few days!!) Speaking of Ghibli, some people were curious if I had gone to the Ghibli exhibition so yes, you finally have your answer😊 You are greeted by Chihiro at the entrance. My excitement skyrocketed right from the start😊The curtain leads to an exhibition of 8,800 books displayed in a huge bookshelf. Each book is believed to have influenced Suzuki in some way. Another source of inspiration is his collection of movies which contains a whopping 10,000 films. I was surprised at the number of movies, he must have absorbed so much information from all these works. I want to become a part of the Suzuki family. It's cut off, but at the top of the photo there is Teto's beautifully drawn paw. I also really liked the drawing at the bottom center signed with "Miya-SAN on the Cliff by the Sea". Then I I met Totoro and his friends surrounded by a starry sky♡ I should have taken this photo with an umbrella~😭Here I am looking up at The Bathhouse with Chihiro. While I was there, I imagined Haku getting mad at me and telling me to get back right away because I shouldn't have come! Next I got myself one of Yubaba's fortune telling slips. What an impact😂 You pull out a numbered tag from Yubaba's mouth and then take your fortune slip from the drawer according to the number. It looked like I was trying to floss Yubaba's teeth. I got a half-blessing related to tidying up and becoming clutter-free. Last but not least, I enjoyed the wide and open sky on the rooftop 😂

This time, I bought a file, a letter set, a keychain, and postcards at the souvenir shop 😊 I love the keychain of San's mask😍 I will send one of these postcards to everyone whose messages I've read during the podcast😊 ...And with that my Ghibli story comes to an end. Or not!! Actually, my Ghibli adventure isn't over yet😇 I still have a few Ghibli photos and stories left so I will post a Part 2 some time soon!! I also have a story about a crazy stamp rally that felt like a sports competition😂

All right, I'll leave it at that for today!! Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

2024/06/07 Instagram post by Wakana 2024/06/09 Intagram post by Wakana

Wakana’s Talk Garden #10

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Episode #10 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

・Stories about your father ・Measures against the rainy season

For next month’s episode which is scheduled to air on July 10th, the following topic has been chosen:

・Anything you'd like to ask Wakana/Anything you'd like Wakana to talk about

The submission deadline is 06/30.

[tazzy-ace]

Now that I'm out of tunnel vision of reading vol 3 of Guardian, I wanted to share pics of the goodies that came along with the special edition of the novel!

Along with this gorgeous book, the special edition included a sticker sheet, 2 posters, 6 postcards, and a bookmark w/ art on both sides! Click below the break to see all this gorgeous art.

First off the sticker sheet! This art was done by Niroku

They're all so cute! It took me a second to figure out Lin Jing jsksj bc he's bald monk in my mind, but his bun is also very cute. Also we got Ghost face! Aka Mianmian according to @meluci-fer jsksj So pretty and grumpy, get this man (or all of these men jsksjsjs) into therapy

The bookmark is absolutely gorgeous and nicely sturdy with a gloss finish. This art was done by Ruthie/kkcoocool

Past and present, two sides of the same... bookmark jsksj

Next we have the posters! The art for both was done by Butchinelle

These are decent sized posters (10x15 in or about 25.5x38cm) and ah so many gorgeous details. We have Shen San and Wei! And also a fun little swan boat date with Yunlan and Shen Wei (god that hair and those ripped jeans! Yunlan is so hot). I can't wait to hang these both on my walls

Last but not least, postcards! There is the front art of the cards and chibi style art on the back. The front art is the cover art for the 3 volumes and the 3 pieces of color art that have been at the front of each volume. I'll share the front art first and then the chibi art (I didn't notice any in connection between the art on the front and the chibi art on the back but I can post which are on what cards if anyone is curious)

The following art was done by Marmaladica

Thanks to Bai Yu, I always imagine Yunlan with facial hair jsksjs and because of @sagittariusdarkarrow 's amazing editing work he's done of adding little beards, my brain gets confused when first looking at the art like "hmmm, something is missing" 😂

And I'm closing in on the picture limit so I'll add the rest in a reblog!

[nerdieforpedro]

Weddings 101 with Dieter Bravo

Chapter one: Transportation? I'll Cover it

Dieter Bravo x plus size OFC (Maya)

Fanfiction 18+ (not this chapter but later chapters will be)

Main Masterlist / Dieter Bravo Masterlist / Weddings 101 with Dieter / AO3 Link

Summary: Maya is just trying to be a good big sister. Yet, even the planes are conspiring against her. She encounters Dieter who who likes that sass and that ass. No candy was harmed in the writing of this chapter.

Warnings: Cursing, angst, self-doubt, bad jokes, Dieter being soft and cute, card games, body insecurities, brief mentions of drug use and alcohol, etc. (none too serious, that’s for later)

Notes: I've wanted to write Dieter for awhile and I'm glad that I was able to get a rough draft together, outline and now part one. I think it will be three or four parts depending on where I can take the story. I swear I did go over it several times while editing, but I was laughing at my own jokes, so there may still be some typos. 🤔

“So, what you're saying is that even though I have paid three months in advance and have my confirmation code right here both in my phone and printed I don't have my seat on my flight?!” A woman stood with both hands on the counter, visibly frustrated but not yelling. 

“Yes, yes ma'am that, that is what I'm saying I again I'm so sorry just so sorry.” The young man at the service counter apologized again. It’s all he could do.

“I mean I appreciate that you're sorry but it's not gonna get me on the flight. I need to be on the flight so that I can be at my brother's wedding. Is there another flight going out later today?” The woman asked, wiping her brow. She had worn a sweatshirt and leggings because it was supposed to be cold in the airport and on the plane. The young man tapped a few keys on his computer and looked up, his eyes wide.

“There is ma'am, but the flights aren’t going out until like, 10 tonight.” He broke the news. The woman groaned.

“Sir you you realize it's it's eight in the morning. How… how can there not be any more flights to Hawaii of all places until ten tonight?!” She questioned, that time she did yell. She felt it was ludicrous, the entire situation.

“Well ma'am it's it's based on availability and, and, and consumer interest and it looks like most people were were interested in morning flights. No one was really booking any of the afternoon flights so we cancelled those and just you know some people wanted the red eye flights. I mean we will give you vouchers for the price of your flight and an extra $250 for future flights with our airline. Because I feel like that that's exactly this time…” All she heard was that she wasn’t going to be in Hawaii by later today. Which meant she wouldn’t check in, then have to find another hotel, maybe it would be near the wedding venue if they even had any availability ….all horrible.

Maya rubbed her temples in defeat because she had planned that she was going to fly out in the morning from San Francisco where she was now and then fly the rest of the way to Hawaii. She was now stuck in San Francisco with no way to get to Hawaii on time to participate in her brother's weeklong wedding to albeit his lovely wife but fucking destination weddings man. The woman stepped away from the counter, her gray slip-on sneakers squeaking on the cool tile floor.

“Hey what's cooking good looking, you need a flight out?” A man in a gray robe, sunglasses inside an airport for some reason, a Gray T-shirt, striped Gray and brown pajama pants maybe and grey Crocs. He appeared to be holding a goat. He sauntered up to the service desk alongside Maya and leaned on it casually. The man had been keeping track of the exchange, it was much more entertaining than the random loud kids running around and all the stretched-out pants that said juicy and they were not in fact juicy. Instead, he found the loud woman to be much more succulent. 

“I mean I do, but he said there's no more flights out. What? Are you going to give me your seat because I got a wide ass.” Mya put her hands on her large hips, she leaned forward on her right foot and her thigh jiggled. The man in the robe took notice of her hips. They looked like they’d swallow his fingers when he held onto them, he would like to know for sure.

The man laughed and replied, “No. I got a private jet and honestly, I'm tired of looking at just my assistant because he tells me all kinds of stuff I can't do or shouldn't be doing.” He pointed at a nervous young man who held a briefcase and a duffle bag. “You wanna ride with me Miss Toblerone? You seem fun.” 

Perplexed, Maya considered both the man's appearance and the offer. He seemed like he had just rolled out of bed, was holding a goat but also had this really fluffy hair. Honestly, it just made her wanna smack his head and like play with his downy mop a little bit. The man had this little mischievous looking grin that was surrounded by a little mustache and facial situation going. It could be that she was tired from getting up at 3:00 in the morning to make sure she was at the airport packing up her crap and making sure that it was indeed the two carry-ons and one personal bag per the airline.  It could have also been the horrendous drive over that mostly was sitting in traffic for a ride that maybe should have taken 15 minutes but took an hour and a half. She had to factor the time in and also finding which gate after security, which security was its own monster in and of itself so at this point a pajama clad stranger with fluffy hair sexy grin and a goat was looking real good right now.

“Fuck it let's go, my name's Maya. I not particularly a fan of Toblerone though, they’re decadent. I guess it’s good to have one everyone once in awhile.” She replied to him and reached her hand out, he took one hand off the goat and shook it then held on to it a little too long. The fluffy man kissed it and trailed his lips up her wrist which the woman shivered a bit because it's like who who does that out outside of Bridgeton? Her new traveling partner said his name was Dieter Bravo which sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Just like she couldn't quite place him, she felt like she would remember if she saw any man looking like this, but she'd worry about that later right? Now she just really needed to get on a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii, so she gathered up her purse, her backpack and suitcase follow Dieter, but he stopped her and told his assistant to take her backpack and bag from her. Bravo then questioned why she had so few bags, Maya told him that she didn't want to pay the carry-on fees because it the price of the flight out here was outrageous already in addition to the hotel. Dieter asked why she was going to all the trouble, she told him it was for her youngest brother’s wedding.

“I think you can be more indulgent then that Toblerone. Especially for a wedding.” The actor took her hand and walked with her while the assistant got another person to help with all the bags, the majority were Dieter’s.

Dieter said once they got to Hawaii, he would look around for some more clothes for her. Maya laughed and said he's probably going to have to look hard for that stuff because she didn’t know if any of those designer stores there would have her size. Likely not, those mannequins are probably one of her thighs. Dieter grinned and told her that it was alright, there’s more to work with and to use. He then cleared his throat and said that he meant as far as fashion choices.

Maya had a feeling she knew what he meant. She had an extra bounce in her step at the thought giggled. She may consider it after they’re off the jet and they can find some privacy. She wasn’t into people watching her have sex. 

Once at the jet they were greeted with two stewardesses in suspiciously short skirts, but the woman figured that's probably what Dieter or whoever Dieter’s people were had paid.  Honestly this was a completely free flight, so it didn’t matter how she felt about anything. Besides, how much were those stewardesses getting paid? Could it be a part time job maybe, it’s something to look into. The pair were served with sushi which was actually pretty lovely, she hadn't had California rolls in quite some time. Bravo offered her two of his, he enjoyed watching her put them in her mouth. He did offer some wine but she said she's not really into wine. 

“We got a bartender over here tell him what you want.”

So Maya told the mixologist to make her some lemon drops which was basically lemon, lime, and vodka with a little bit of sugar added in it. Dieter said that he hadn't had those for quite a while so they toasted and took off toward their destination. It was when they were in midair, when Dieter took out a pack of cards and shuffle them saying that they were going to play poker.

