#i have the feeling that that game is also hiding something juicy behind the translation

[beevean]

Retranslating parts of the Curse of Darkness script

I thought to replay the game again, this time with Japanese voices to change the experience a little

I’m not sure whether the translation was JP -> ENG or ENG -> JP: it looks like the latter to me due to the lip sync. Anyway, the two versions are surprisingly faithful to each other, but I wanted to check if there were any interesting differences... and there are :P

For reference, I used this playthrough for the