“My dear sweet man, I'mma level with you. I don't know a thing about poker. The only card games I've played are go fish and Uno.” Maya chuckled as she continued to sip, the alcohol was making her slur already and her eyes were a tad glassy.

Dieter’s eyes widened. 

“I haven’t played Uno for years! Finally, someone else who wants to play uno!”

He hopped up out of his seat which the captain had not turned off the seat belt sign, so he bobbed and weaved a little bit and went to somewhere in the back of the plane. Maya couldn't quite see where he went, the fluffy man grabbed little Uno box and Maya cautioned him by saying you know we should wait until the seat belt sign goes off because she wasn’t trying to bob and weave as well on the plane. After about thirty minutes, the sign did go off and then they were free to sit across from each other at a little table that was built into the jet. In setting up for the Uno game, the two flight attendants couldn't be bothered because they're just they're here to look hot, not for weird games. The young assistant was just so happy that Dieter had someone else to focus on, he was taking a nap because that man looked stressed, he was probably going to have gray hairs before he turned thirty.

“Toblerone, we got to make this game interesting though.” Dieter stated as he removed his robe and shuffled the card. “I’m gonna take this seriously.” His sunglasses came off next, serious indeed.

Maya scoffed, finishing off her drink and leaned forward. Removing her sweatshirt, she revealed she had on a pale pink t-shirt that read ‘Live loud and love long.’ She rested her elbows on her knees while Bravo delt the cards, she noted his triangle tattoo on his forearm and wondered how long it took to fill that in. She just had scars and stretch marks. Dieter’s eyes floated to her shirt and licked his lips. He found himself curious about the second part of that shirt. 

“So, it's not just enough to be playing Uno in a private jet? We have to have stakes too? And my name’s Maya, not Toblerone. Still not a bad nickname though.” The plush woman picked up her cards and scanned them, not a bad hand, but not great either. “How often are you playing games with stakes in the air, lovely man?” She was trying to find a nickname for him as well, none sounded cool though. Dieter could have cared less, he soaked up any name she was willing to call him. Her voice sounded like smooth caramel to him. Wait, he had an idea.

“Yeah, I haven't really done it with anybody else for like a while.” He paused. Was he just talking about the cards? His assistant was normally troubled by Dieter’s lack of routine, but kept his schedule packed, which left little time for extracurriculars he was used to. The pregnant pause caused Maya’s head to tilt with her lips pursed.  “No, no, no, no. Scratch that. I do it all the time. Cards all over the place. On the walls, Several packs at a time. All the packs.” The croc clad man stuttered as he attempted to clarify what he meant, which just solidified what he said further. He’d won awards for his acting, yet his was doing a piss poor job right now. “If I win,” Dieter explained as he picked up his cards and looked at them, once of his hands held his chin, presumably deep in thought. He was but he felt like he embarrassed himself. There was no way she was going to agree to meet with him after they left the plane. “I get to keep calling you Kit Kat, Milky Way or Toblerone and you have dinner with me.” 

Maya just stared at him smiling. “Dinner? I honestly thought you were going to mention cards on the ceiling and on the beach.” She waved her hand, their banter was one thing, but dinner? This man did not want dinner. He just wanted a fun night because his assistant has been cockblocking him. She wasn’t opposed, but she didn’t want to be a fun fat fuck for him either. It wouldn’t be the sex that would be bad, though it could be, she just didn’t want to wake up with that shame again or alone in bed as she had too often before. Her smile dimmed. “I’ll agree to the nickname game but not dinner. We ate here on the plane.” Her eyes focused on his hands, then lips, Maya couldn’t directly at his face. It was bad enough she was considering it.

Bravo noticed her demeanor change. The card talk had been too much. It’s not like he hadn’t thought of getting her in bed or wherever she would agree since seeing her at the airport. He didn’t want her to feel bad about it nor obligated. Maya had been fun to talk to, he hadn’t felt the need to snort or shoot anything yet. He wanted to know why, he thought dinner might help with that. 

“What we ate wasn’t a full meal. I’m still hungry.” He played his first card, “I want dinner with you because I like you, Maya. For more than getting a quick thrill, plus if I don’t see you later, I won’t be able to use any of your nicknames.” Dieter flicked his chin toward her, indicating her move.

Smooth bastard. “Fine but if I win, I get to call you Sugar lips, soufflé or pretty boy.” Maya sucked her teeth and drew a card from the pile, she didn’t have the right color or number. She started to tap her foot nervously, this was dangerous. He was cunning, deceptively so. She hated that she was enjoying their wordplay.

“Wait the first one I get but why the second one? And why pretty boy? You called me man earlier Toblerone?” He was able to put down two more cards. Maya cursed under her breath and was able to be rid of one card on her turn.

“We’ll see how this game goes and that will tell me if I call you a man or a boy Dieter.”

Maya lost uno and Dieter decided he would keep Toblerone and Milky Way. He did tell her that she could call him Sugar Lips. He liked that one. Maya drank a second lemon drop as did Dieter. Now dinner was happening off this plane. He danced with his third drink, snaking his hips in a circle to music only he could hear. After polishing it off, he grabbed Maya’s hands and pulled her up to dance as well. 

“What song are thinking of Sugar Lips? I can’t tell by your dancing.” The man’s laugh was infectious, and Maya started cackling as well. They spun around as once of his hands ran down to her side, grabbing a handful of her hip. He guided her from side to side, slowing down. His lips kissed the back of the hand he still held in his. 

“No particular song. I just felt like dancing. I get to have dinner with you, my Toblerone. I’m excited.” Dieter answered, he kissed her jaw and met her eyes. His hand on her hip loosened as he started to circle his palm over her hip and part of her ass. “You’re soft Maya. Wanna find out what makes you that way. I feel like I need to, you know?” Her breath hitched with each of his touches, her resistance fading with each movement they took together. Would she make it to dinner?

Next: Chapter 2

Tag list:

@fhatbhabie @morallyinept @pedritapascal @pascalsanctuary @nissaimmortal @grogusmum @theywhowriteandknowthings @beefrobeefcal @goodwithcheese @iamasaddie @psychedelic-ink @megamindsecretlair @pedrodascal @marcus-is-my-muse @clawdee @mintypossum @trulybetty @perotovar @joelslegalwhre @josephquinnswhore @mandoisapunk @secretelephanttattoo @for-a-longlongtime @tessa-quayle @legendary-pink-dot @sin-djarin @maggiemayhemnj @rhoorl @magpiepillsjunior @intoanotherworld23 @linzels-blog @joelmillers-whore @guelyury @laurfilijames @missladym1981 @julesonrecord @alltheglitterandtheroar @din-djarins-riduur @daddy-dins-girl @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @rhoorl @yorksgirl @maggiemayhemnj @saturn-rings-writes @gwendibleywrites @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @undercoverpena @musings-of-a-rose @soft-persephone

[meimi-haneoka]

{drabble} I'm here - Akiho/Kaito

Alright, how do you do any of this...😂

I guess what you need to know it's that it is a Akiho x Kaito / YunaAki drabble, it's based on canon (set 3 weeks after the series ended), and it's based on the assumption that, differently from what the ENG translation said in ch. 80, in the JP Sakura affirmed that thanks to his stopped time Kaito wouldn't be hurting more than that...this means that his seizures would continue, just they wouldn't get worse than what we've seen till now.

This is mainly a hurt/comfort drabble, with glimpses of happiness. After all, Akiho is happy with him. And it's mainly a way for me to vent some complex feelings about the finale of Clear Card. I have a Kaito POV on the way (edit: here's the link, go read it after you finished this one!), but it's more difficult to write for him (and, uh, more depressing) so it'll come in the next days.

Easter egg: a line is a direct reference to the lyrics of Anata by Hikaru Utada. 😉

I'm not a native English speaker so forgive me if any line sounds weird!

Finally, I have to thank the "enabler" dandelion-stuff-and-fluff (not tagging in case you don't want to!) for giving immediately support to my whims! 😂

Excerpt:

I could feel the tears emerging, but I kicked all of them back, as I threw my 13-year-old self out of the window and summoned the part of me that helped me survive all these years. The resilient one.

Akiho's POV 

Three weeks had passed by, from that fateful night. 

Most of our stuff was packed, and our days were spent between checking everything for the imminent departure and hanging out with Sakura-san and the rest of the group, making the most out of the remaining time. Everyone was so lovely to us, showing all the support we needed. I really felt like I had acquired a family in Tomoeda, and the thought of it made me incredibly happy.  I was going to miss them so much. Just like I would miss this big mansion full of memories.... and mysterious protective forces, apparently, as I was told by him. 

Kaito-san revealed to me that when we came to Tomoeda almost one year prior, he had chosen this mansion specifically to protect me, as I was carrying a dangerous magical artifact that my own clan had engraved in me.  We talked quite a lot over the span of those three weeks, and swallowing the truth had been hard, at first.  But all of that was gone now and like waking up from a nightmare, the memories of it were getting more and more hazy as time went on. Only a permanent scar remained. 

Both of us were in the kitchen, cooking dinner. The clang of kitchen utensils, the sizzle in the frying pan made me strangely happy. It sounded warm. It sounded normal. I love cooking with him. This was the corner of the house where we declared to each other how much we cherished one another, without even fully realizing it. 

“Akiho-san, could you hand me the salt?”  “Here you go!” I said, smiling brightly at him.  He smiled back at me in that soft way that made my knees weak.  God, please, give me this for the rest of my life. Every day, immutably. 

“Done! We’re ready.”  Removing our aprons, we were getting ready to bring everything to the table. 

And then I saw it.  

He stopped in his tracks, his complexion paling by the second. 

Another one was coming.   My blood ran cold, and I rushed to the other side of the room, while he slowly crouched to the ground, out of breath, groaning in pain.   Each cry stabbed me in the chest like a knife. I could feel the tears emerging, but I kicked all of them back, as I threw my 13-year-old self out of the window and summoned the part of me that helped me survive all these years. The resilient one.   I hastily opened a cabinet and took out a finely decorated small box, toppling other items in the process. I didn't care.   Hiiragizawa-san had sent us, through a magic portal, a series of pills he made weaving a complex magic spell over them, to help Kaito-san cope with the seizures. He said they wouldn't do any miracle, but hopefully they could reduce the duration of the seizures and ease the pain a little bit. Cause the pain he was experiencing wasn’t caused by anything ordinary, and no ordinary medicine would’ve been effective. 

I grabbed a towel, flung it over my shoulder and ran back to Kaito-san with a glass of water, spilling some of it in the process. I watched him as he struggled to swallow both the pill and the water. 

How many times did he experience this excruciating pain, completely alone?   How many times did he force himself to not crumble down in front of me, to protect my peace of mind? Just thinking back to all the times I could feel something was not right, and how he tried to deceive me to keep dealing with it all alone.... it brought back in me an anger I didn't know what to do with.  

Yes, I didn't get over it yet. The wound was still so fresh.  But we agreed that we would’ve dealt with this together, from now on.  ...And just like that, the fit of anger quickly vanished, as a gentle feeling got a hold of me, and I began unbuttoning the collar of his shirt to let him breath better, then dabbing his damp forehead with the towel.   "It's okay.... it's okay... I'm here" I whispered softly, like a lullaby. 

As if surrendering himself to me, he held onto my arms and leaned over, trying to regain control of his breathing. I supported him, thanking in my head a hundred times that his time was halted. Yes, we were trying to look for a way to eventually make it flow again, but it was in moments like these that I remembered how numbing the fear to lose him again was.   I couldn't live with that. With that feeling of hollowness. Not again. 

That's why, I said to myself, this time I would've done anything in my power to not lose him, come what may. I wouldn't have spared any effort. Losing him would’ve been a hundred times more devastating than the pain I was feeling in that moment, seeing him in those conditions. After all, he was feeling like that because of me.  

“Momo...please give me strength”, I thought, missing my beloved bunny more than ever. Who knows how many times she had witnessed all of that, and how she dealt with it. I could’ve used some advice in that moment. 

His ragged breath became more regular, the pill was starting to kick in. He raised his head and looked at me.   Those eyes I loved so much, now covered by a mysterious dark fog - a remnant of the dragon appearance, as they explained to me – seemed to regain finally focus.  His face was so close to mine. In another situation, in another more oblivious period, there’s no doubt my heart would've exploded from embarrassment, red in the face like a tomato. But right now, I was preoccupied with something completely different, as I looked at him holding nothing but worry and sadness in my eyes. 

"I'm sorry...", he whispered. 

I could feel my heart catching fire, and it reminded how much I love him, despite being so hurt by his reckless behavior.  But I didn't answer to his apology. Cause that wasn't what I wanted to hear from him.

Instead, I asked him “can you stand up?” and helped propping him up when he nodded. We proceeded slowly towards the couch in the living room, where I helped him lying down. Despite having tons of lovely memories here, this house was starting to be a bit too big for us and for emergencies of this kind.  Hiiragizawa-san's pills had a sedative that inevitably caused Kaito-san to fall asleep, to recuperate. He looked so exhausted.  I arranged some cushions on the ground and sat down beside the couch, watching him closing his eyes and drifting quickly into sleep. I moved some of his hair to the side and dabbed the towel over his forehead one more time.   Then I went back to stare at his peaceful face, lost in thought. Was I truly prepared for this, when I decided that the life I wanted was this one? Probably not.  Would I have chosen anything else? Absolutely not.  Being with him is my happiness, after all.

[mihotose]

actually listening to the hasu card voice lines now

vivid phrase tsuzuri and grace phrase kozue are the outfits they wore to promote the school idol club where kaho and sayaka first saw them perform!!

i have no idea how to take those early mirapa cards. are they just. fantasising about performing together. ruri literally is not even in the country at this point in the story

megu talking about editing a video before trailing off and saying "kozue and tsuzuri are so pretty..."

megumi rented out a photo studio for her megunyan stream??

kaho saying she probably wont be as competent (as kozue) when shes a second year herself <- shes a second year now!!!

tsuzuri's "i want you to know me" to sayaka(?)

「運命だったのかもしれないわね。どうしてかしら、花帆さんを見た時思ったの私はきっとこの子と一緒にスクールアイドルをやっていくんだって。まだまだ長い道のり、これから先も何が起きるかわからけれど、それでも私は花帆さんを選んだ。蓮ノ空女学院に進学すると決めた時のように ね。その選択を絶対に後悔なんてしないわ。初めて一緒にステージに立ってみて、隣に立って笑う花帆さんを見た時に胸の奥が暑くなった気がしたの。春は出会いの季節、それに恋の季節って言うでしょ？もしかしたら私は花帆さんのスクールアイドルとしての笑顔に恋をしてしまったのかも」

kozue: maybe it was fate. i dont know why, but when i saw kaho-san i thought to myself "im definitely going to be a school idol with this girl." theres still a long road ahead of us, and i dont know what will happen in the future, but i chose kaho-san, just as i chose to go to hasunosora. i will never regret that decision. when we stood on stage together for the first time, and i saw kaho-san smiling next to me, i felt a warmth in my heart. they say spring is the season of new encounters and the season of love, right? maybe i fell in love with kaho-san's school idol smile

the voice lines for the card of sayaka waking up tsuzuri for school are so long like a full minute longer than the others. its mostly tsuzuri saying how thankful she is she has sayaka standing by her and that she worried sayaka wouldnt know How grateful she is. so she gave her a nice acorn she found and sayaka gave her a cookie back

*tsuzuri gave kozue and kaho acorns as thanks in the main story too for making her realise everything sayaka was doing for her

they (ceribou + dollche presumably) all came up with the kunpuu no shirabe outfits together! the translucent fabric layer on top was kaho's idea

while kozue was making the kunpuu no shirabe outfits kaho kept leaving practice to check how she was doing and kozue thought she was like a puppy before thinking that wasnt appropriate for her to think as her senpai (lol)

sayaka (and kaho?) made the stage for scapegoat (and ouka ranman?)

tsuzuri often feels (felt?) lonely after a performance and it makes her want to do another show to feel the same emotions. kozue had to stop her from doing it the fourth time

sayaka saying she obviously cant know fully tsuzuri's greatness but she does want people to know the tsuzuri that she knows, and shes annoyed she wasnt able to properly convey that to kaho when they were talking about how much they love their senpai

tsuzuri didnt recognise herself in the photo of she and kozue from last year. she doesnt really remember her face since she only sees it in the mirror

tsuzuri said something about memories remaining in a form such as a photo, that when she tries to pull them out she can feel it in her chest along with other memories attached to it. so she knows that they happened. yet she cant remember her own face. if she doesnt pull the memories out theyll accumulate and get stuck. but if she keeps doing it she worries theyll fall apart and disappear

there are some memories she wants to disappear but even the ones she doesnt are at risk of disappearing. so she wants to make lots of memories that she does want to keep

sayaka's tragic drops card is probably happening the same time as tsuzuri's!! shes watching her stream :-)

tsuzuri: im not good at streaming but i know people who are, so i used them as a reference <- i knew it

[cursed-elo-images]

HEY EVERYONE I NEED TO POST ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA INCORRECT QUOTES ON HERE BECAUSE THE WORLD NEEDS THEM!!!

The website I generate these from are none other than the lovely https://perchance.org/incorrect-quote-generator, whose quotes come from user suggestions, Tumblr, Twitter, and bash.org (the sources that aren’t user suggestions were pretty early and they take quotes from user suggestions now just to clarify) and I’ve been having the time of my life making them.

Also, as a heads up I’m only posting SFW ones.

And so I’ll edit this post whenever i generate new ones and copy and paste them into my documents and choose the ones I want to post. I know that with incorrect quotes from any fandom, people like to post multiple posts of one quote or a handful of them wherever they post them from and I’d like to do that, it’s not a bad idea, I just like to collect them all in a large mega post.

UPDATE: this no longer applies to this post. I’m not making it a mega post anymore, because it’s too confusing for me and I’ll be like “okay so if this the original mega post or is this the first reblog or the third reblog or the tenth reblog—“ and it just looks better with multiple posts of a collection of different quotes.

SO WITH THAT BEING SAID—here they are!!!

Melvyn, talking to Mik: Well Mik, whenever I’m about to do something, I think ‘would Hugh do that?’ and if he would, I do not do that thing.

Mik: …

Hugh, from the distance: He’s not wrong though!

Melvyn: The first time I ever got upset in front of Hugh, he put his arms around me and it was so awkward that I had to ask him if he was hugging me or reaching for something on the shelf behind me.

Hugh: I was doing both, for your information.

Mik: The first time Hugh hugged me, it was such a disaster we didn’t make eye contact for, like, a week after.

Melvyn: When I was a kid, Hugh told me that the paper strip that’s in the chocolate kisses were edible and I ate them with the chocolate for a year.

Mik: They are!

Melvyn: FOR REAL?

Mik: No! Why did you fall for it again?

Mik: They made Melvyn cry!

Hugh: Melvyn always cries!

Melvyn: That's not true! *cries*

Richard, setting down a card: Ace of spades.

Jeff, pulling out an Uno card: +4.

Kelly, pulling out a Pokémon card: Jolteon, I choose you!

Bev, trembling: What are we playing?!

Richard: Are you laughing at that video of Bev and Jeff fighting?

Kelly: No.

Kelly: I'm laughing at the comments.

*The Squad is at Jeff’s house*

Melvyn : Ohhhh we each get our own oven?

Jeff: …N-No…

Jeff, laughing: How many ovens do you think I have???

Melvyn , motioning to the kitchen: Three, I thought!

Richard: I see a-

Jeff, motioning to one device: This is a microwave.

Melvyn : Oh, well I-

Jeff: Hey, wait wait, actually- hang on- *fiddles with the buttons on the microwave*

Jeff, amazed: Its got a bake setting!

Hugh: Ohoho, you learn something new every day!

Bev: Do we- Do we roshambo for who gets to pick first?

Jeff: Now I’ve discovered more ovens than I thought, we don’t have to roshambo nothin’!

Jeff: I am someone who owns four ovens…

Jeff, louder and way too happy: I am someone… who owns FOUR OVENS…

Mik, pointing to another appliance: Also, the toaster oven!

Jeff:

Melvyn : Ohhh, toasty boy! Four- Five ovens!

Jeff:

Jeff, ecstatic: I AM SOMEONE WHO OWNS FIVE OVENS.

Bev: Today, Kelly took my phone, and in five minutes, he sent high resolution close-up photos of Richard to the following people: Jeff, Hugh, Mik, the neighbors, the bank, my accountant, San Diego Blood Bank, and Shake Shack's text bot.

Bev: So, did everyone learn their lesson?

Kelly: No.

Richard: I did not.

Melvyn : I may have actually forgotten one.

Jeff: Also no.

Bev: Oh good, neither did I.

Hugh: *Exhausted sigh*

Hugh: We’re kind of missing something guys.

Kelly: Cohesion?

Richard: Teamwork?

Bev: A general sense of what we’re doing?

Mik: And Jeff is not here.

Kelly: Oh, and that, yeah.

*The Squad is playing Chess*

Hugh: *easily beats everyone because he knows how to play*

Kelly: *doesn’t know the rules, but wins anyway*

Bev: *doesn’t know the rules, and loses*

Mik: *knows the rules, but still loses to those who don’t*

Jeff: Actually, you can’t do that, because I said so.

Melvyn : They named a board game after cheese?

*the Squad at Disneyland, in the teacups*

Richard, Bev, and Melvyn : *spinning a little and talking*

Jeff, Hugh, and Kelly: *flying past them, spinning as fast as they can, screaming*

Richard: Did you bring Jeff?

Kelly, gesturing to Hugh: No, but I brought the next best thing.

Richard: Hugh? The next best thing would be Bev.

Hugh: I would be offended, but Bev is freakishly strong.

Melvyn: Hugh, I have a question.

Hugh: What is it, Melvyn?

Melvyn: What color is an orange?

Hugh: Melvyn, you bonehead! Its color is the same as its name. Just like a lemon.

Hugh: Do you take constructive criticism?

Melvyn: Not without crying

Hugh, entering the room: *Sees Melvyn and leaves*

Melvyn, watching Hugh leave: There’s my monthly dose of Hugh…

Hugh: PEASANT. I REQUIRE SUSTENANCE.

Melvyn: You know there are other ways to say you want McDonalds.

Hugh: FOUL PLEBEIAN. YOU DARE SPEAK AGAINST ME—

Melvyn: *sigh* What do you want?

Hugh: Chicken nuggets please.

Hugh: Okay happy campers! If you were a fruit what would you be and why?

Melvyn: I'd be a tomato because no one accepts me as part of the group.

Hugh: ...

Melvyn: ...

Hugh: OKAY HAPPY CAMPERS-

Melvyn: Hugh, how could you possibly have gotten into this much trouble in one day?

Hugh: It... It didn't take me the whole day…

Melvyn, dashing into the room: WHY AREN’T THE DISHES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER?!

Hugh: …What does that even mean?!

Jeff: When you work at lush and a customer comes in and bites the soap because they think it’s cheese... this happens way more frequently than you think.

Richard: If you stopped literally presenting soap as deli food this wouldn't happen.

Jeff: Who goes into a bath store and thinks something covered in glitter is cheese?

Bev: Who goes to the store and just takes a bite from the cheese?

Bev: Jeff, gather the others. We need to have another Hugh-is-doing-something-stupid-again-and-we-have-to-stop-him-before-he-hurts-someone convention.

Melvyn: What’s your name?

Jeff, whispering to Bev: Can I tell him my real name?

Bev: No!

Jeff: I’m… Bev.

Bev, whispering to himself: The ONE TIME he gets my name right…

Melvyn: Are pigeons drones?

Hugh: What? No, I'm trying to sleep.

Melvyn: Think about it. How come you've never seen a baby pigeon? And why do you never actually see a pigeon nest? Because they're DRONES!

Hugh: *Crying* Please let me sleep…

Hugh: Do you know the best way to respond to disagreement?

Melvyn: With tears?

Hugh: No.

Melvyn: *tears up*

*The gang when they drop food on the floor*

Jeff : Aw man. *Throws it away*

Bev: Five second rule!

Hugh: Foolish germs, thinking they can stop me!? *Eats it off the floor*

Richard: *Sobs on the floor*

*when a child starts crying in public*

Mik: *tries to make the child laugh*

Kelly: *tries to play a game with the child to make them calm down*

Bev: *gives detailed instructions to the parents*

Melvyn: *cries with the child*

Richard: *ignores the child*

Hugh: *is the reason why the child is crying*

Melvyn: While I'm gone, you're in charge Richard.

Richard: Yes!

Melvyn, whispering to Hugh: You're secretly in charge, but I don't want him to feel bad.

Hugh: Obviously.

Richard: You know what bothers me? Bats. Why can bats fly?

Hugh: Not again!

Richard: No. Seriously, who gave them the right? They're mammals! Mammals walk on land, no exceptions.

Melvyn: Just wait until you hear about whales.

Richard: What now?

Hugh: I like to think of myself as a semi responsible adult here.

Richard: Melvyn is 70% of your impulse control and you know this Hugh.

Melvyn: I feel like Hugh is the more responsible one of us two though.

Hugh: We are both 70% of each others' impulse control.

Melvyn: Just two lil beasts in pinwheel hats spinning on the merry-go-round at dangerous velocities, holding each other’s hands so the other doesn’t fall off.

Melvyn: Hey, check out my Spongebob umbrella!

*Melvyn opens their umbrella while indoors*

Richard: Melvyn, that’s bad luck…

Melvyn: Chill out, Richard !

Hugh, kicking down the door: WHO SUMMONED ME?!?!

Melvyn and Richard: *screams*

Richard: Hugh isn’t answering my messages.

Melvyn: Allow me.

Richard: I tried 6 times, what makes you thi-

Hugh: *replying to message* Hello.

Melvyn: How did you even get in here?

Hugh: Richard's window! Or, as I like to call it, "Hugh's door"!

Richard: I’m closing the window.

Hugh: If you water water, it grows.

Richard: ...What.

Melvyn: He’s got a point.

Melvyn & Hugh: *Playing video games*

Richard: You guys woke up at 5:30 in the morning just to play games?

Melvyn: *silence*

Hugh: *silence*

Richard, finally figuring it out: ...You two never went to sleep, did you?

Melvyn & Hugh in shame: Yeah…

Melvyn: Richard won’t come out of his room!

Hugh: Just tell them I said something.

Melvyn: Like what?

Hugh: Anything factually incorrect.

Melvyn, shrugging: If you say so.

Richard, arriving moments later: Did you just say the sun is a PLANET?

Hugh: *Talking to Richard* Oh, hi. I didn't see you there. Welcome to my abode. I'm glad you could join me.

Melvyn: But this is my abode.

Hugh: ...

Hugh: Welcome to my abode, I'm so happy to have you, guest.

Melvyn: Why is Hugh crying?

Richard: He saw a leaf on the sidewalk and-

Hugh: IT LOOKED SO CRUNCHY!

Melvyn: Please don’t say what I think you’re gonna say-

Hugh: AND WHEN I STEPPED ON IT THERE WAS NO CRUNCH!

Melvyn: NO, NOT THAT!

Richard: Melvyn learned how to fold origami penguins from Hugh the other day. I told him, “I feel a little bad for the penguins, it’s hot here”, and the next day he put them in the fridge.

Richard: Define “dream”.

Hugh: Dream - the first thing people abandon when they learn how the world works.

Melvyn: That’s too dark!

Richard: Melvyn, I’m afraid.

Melvyn: Just stay close to Hugh.

Richard: That's why I’m afraid.

Melvyn: I’m telling you, my team is competent.

Richard: Melvyn learned how to fold origami penguins from Hugh the other day. I told him, “I feel a little bad for the penguins, it’s hot here”, and the next day he put them in the fridge.

Richard: What are you two arguing about this time?

Melvyn: They’re always using common phrases incorrectly!

Hugh: Cry me a table, Melvyn.

Melvyn: Ladies, gentlemen and Hugh, I want to show you the greatest thing your eyes have ever beheld!

Richard: A llama?

Melvyn: No.

Richard: A baby llama?

Melvyn: No!

Richard: A baby llama with a little hat on?

Melvyn: NO!

Richard: Melvyn, what are you doing?

Melvyn: Making chocolate pudding.

Richard: It's four in the morning, why are you making chocolate pudding?

Melvyn: Because I've lost control of my life.

Melvyn: Here's your pudding, Hugh.

Hugh: Oh that's okay, I'm not hungry anymore.

Richard: Yesterday, I overheard Melvyn saying “Are you sure this is a good idea?” and Hugh replying “Trust me,” and I have never moved from one room to another so quickly in my life.

Melvyn: You ever see something that changes your life and you're just like "huh.."

Richard: I saw you.

Melvyn: Honestly that's so cute and sweet but it kinda makes this awkward because I was gonna show you a picture of Hugh in a turkey costume.

Melvyn: *lifting weights*

Hugh: Wow… He’s so intense!

Richard: I wonder what drives him.

Melvyn, internally: Oh I am going to be SO good at giving hugs.

Richard to Melvyn: First rule of battle, little one... don’t ever let them know where you are.

Hugh, shooting out of frame: WHOO-HOO! I’M RIGHT HERE! I’M RIGHT HERE! YOU WANT SOME O’ ME?! YEAH YOU DO! COME ON! COME ON! AAAAAH! Whoo-hoo!

Richard: 'Course, there’re other schools of thought.

Hugh: *sneaking in through his window*

Richard: *turning in his chair and flicking the light one* You want to tell me where you've been all night?

Hugh: I was with Melvyn?

Melvyn: *turning in his chair* Wanna try again?

Melvyn: Three of the four elements are represented as types of hockey. Air hockey, ice hockey, and field hockey. Fire hockey needs to be a thing.

Richard: Fire hockey absolutely does NOT need to be a thing.

Hugh: Do you care NOTHING for the balance of the four elements?!

Richard, trying to impress Melvyn: I re-initialized the entire command structure, retaining all programmed abilities but deleting the supplementary preference architecture.

Hugh: He turned it off and back on again.

Hugh: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Richard?

Richard: No.

Melvyn: I do!

Hugh: I know, Melvyn.

Melvyn: I’m sad.

Hugh: I know, Melvyn.

Hugh: Go ahead, Melvyn. Let it out, cry. If you don't, your tear ducts will get blocked up, and then when you get old, you won't be able to cry.

Richard: Just when we thought it was safe to let you back into the conversation.

Melvyn: Last night I found out Hugh is a sleep talker.

Richard: Oh, really?

Melvyn: "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Right. In. My. Ear. At 3am.

Hugh: Hey, do you know anyone who can teach me to play the trumpet?

Richard: Why?

Hugh: I want to wander around playing it to annoy Melvyn.

Richard: Technically, you don’t actually need to know how to play the trumpet well for that.

Hugh: Richard, you have opened my eyes.

[jadeanon]

Hello, i have to get this off my chest. After lurking on tumblr for a few years after the incident took place and now seeing these “people” be brougt to justice i need to say my peace. I, Jadeanon harley was once in a kindating discord with Dave @doomedideas and zee @mikasacus . We were not close but we ended up going to comiccon san deigo in 2018. I, jadeanon cosplayed as my highest kin and namesake jade harley whilst the other two had their own corrisponding cosplays. Throughout the trip they made jokes and such about former presidents and i am ashamed to say i agreed. But this isnt about joe biden or ronald regan, or my own bill clinton loving nature (he is my husbando) but rather about an event that took place the monday after. They both cornered me and asked for my dave and busters card- at the time i worked there and had amassed a huge number of rewards points.

I refused initially until they brought out their (now what i assume to be fake) ikea brand steak knives. They then explained that they were to have their kinwedding there and use my points in order to buy their way into it. I again, refused. They then said i “wasnt truly jade harley” and that “i was fakekinning in order to get closer to them” which. No.

Here is the badge as receipts (name is edited out for doxx)

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Now That's What I Call Music! 8 2001 R&B / Pop / Teen Pop / Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk / Post-Grunge

Welp, folks, it looks like we're nearing the end of the earliest days for this beloved flagship series that's known for constantly delivering reproductions of the day's biggest pop hits, but I still have a couple more of these albums in my queue to enjoyably sift through. And just like the other seven installments that precede this one, Now That's What I Call Music! 8 also makes for a pretty great trip down commercial radio memory lane as well 😍.

But before we dive right on into it, how about we have some nostalgic fun with the ad for this release first? See, If you had placed an order for Now 8 by credit card or with check-debit, you'd also receive a free limited edition collector's box that you could store all of your other Now CDs in too! Wow! How considerate! Thanks Now! 😎💖

But we actually start off on a few somber notes here... 😔

Now 8 was the first dispatch from the main series to be released after 9/11, and so, I feel like the inclusion of its final track, U2's "Walk On," which never even made it onto Billboard's Hot 100 chart, was done solely in order to try to console an American psyche that had been deeply wounded at that time. "Walk On" was released as a single in February of 2001, and was actually about the plight of Burmese peace activist Aung San Suu Kyi—who, years later, would despicably do nothing as Myanmar's head of state to address the genocide of Rohingya Muslims that her own military was perpetrating—but in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the song found itself resonating with a lot of Americans, serving a sudden and newfound purpose as an anthem of perseverance for them.

And that's pretty much undoubtedly why Now chose this song to close out the album. Had 9/11 not happened, this comp's last track would've probably been a song that had actually charted on the Hot 100. But because this album was slated to release in November of '01, the Now brass probably thought it best to end with a song that could acknowledge that then-current moment of anguish and turmoil, rather than awkwardly and tone-deafly just loading up their CD with fun pop hits from the summer that had just passed.

But less than three weeks before 9/11, R&B star Aaliyah had also tragically passed in a plane crash after filming the video for her beautifully soft and sensual, final single, "Rock the Boat" too. So Now not only included that song on this release, but they dedicated the whole album to Aaliyah's memory, and also donated part of the proceeds from the triple-platinum seller to her memorial fund as well.

And last with the sadness, rest in peace to the great Steve Harwell. I absolutely despised your band's cover of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" when I first heard it (which appears on this album), but I still genuinely dug your work more than most are willing to admit, and really also loved the critique you had about the commodification of social movements in "Walkin' On the Sun," which is something that many people probably overlooked because they had nothing nice to say about your band that, unfortunately, became a Shrek meme. At the end of the day, Smash Mouth made a bunch of fun music, man 😞.

OK, on to the rest of this album...

So, the album cover for this release says it comes with 20 chart-topping hits, but in reality, only three of these were actually Hot 100 #1s. There's Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious," which, to go with their Survivor album's theme, intended to use the opening guitar stutter from "Eye of the Tiger"—by the band *Survivor*—but had to settle for Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" instead; Usher's "U Got It Bad" ballad; and Joe's "Stutter," which isn't actually the most famous version of the song, but is the "Double Take Remix" instead, that was done by Allen "Allstar" Gordon Jr., and sampled both the iconic west coast alternative rap classic, "Passin' Me By," by The Pharcyde, as well as the song that that song itself sampled, Quincy Jones' "Summer in the City." And it also features now-canceled rapper Mystikal, which represents his third overall appearance in this series.

And speaking of remixes and samples, the famous Murder Inc. remix of J.Lo's "I'm Real," featuring Ja Rule, doesn't appear on here, but instead, it's her underappreciated and poppier original version that sounds nothing like the remix, and samples from classic Japanese electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra's digi-chirping "Firecracker," which ends up naturally giving the tune a sweet 80s throwback kinda vibe.

Other songs worth mentioning are the brilliantly produced and super light and smooth Janet Jackson jam, "Someone to Call My Lover," which sampled from folk duo America's "Ventura Highway;" and a terrific tune that was actually originally released in 1998, but rose to US fame because of its inclusion in a 2001 Mitsubishi ad: "Start the Commotion," by UK duo The Wiseguys. That one's very much in that Fatboy Slim-helmed UK big beat vein; gotta love the blaring and swingin' sampled horns on it! 🤩

And there's a solid handful of other songs on this CD that I could devote some space to as well, but I think this post here is already long enough as it is.

So, another terrific nostalgia rush to be had in this trip all the way back to 2001. And I only have one more of these Now comps left in my queue, but I think I'm gonna save it for later.

Highlights:

Destiny's Child - "Bootylicious" 'N Sync - "Pop" Jennifer Lopez - "I'm Real" Joe feat. Mystikal - "Stutter (Double Take Remix)" Janet Jackson - "Someone to Call My Lover" Christina Milian - "AM to PM" Aaliyah - "Rock the Boat" Usher - "U Got It Bad" Gorillaz - "Clint Eastwood" The Wiseguys feat. Greg Nice - "Start the Commotion" Sum 41 - "Fat Lip" Blink-182 - "The Rock Show" Fuel - "Bad Day" U2 - "Walk On"

[md-guel]

well! I finally got that free time I was waiting for so I managed to take a lot of photos of the g witch season 2 volume 2 blu-ray box featuring our very own el presidente guelito jeturk! 🦁🎉 I'll put them all under the read more where I break them down by sections, too!

first section is the outer box, of course, and can I just say. if somebody sold even just the outer box on mercari (like somebody did for shaddiq's cover, I remember reading somewhere), I would be so tempted to buy it. handsome boy notwithstanding, this thing would actually make such a handsome and fun a5 document holder! the red is just so attractive to the eyes and check out that gold stamping! like the whole thing just really looks so executive.

and I really love the choice of foil silhouette, too. this is guel's revival from the penultimate version of the season 2 opener. his choice of dialogue has...far too many...ellipses...for...my tastes...but we know how important it is to his arc so it belongs there. I just wish they got rid of even just one ellipsis cause it doesn't make sense without the drama of the source scene.

here's the rest of the contents of the box! there's the actual disc box, a special booklet in guel's primary colors, then two sets of end cards, one for the anime and another for the audio drama

aside from the handsome boy at the front, the other part that convinced me to buy this blu-ray volume is the stunning spread of the darilbalde by ippei gyoubu as the disc box jacket. now I can finally say that I own one of his artworks!

the close-ups are just to show the gloss and the material used

and here are the actual discs! and a sneak peek of my curtains oops. I haven't had the time to watch/listen to the cds yet but the red one contains episodes 16 to 18, the season 2 digest (I think this is the one narrated by noto mamiko-san?), the 2nd and 3rd versions of the season 2 opener and the jeturk house's audio commentary of episode 17. and by jeturk house, I mean everyone's voice actors, of course: azakami youhei for guel, takeo otsuka for lauda, takada yuuki for felsi, hirose yuuki for petra and yamashita taiki for kamil.

the silver one is for the two audio dramas: sophie and norea before the dawn (of fold) and izakaya prospera (which is a modern au setting where the jeturk's business is a flower shop which vim manages because his boys are too into basketball).

the special booklet talks about the episodes, the characters, the world, and has some special interviews from miyahara youhei who is the technical director and kodera shouta, director of photography. if anyone's interested with these interviews, please let me know and I'll take clear photos!

(by the way, the line at the side of the episode 17 summary is guel's oshi line, "I'm grateful to you. You're important to me." as far as his mentions in the summaries are concerned, episode 17 just says that miorine chose him as suletta's final duel and he won against her, and episode 18 just says that miorine and guel have started working together for the presidential election)

the characters section gives us more information about the, well, characters as of episodes 16 to 18. guel's captions read (edited from the machine translation):

the long text:

After the Plant Queta attack, he was taken prisoner by the Dawn of Fold, but returned from Earth in order to rebuild the Jetark Company, which connects him to his father. After returning to school, he finally wins his third duel with Suletta. He has become CEO in place of his younger brother Lauda, ​​who was serving as acting CEO of Jeturk Company, and is working with and supporting Miorine, who is running for president. He expressed his feelings and gratitude to Suletta, and now he is working for what is important to him.

under profile:

Affiliation: Jeturk Heavy Machinery

just above his full name:

Guel, with his trademark long hair cut short, showed his determination to rebuild the company as CEO.

the world guide mostly talks about the state of politics in episodes 16 to 18. the edited machine translations from top to bottom:

Jeturk Company Following Vim's death, Lauda served as acting CEO in Guel's absence. After Guel returns from Earth and defeats Suletta in a duel, he becomes the new CEO. Currently, he is working hard to rebuild Jeturk Company, and is supporting Miorine, with whom he has teamed up, to become the company's next president.

During his lifetime, Vim Jeturk secretly worked with the Shin Sei Development Corporation, introducing the GUND format into his company's next-generation concept model "Schwarzette'' and proceeding with its development.

CEO: Guel Jeturk

and lastly, here are the end cards! I thought about just taking a photo of the front but the artist credits (and icons in the case of the audio dramas) are at the back and I didn't want to leave them out. the first two photos are the audio drama end cards while the last three are the anime ones. they're fairly thin and they're not glossy! check out the reflection on the episode 17 end card.

if anyone is curious about other parts of the blu-ray volume that I excluded from this post, please let me know!

[emyluwinter]

In connection with the latest news about the June schedule

Firstly. The card of THE BEAUTIFUL QUEEN. THANKS. I ALMOST FELL DOWN THE STAIRS WHEN I SAW HIS CARD. Please do not check your phone when you are on the move on the stairs, it will not end well. Don't be as clumsy Vil simp as San. And I also screamed very much, cried internally and cursed in my own language so harshly that it was already scary how I knew so many words. Ahahah. Yes, the fact is that I have only 11 attempts for this handsome….Please Beautiful Queen come, I couldn't knock out your card with a broom..spare the poor woman.

You know, I really love the fans of the game and the fans of Vil Because we've been shown his ankles and we're screaming like innocent Victorians.Ahahaha.

Then there will be a stream of thoughts.

Soooooooooo

As far as I see a lot…No, not like that… QUITE A FEW fans of the game are very upset by the fact that this map will have no history, only furniture for the guest room. Many even left the game or left the fandom.I understand their frustration and frustration in places.

And you know, I understand well why the SSR Vil card will not have a personal history of the card this time. Also! There will be no role in the rerun of the event.

My dear, do you understand what a crazy and busy schedule it must be for the creators?

How long has it been since the previous plot update? A month?A MONTH GUYS.Just think about it! Here we don't have a big break like between the 4th and the fifth chapter. Or breaks as in the same 5th or 6th chapter. I may be wrong with the time frame.

The developers very much want to reward all those fans who have been waiting with trepidation for the arch of Diasomnia. The hostel and the characters, which is literally the final cherry and the knot of the web that weaves the whole plot as a whole. The story is nearing its end, from which much is expected and longed for. (And I pray and hold on only to the thought that we will have Chapter 8, which will blow everyone to pieces)

And that's why their deadlines are burning so much. They have a choice to cram everything into one update and do it not so well, or take a short break and break an impressive part of the plot into two updates and take more time to improve. The choice seems obvious to me.

In order to do all this, it will take quite a lot of time. From the point of view of an artist-writer- and a creative person in general, I am somewhat horrified by the ability to work and the TWST schedule at times.

Let's start with a simple one. For the plot, we need to write a script, make drafts that SATISFY ALL INSTANCES in development. Because what? Without a good story, everything will go to hell, no matter how good the cover is. Like an empty candy or a wrapper without a yummy. Let me remind you that they also most likely need to coordinate everything with Disney, because copyrights and so on. (Add here the pressure of expectation and the bar that they cannot lower)

The script needs to be written in sufficient detail to link certain lines of characters, leave riddles or omit information to reveal it later, character development, their inner world, leave room for the thoughts of the reader / viewer / player… I won't burden you with a writer's structure, my dear. BUT, without a clear understanding of what should be in the story and any respite at one time or another, you will frankly not be interested in following all this. This is a very difficult puzzle or puzzle that you need to come up with from scratch.

It is necessary to transfer materials for 2D game models that need to be drawn and animated. Record the voices of sayu or the actors of the sounds, edit the sound tracks, substitute the desired music. Draw backgrounds, make sure that there are no errors or bugs in the game. We add that all employees can have their own schedule, and voice actors can be busy with various projects for months ahead.

And now remember that for the development of costume designs, characters, their stories, the script is mostly responsible for Toboso, which in turn works with a team that I hope simplifies all this work load. And Toboso leads two projects. The Dark Butler, a manga that is still coming out!

And the TWST game to everything else. And we didn't have time for a full hiatus, but there were months of calm, so then preparing larger-scale events filled with the ent of the game, personal stories, new clothes for the characters and so on.

They need to fill in the gap between the events of the main story. To prepare a new event in such a short time is a direct way to overload. Therefore, in order to keep the attention of fans at least for a while longer, they add new cards without personal stories. But with the addition of furniture for the playroom. Well, ordinary commerce is also partly involved here.

Please understand me correctly, the developers and authors of the game are trying and investing in their project. Now is the peak of the most anticipated chapter of all the others. But their schedule is very busy and attention from fans adds pressure from expectations and other things.

I can't say if they have breaks and respite, but I know only one thing that they have plenty of work. So we just need to wait a little. If you are disappointed or don't want to be in the fandom anymore, this is your right. If you want to take a break, do it. If you want to come back later, no one is judging you.

Besides, I'm not the devil's advocate or anything like that. I just want to clarify a little for fans who don't quite understand why TWST started to go in such a way of cards without personal stories. We have voice cues, from which you can get a lot or not so much for information, furniture for a guest room with a cute animation of a particular character. Voiceover of voice cues in the guest room. Yes, there is no personal history, but at least they try to compensate for it to others. Or they could just fucking send us

Remember the previous chapters. We didn't have additional cards like Cerberus Ortho or the upcoming General Lilia card, anyway they give us something new and fresh, trying not to repeat and not to lose the attention of fans.

I hope my verbal cocktail didn't confuse you too much.

Have a nice day, my dear.

[dododan]

Forgotten Perseverance - Chapter 7

Masterpost

Prologue Previous

Katharina has finally come to her senses! And that means one thing! The long awaited-mostly through Papyrus-tour of Snowdin. In theory, Katharina is protected by the King's promise and Dr. Gaster's protectorate, only will this be enough to ensure that no monster touches the girl? What can go wrong when Katharina, Sans and Papyrus take a trip to the nearby ice rink?

The rest of the week passed normally. If you can call living with a human being that. Katharina quickly adapted to our rhythm, and we also got used to it. Too much did not change. The girl made us not feel her presence too much. She didn't bother us or anything. Sometimes she helped us with school preparations. She proved to be extremely talented when it came to awakening Papyrus. The two of them became very close over those few days. I don't know how Katharina was able to find her way to Paps, but he had started referring to himself as 'The Great Papyrus' for some time. I suspected it had something to do with Kath. I just didn't much feel brave enough to ask her about it. While I appreciated her help, I preferred to be on my guard. Nevertheless, Katharina behaved very normally. She didn't do anything strange or suspicious. 

She spent her days in the living room or kitchen. She was usually accompanied in our absence by Saera, who also didn't notice anything strange. Apparently, she often played cards or our other board games with her. Well, she didn't tell me this directly. It was more that I overheard Saera talking to my father. Apparently, the monster woman was also to keep an eye on our guest. Father was more forewarned than I thought. He also asked us - me and Paps - not to tell Katharina too much about the people before her, although I had the impression that she knew more than she was telling us. 

Only later did she admit that Saera had chatted about what the people had done to the monsters. This explained her lack of questions on the matter, as she usually showered us with them. As well as explaining why she was so persistent in trying to improve her relationship with me. 

She noticed that I liked to read books, especially science fiction. She tried to talk to me about it, but I didn't know her authors and she didn't read - as it turned out - old editions. I didn't orient myself with newly published books, because such books simply didn't fall into the Underground. More often than not, we received slightly used books that were a few years old. Nevertheless, we were able to boast of excellent writers whom she had not had the opportunity to meet at all. 

She didn't have a point in literature, so she tried something else. It was probably Paps who told her. It's all about my love of the stars. One day by 'accident' she found a book on celestial entities at my place, or rather she asked my brother to bring just this one. I saw her reading it in the evening on the sofa while my father was reading a bedtime story to Papyrus. 

I was surprised to see that she had taken up science reading. I must admit that at first, I had her as a person.... How to say this without sounding bad.... I thought of Kath as a not very bright person over whom I have an intellectual advantage.... 

Never judge a book by its cover. I got quite a kick out of how Katharina helped me with my homework. Arithmetic and geometric sequences.... They were really magic to me then. OK, I'll stop with the jokes now. Apparently, they don't lighten the situation as much as I thought they would. 

It took me about an hour to get to grips with the task. I had to calculate the sum of the elements in a geometric sequence on the basis of an arithmetic sequence if they have the same number of elements. No matter what I did, I couldn't do it. Everyone has a limit to their patience and mine had just run out. 

“I've had enough,” I shouted to myself. 

Katharina looked at me puzzled, pulling away from her reading. 

“What are you doing?”, She asked, putting the book back on the table. 

“Something to beat you up”, I replied. Maybe a little too harshly, but I hated it when things didn't work out for me. 

“The same as you?”, She asked with a mean smile. However, after a moment she picked up the cane her father had arranged. He, too, found the chair-mobile to be quite a risky means of transport, especially if you were dealing with a high threshold. 

Katharina sighed heavily, walking over to the table. She sat down next to me. 

“Show this task,” she said, extending her hand towards me. I surrendered. With superiority, I gave her my notebook. I was one hundred percent sure that she would not solve it. Katharina took one of the sheets of paper lying on the table and a pencil. She began to analyse my calculations. I did not look at her. 

“I have solved it," she said. 

“And what is the...” I stammered in mid-sentence, turning towards her. Puzzled, I continued to look at her. 

“You used the wrong formula.” she said calmly. She put our pieces of paper next to each other, marking the mistake with me. "You used the formula for the sum of a geometric series, not for a geometric sequence. That was your mistake," she said, showing me the correct formula. "If you have a problem with it, I can explain it to you,” she said. 

I was genuinely chagrined. I was being mean to her and yet she helped me. She even offered further help. 

“Yeah... Thanks.” I said, rewriting the correct formula. “I can handle the rest.” 

“You're welcome”, she smiled, but continued to sit next to me. 

I felt a bit uncomfortable. Maybe it was because of the earlier accident.... I did the rest of the homework with a little help from Kath. As soon as she noticed that I was fussing over something for a long time, she looked over my shoulder and then waited. She didn't exert herself. She didn't rush things. She just waited for me to be the one to say I needed help. I finally broke through and asked her to explain the rest of the assignments. 

She would not be a good teacher. She had a peculiar way of explaining assignments. She mostly assumed I knew what she was talking about. She claimed to use the simplest of topics and I could only understand half of what she was saying. She would quickly lose patience with me if I made a mistake on the same task for the second time in a row. Then we would start shouting at each other a bit. Me that she shouldn't raise her voice at me, and her that I should think about what I was writing. Then we would calm down and she would explain the issue again and I would do the task calmly "with my head" as Kath put it. 

Over the next hour we did all the assignments. I was surprised that it took us so little time. I was betting that I wouldn't even do half of it and would write the rest of at school. Then Katharina sat down on the sofa. She went back to her reading, and I packed my things in my backpack. I was already going to go to my room, but somehow, I felt that the girl could use some company. She had helped me, and I felt somewhat obliged to repay her somehow. I put my backpack down next to the stairs and then sat down with Kath. 

This time it was she who was surprised. However, she quickly hid it under a smile. She had a really nice and, above all, sincere smile. 

"And how was the reading?" I asked, pointing at the book. 

 “Interesting. When I was on the Surface I looked everywhere for this book, but I couldn't get it. There are a lot of theories about black holes", she announced with a gleam in her eye. “I have to thank your father for recommending it to me.” 

I was stunned at these words. Why did her father recommend this book to her? Why did he do this? I didn't understand his actions, but I quickly forgot this small fact. We started talking about celestial entities. 

I told her about my favorite constellations. About the autumn wolf constellation, which is next to the centaur. There aren't many legends about the wolf constellation, because the Greeks and Romans only saw it as the beast accompanying the centaur. In contrast, others saw something completely different. Eratosthenes said it was a wine barrel held by a centaur. I once came across a rather specific myth. It tells of the Arcadian king Lycaon, who decided to put the god Zeus to the test. During a feast, a mortal man served human meat to the god. As punishment, he was transformed into a wolf and placed in the sky. 

I could go on and on. On the other hand, I learned from her about the latest discoveries. About theories and celestial entities that had just been written down. 

She told me about the discovery of Cruithne in 1986, quite recently. It is an asteroid orbiting the sun. And because of its gravitational links, some scientists call it the Earth's 'second moon'. But this statement is not accurate, because this asteroid does not orbit our planet, but moves in a complex orbit around the sun of the Earth. 

We didn't even notice when we fell asleep on the sofa. We woke up the very next day, covered in a blanket. 

This is how our new daily life began. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Every day we got to know Kath better. 

She told me about her family, her sister and the life she led. Meanwhile, I was elaborating on the Underworld. What our world is like. What goes on here. We had our evenings where we shared all sorts of information. 

I didn't notice it at the time, but Kath slowly began to break down the wall I had created around me. I gradually regained my faith in people without even realizing it. 

Only after a while did I realize that Kath had taught me patience. 

... 

That's how I could describe the rest of the week in a nutshell. Until the day Katharina was able to move freely. 

That day she met another person whose life she changed forever. 

I once heard that first impressions are the most important. According to people, it is when we first meet someone that we judge that person and know whether we want to be friends with them or not. 

They also say that sometimes we can meet someone who completely changes our lives when we least expect it. 

The lives of many of us have been changed small or big. Some only now realize how much she has really brought into our lives. 

... 

26 August 1994. 

I was finally able to get out of this house! 

This day was crazy, and I met so many interesting monsters! 

But let me start with this morning. 

Everything looked like it always does, except that Mr Gaster was still in the house. Usually when we got up, he was gone. I headed towards the sofa to fold the sheets I had covered myself with at night. I was about to put it in a drawer in the sofa when I heard a strange language coming from upstairs. In it I recognised the voice of Sans and Gaster. It made me terribly curious. I had never heard anything like that before. 

I quietly went upstairs. It was quite a challenge, as it seemed to creak terribly with every step I took. 

Eventually I managed to reach the top of the stairs. I crouched down by the railing so that no one would notice me. I didn't have to worry about cover from Papyrus. The youngster was washing dishes in the kitchen. Ever since I called him the Magnificent Papyrus he has been at every job. This attitude can only do him good. 

The door to Mr Gaster's workshop opened. Sans and his father emerged from the room. Their voices sounded really strange. I found it difficult to describe the language in any way. It didn't sound like anything I knew, although I wasn't some great polyglot either. 

Sans was talking about something with his father, and he didn't seem very enthusiastic. It seemed as if he was reluctant to do anything Mr. Gaster said. I would really like to know what they were talking about. Maybe it was related to our going out into the city? 

Unfortunately, I didn't hear any more as they started to move closer towards me. As quietly as I could I went downstairs and ran barefoot into the kitchen. I didn't want to come across as nosy. I grabbed a cup of some sort, pretending to make myself a cup of tea. 

"Hello!"  

I said innocently as they entered the kitchen. 

Paps had just finished cleaning up after breakfast, so he ran up to them. He jumped around them with a smile, asking when we could leave. I leaned against the worktop, contemplating the situation from a moment ago. Sans and Gaster's conversation seemed something out of the ordinary to me. I had never heard them speak the language, although Paps had hinted to me that in the Underworld a lot of the older monsters spoke the Ancient Language. Maybe that was the language? Only, they never spoke it. Did they want to hide something? Or am I just oversensitive?  Rather, it shouldn't interest me. They spoke it for a purpose, so maybe they preferred that I didn't know what they were talking about. 

Maybe I should consider learning their language? After all, I don't even know how much time I will spend here. 

A few minutes later we were dressed and ready to go. Sans had his favorite blue sweatshirt with fur, and Papyrus had an orange jumpsuit and a red scarf. I, on the other hand, covered myself with a coat the color of dark chocolate. I got it from Saera as well as many other clothes. At least I didn't have to walk around every day in the clothes I fell in. Although they weren't fit for anything anyway. My blood wouldn't come off, so the clothes ended up in the bin. 

... 

"So, what are you going to show me first?"  

I asked, turning to the guys. 

We were standing in front of their house. There was no snowstorm, although I was a little surprised. How could there be any weather underground? Maybe the barrier created some kind of space that allowed it? 

I have another question to ask Mr Gaster. It's getting to be a bit of a pile already. 

Mr Gaster said it depends on the location of the region and its depth. Snowdin is deeper than Ruins, but not as deep as Hotland. Snowdin is deep enough that heat from the surface doesn't come to it, and close enough to it that it doesn't draw heat from the planet's core like Hotland. Only this further didn't explain how there could be snowstorms or other weather anomalies here. 

But I'll get back to the guys. They both looked at each other, wondering what to show me first. They talked amongst themselves. Sans was in favour of showing me the library. According to him, it was an interesting place and he probably wanted to show me some monster books. Papyrus, meanwhile, thought it was too boring. He wanted us to go to the frozen lake. The ice cover was thick enough that there was no way it would break. Apparently, there were many monsters sliding on the ice or playing in the snow. 

Personally, I was more convinced by the Sansa idea. Mainly because there might have been fewer monsters there. Even standing in front of the skeleton house, I could feel the eyes of walkers on me. They seemed to be watching my every move and knew perfectly well who I was, despite the hood covering my face. I had the feeling that if sight could kill, I would be dead where I was standing. I felt a bit sorry for them. I hadn't done anything and they had already crossed me out. Apparently it was understandable that they feared people, but they can't generalise like that. I wasn't like the previous people who came by and I didn't want to hurt them. Mr Gaster had helped me and I had no intention of harming him in any way. I also didn't want him to get in trouble because of me, so I preferred a less crowded place. Mr Gaster advised me not to worry about their stodgy attitude. I tried to follow this. I didn't want to ruin the day; after all, the brothers were looking forward to it. Even Sans, although he wouldn't admit it. They also seemed happy, with the fact that they could show me the surroundings. 

I smiled in the direction of the two skeletons, whose discussion was turning into an argument. 

"How about we go to both places?"  

I suggested. The boys fell silent and looked at me. "Why don't we go to the ice rink first, and if it gets too cold, we'll go to the library to warm up?" Somehow, I didn't have any other idea, so they stopped arguing. 

"Suits for me," said Sans, after a moment's thought. 

Papyrus grabbed our hands, pulling us towards the lake. Even though he is a child he has strength! I almost couldn't keep up with him. He only slowed down when an older skeleton pointed him out. We walked calmly along the snow-covered path outside the town. A few more monsters were walking with us. I didn't look at them, preferring to avoid their suspicious gaze. However, I watched the forest all around. It was a real mystery to me how the trees could have grown there! There was no sun here, so photosynthesis could not have taken place. There were some crystals on the ceiling. Maybe they produced light similar to the sun? Or was it due to some kind of monster magic? 

"Sans, where does the light come from here?" I asked, looking up at the stone ceiling. The skeleton glanced up and then at me. 

"Light crystals", he shrugged his shoulders. "That's not even what magic powers. They just glow and dim. Such a cycle of day and night. And what were you expecting some ancient magic?" asked Sans with a big ironic smile. My face went blank. But I smiled back quickly. 

"No, come on," I said quickly, looking away from him. I felt a little bit bald that I had not thought of something so simple. "I knew, I just..." 

"Have you checked, do I know, what we use as a substitute for sunlight?" He asked ironically. He chewed me out. I thought of some powerful light spell, and it's just crystals 

I didn't have to look at him to know he was laughing at me. After all, they don't have to use magic for everything, and what would the Core be for then? I sighed heavily and the skeleton laughed at me. Paps didn't pay any attention to our exchange at all.  

He was so excited about the trip to the ice rink that he wasn't interested in anything else. From a distance we could already see the ice rink. It was no different from the ones I had seen on the Surface. A large lake surrounded by a few benches and a small wooden building where you can rent skates. This is where we were heading. Only we encountered an obstacle, or rather I had an unannounced encounter with the ground. One minute I was calmly walking ahead and the next something flew between my legs, knocking me over. 

"Get back here!" Unfortunately, I couldn't see who was shouting because a big white hairy ball appeared in front of me. It immediately started licking my face. I realized it was some kind of big dog. 

"Annoying Dog! Come back!" Strange name this dog has. I could still hear Paps and Sans, but I didn't understand them too much. I had to deal with a dog that wouldn't get off me. Annoying Dog started rubbing at me with his paws and I tried to pull him off somehow. While I was struggling with the dog, suddenly all the voices went silent. And the dog became interested in something else. I sighed in relief, but everyone was quiet. I looked questioningly at Sansa. 

"Look, Catty! It's a human!" I heard a girlish voice behind me. 

"She's probably dangerous, Bratty!" said another girl. 

Unfortunately, through a scuffle with a dog, my hood fell off. Mr. Gaster said it would be safer for me to wear it. Most monsters are aware of my presence, but that doesn't mean I should confront them. Gaster felt that some monsters would ignore the fact that I am here with the king's permission, and no one can do anything to me. Theoretically. Better not to tempt fate. I've been unlucky lately, so I wasn't incognito for long. A few monsters stopped, watching the situation. I quickly put on my hood, standing up. 

"You can finally be quiet!" I heard another shout, which was so unexpected that I jumped up. I turned towards the newcomers. A yellow lizard woman approached us. With a stern look, she looked at the two girls, the crocodile and the she-cat. Both immediately lowered their heads. "Can't you two be good for once?" 

"But it's a human, Al," the female cat said reproachfully.  

"They are dangerous" added the crocodile. 

Then the yellow lizard, which they called Al, glanced at me puzzled. I think it was only then that she noticed me. It wasn't very nice. 

It's at moments like this that you can regret being human. I felt like collapsing into the ground. 

The situation was saved by my skeletal friend. Sans approached the lizard woman, pulling her aside. I guess they knew each other, because they chatted freely with each other. From time to time, they glanced at me. At the same time Paps was arguing with Bratty and Catty about whether I was dangerous. 

This situation somehow made me tense. It robbed me of any desire to explore Snowdin. Only this dog was rubbing against my legs, demanding to be petted. I knelt down beside him. The dog was all white with long hair.  

I started stroking him behind his ears the same way Luna liked. 

I wondered how my dog was now? Luna was a young dog, but she managed to become attached to me. I often went with her on long walks to the park. She enjoyed them. So did scratching behind her ears. 

"We are also going to the ice rink, why don't you join us?" I was pulled out of my reverie by the voice of a yellow lizard. I got up from the ground looking at the others. 

"That's fine with me," said Sans. "The more of us the more fun. Right, bro?" Sans glanced at Paps, who started nodding cheerfully. "And you, Kath?" 

They all looked at me. I was a little abashed. I didn't really like being the center of attention. 

"If we're going one way, why not?" I replied, shrugging my shoulders. Could it have been worse? 

[pennywaltzy]

The Last Twenty-Four Hours (BtVS)

So this is one of my old Buffyverse fic, posted to AO3 with some formatting changes and minor edits. The parts in italics are direct quotes from the show (there's a list of which episodes in the authors notes on AO3). It's an apocalypse fic, of the non-demonic variety, and shows how everyone copes. Enjoy!

The Last Twenty-Four Hours - There are twenty-four hours left before Sunnydale's destroyed and no one can stop it.

READ @ AO3

"It's all over then, isn't it?" Buffy asked, over the muffled sobs of Willow and Tara.

Giles nodded. "I'm afraid it is. There is nothing you can do."

"But I'm the slayer, it's what I do!"

"This isn't a demon, Buffy. I'm afraid this is quite out of your hands." Giles took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The comet is to hit in Nepal. That won't make much of a difference to us. But the earthquake that is to hit only moments later will. It will start in San Francisco and travel down the San Andreas fault, breaking California into parts and causing massive tidal waves."

"So those lucky enough to survive the earthquake might not have a chance at all?" Xander asked.

"I'm afraid so. We have twenty-four hours everyone. That is all." Giles sat down on his couch. "I suggest you use the time wisely."

*** 5 PM ***

Buffy packed bags for Dawn and her mother. After telling them what was happening, they felt the need to leave. Dawn was still the Key, and nothing could help that. She tried hard not to cry...there really was no safe place in California, but Giles said New York should be okay. Amazingly, no one else was planning on leaving. They had all known they were going to die one way or another.

The only other person going with them was Spike. Good old Spike...he'd volunteered. Even he seemed afraid to stay. said all the demons were hightailing it out of California. And that meant he knew Joyce and Dawn might not be safe, so he said he'd go. He had no idea what this meant to her, even after the horrible way she'd treated him after he admitted he loved her. She needed to show him.

She had to.

*** 6 PM ***

Anya lay in bed, waiting for Xander. They were both fully clothed, which was unusual for them. "Have you called Cordelia?"

He nodded, sitting next to her. "Yeah. She and I spent a half hour apologizing. She told everyone except Angel."

"Why didn't she tell Angel?"

"He's in New York, hunting a demon there. It was important. She's sure he'll be safe there. She told me...she hoped I had been happy." He took one of Anya's hands in his. "I've been very happy, with you. Have I ever told you that?"

"No, not really."

"I'm the happiest I've ever been, Anya. If there was time, I'd marry you."

"Marry me?" she said in a shocked voice. Then she looked at the clock "Come on."

*** 7 PM ***

Willow and Tara stood, beaming, as the Justice of the Peace asked if anyone objected. Both of them shook their heads. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," he said, looking at Xander and Anya, who were already doing just that.

"Congratulations!" the two women chorusedd, sharing hugs. Anya was crying, Willow was crying, Tara was crying...even Xander was leaking a few tears.

"I just wish you two..." Xander began, but Willow shook her head.

"We've already done a Wiccan bonding ceremony. That's enough," Willow said as Tara nodded. "Besides, you two...we knew it would happen eventually." She then looked at the two of them. "And here's our gift to you. We used my dad's credit card."

Tara handed them two plane tickets. "You two, you get out of here. Live a long life."

Xander looked choked up. "Will, Tara..."

"Just go," Willow said, brushing away a tear. "Go."

*** 8 PM ***

Spike didn't doze. He simply let the small blonde girl sleep in his arms. She'd tried to sleep with him, and just couldn't. He wouldn't have taken advantage of her anyhow. He kissed her forehead lightly. He had dreamed of a moment like this, where she laid in his arms like this, where she breathed in and out softly and slept. He hadn't imagined it would be because the world as they knew it now was going to change drastically.

He knew his sire was in New York. Spike had sent him on a wild goose chase there, knowing that this prophecy was going to happen. All the vampires in Sunnydale knew; he just hoped Angel didn't. And now he was going to do the hardest thing he could think of.

He was going to send Buffy to him.

But for now, he'd let her sleep.

*** 9 PM ***

Xander and Anya looked at their bags. "Should we go?" Anya asked.

"Yes," Xander said. Anya looked ready to argue, but Xander held his hand up. "Willow and Tara would never have given us these tickets if they thought we wouldn't use them. We can have a future together. We can have children and live a life that they can't."

"But I feel...selfish."

Xander nodded wearily. "I do too. But I know them. They'll find a way out of here. I hope."

Anya took his hand in hers, their fingers entwined, two simple gold bands the only new additions to the familiar sight. "They will. Even if I have...to..." She thought for a moment. "I have an idea."

*** 10 PM ***

Giles knew the vampires were gone. He could sit at Jenny's grave in peace. But even if there were vampires, he'd fight them off, get a few more hours of life before the inevitable end. "Jenny. I will be seeing you soon," he said, reaching out to touch her headstone. "I know you wanted me to live for a long time and grow old, and get over my fear of computers. But I won't do that, not now. Now, I will be with you again."

He took a drink of the alcohol he'd brought with him It was a superstition that to drink while sitting on the grave of a person who liked alcohol that you would not get drunk, and he knew for a fact that the person who's grave was next to Jenny's liked to drink. And after drinking half the bottle, Giles felt no different.

Call it a parting gift of some sort.

*** 11 PM ***

The slow sound of Willow's breathing let Tara know she was asleep. It was easy to tell when her lover was asleep. Her chest rose and fell in a steady pattern. Her hair moved not an inch, and her face had a serene look to it. Giving those tickets to Xander and Anya had been so hard for Willow to do. She knew they'd use them, though, not because they wanted to leave them but because they knew that's really what Willow wanted.

And Tara wanted that, too.

She continued to watch Willow sleep, a strange comfort falling over her.

*** 12 AM ***

Buffy woke up, no longer feeling Spike's lean body next to hers. But there was a note and a plane ticket and his duster laid over her carefully. She unfolded the note and read it.

"Slayer, you're needed more than I am. Go with your family to New York, protect Dawn. The world needs a good person, not an evil demon with a chip. The duster is yours, to remember me. The poem on the other page is for Dawn. Go find your soul mate, Angel. He's there. I sent him there."

She traced his simple but elegant handwriting, then pulled the duster on. "Mom! Dawn! We have to go!"

"We?" she heard Dawn mumble. Her bedroom door opened. "Where's Spike?"

Buffy handed Dawn the poem. "He left."

Joyce entered the room. "Buffy, what is it?"

"The plane leaves in two hours. We have to go soon."

"I thought Spike--"

"He told me to go." She opened up her suitcase, throwing in clothing and other things. "And I'm going to do what he says."

*** 1 AM ***

"I think he got the message. He's taken a liking to Willow. He'll help her, I hope."

"How will he help?" Xander asked.

"Take them to his dimension or something. They'll be out of California by the time this hits." She looked at Xander. "The flight leaves in an hour. Should we tell them?"

"We'll tell them when they're in New York with us," Xander said, kissing Anya passionately. "And I know they'll be there."

*** 2 AM ***

"Buffy?" Xander said in surprise.

"Xander! Anya!" Buffy said, just as surprised as Xander had been.

Anya looked at Buffy. "Isn't that Spike's duster? Where is he?"

"Right here." Spike looked at all of them. "Go get on the plane, you two. Need a word with the Slayer."

Xander and Anya moved towards the gate. "Spike, come with us," Buffy said, but Spike shook his head.

"No, Buffy. I can't." He smiled ruefully. "The sunlight, remember?"

"Please," Buffy whispered. "I can't let you die."

"I'm already dead." He placed his hand on her face, wiping away a tear. "There's a spell in the pocket. Use it on Poof Boy. Live a long life with him. Name your first son William." He kissed her forehead. "Thank you for the dance. Now, board your plane and get the hell out of Sunnyhell."

Buffy nodded, picking up her carry-on and heading for the crammed gate, looking back to see Spike one last time.

He was gone.

And in a moment, so was she.

*** 3 AM ***

"Yeah. You know, I kinda had a problem with the math."

"Uh, which part?"

"The math. Can you help me out tonight, pleeeease, be my study buddy?"

"Well, what's in it for me?"

"A shiny nickel!"

"Okay. Do you have 'Theories in Trig'? You should check it out."

"Check it out?"

"From the library? Where the books live."

"Right, I'm there! See, I wanna change..."

*** 4 AM ***

"You're a snob!"

"I am no such thing."

"Oh, you are a big snob. You, you think that knowledge should be kept in these carefully guarded repositories where only a handful of white guys can get at it."

"Nonsense! I simply don't adhere to a, a knee-jerk assumption that because something is new, it's better."

"This isn't a fad, Rupert! We are creating a new society here."

"A society in which human interaction is all but obsolete? In which people can be completely manipulated by technology, well, well... Thank you, I'll pass."

"Well, ahem, I think you'll be very happy here with your musty, old books."

"These musty old books have a great deal more to say than in any of your...fabulous web pages."

"Hmm. This one doesn't have a whole lot more to say."

*** 5 AM ***

"Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice ripe girl."

"Do we really need weapons for this?"

"I just like them. They make me feel all manly. The last Slayer I killed...she begged for her life. You don't strike me as the begging kind."

"You shouldn'ta come here."

"No. I've messed up your doilies and stuff. But I just got so bored. I'll tell you what. As a personal favor from me to you I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit."

"No, Spike. It's gonna hurt a lot."

*** 6 AM ***

"I'd rather be worm food than look at your pathetic face!"

"Then go! I'm not stopping ya!"

"I bet you wouldn't! I bet you'd let a girl go off to her doom all by herself!"

"Not just any girl. You're special."

"I can't believe that I'm stuck spending what will probably be my last few moments on Earth here WITH YOU!"

"I hope these are my last few moments! Three more seconds with you, and I'm gonna..."

"I'm gonna what? Coward!"

"Moron!"

"I hate you!"

"I HATE YOU! We so need to get outta here."

"Mm-hm!"

*** 7 AM ***

"It wasn't haunting me. It was showing me."

"Showing you?"

"What I am."

"Were."

"And ever shall be. I wanted to know why I was back. Now I do."

"You don't know. Some great evil takes credit for bringing you back and you buy it? You just give up?"

"I can't do it again, Buffy. I can't become a killer"

"Then fight it."

"It's too hard."

"Angel, please, you have to get inside."

*** 8 AM ***

"If someone could just wake me when it's time to go to college, that'd be great."

"Guys take a moment to deal with this: we survived."

"It was a hell of a battle!"

"Not the battle. High school. We're taking a moment and we're done."

"Well, school's done."

"It's sooo cool!"

"Why do demons even come here anymore?   I mean, don't they know?"

*** 9 AM ***

"Where is our relationship going?"

"Our what? Our who?"

"Relationship. What kind do we have. And what is it progressing toward?"

"I ... Uh ... We have a relationship?"

"Yeah. We went to the prom."

"Yeah, On our one and only date. Second date called on account of snake, remember? And the whole, you used to be a man-killing demon thing. Which to be fair, is as much my issue as it is yours."

"I can't stop thinking about you. Sometimes in my dreams, you're all naked."

"Really. You know if I'm in the checkout line at the Wal-Mart I've had the same one."

"So I can assume a standing Friday night date and a mutual recognition as Prom night as our dating anniversary."

"Anya. Slow down there. In fact, come to a screeching halt. See these things kind of have to develop on their own."

"Okay. How?"

"I don't know. I just -- happens."

*** 10 AM ***

"No candles? Well, I brought one. It's extra flamey. Tara, I have to tell you..."

"No, I-I understand. You have to be with the person you l-love."

"I am."

"You mean..."

"I mean. Okay?"

"Oh, yes."

"I feel horrible about everything I put you through. A-and I'm gonna make it up to you. Starting right now"

"Right now?"

*** 11 AM ***

"Please! Spike, you're a vampire."

"Angel was a vampire."

"Angel was good!"

"And I can be too. I've changed, Buffy."

"What, that chip in your head? That's not change. Tha-that's just...holding you back. You're like a serial killer in prison!"

"Women marry 'em all the time!"

"Uhh!"

"But I'm not...like that. Something's happening to me. I can't stop thinking about you."

"Uhh."

"And if that means turning my back on the whole evil thing-"

"You don't know what you mean! You don't know what feelings are!"

"I damn well do! I lie awake every night!"

"You sleep during the day!"

"Yeah, but- You are missing the point. This is real here. I love-"

"Don't!"

*** 12 PM ***

Giles woke up, surprised no one had bothered him at the grave site. He hadn't meant to fall asleep there, but perhaps it was for the best.

In five short hours, it wouldn't matter anyway.

He suspected the others had left. And instead of feeling angry or disappointed, he was glad for them. They were his children in a way, and he knew they deserved the chance to live full lives. He knew very well that those in Los Angeles had most likely left as well. A quick call to Angel prior to going to Jenny's grave had confirmed that there were tickets waiting for Wesley and Cordelia as well as their other associate, so now he could look forward to being together with Jenny again and not worry about anyone else he cared for.

*** 1 PM ***

Tara woke first. She touched Willow lightly. "Willow, where are we?"

"Anyanka asked for a favor. I gave it to her," D'Hoffryn answered. "You will be safe here. When the destruction is done, I will let you go to New York with the others."

Willow sat up. "I don't want to be a vengeance demon"

"I know," he replied. "I had no idea what you would want to take with you, so I put you both in a deep sleep and transported all your things. Anyanka does owe me or this, but someday, I should hope...you will decide to be a vengeance demon."

"Not likely," Willow said, but there was a smile on her face. "What does Anya owe you?"

"She'll name her first son after me. At least as his middle name." The demon shrugged. "Maybe before she dies I can persuade her to come back. She was the best we ever had."

"We'll make sure to tell her that," Tara said. "Now what?"

"Now, you wait."

*** 4 PM ***

The sun set slowly. And Spike didn't know why he'd headed for that particular graveyard. His mausoleum was on the other side of town. He'd wandered in the shadows as best he could that day after making sure Buffy boarded that plane. When she left, he felt a sense of pain that he had never felt before. And he just wanted to spend the last hour of his existence somewhere quiet.

And then he spotted him. "Giles?"

"Spike? Thought you were going with Dawn and Joyce."

Spike shook his head. "Sent Buffy with them. They need her more." He sat on the grave across from Giles, Jenny's grave in between them. "Xander and Anya left, too."

"What about Willow and Tara?"

"Haven't a clue. But knowing them, they're safe, too."

Giles nodded. "And you?"

"I figure will all of them gone, I could end 120 or so years peacefully and with no worries."

"I feel the same way."

*** 5 PM ***

It hit with no warning. There were screams, and there was terror, but for two people sitting by a gravestone, there was only peace. They had made the best of the last twenty-four hours of their existence.

They could have done no more than that.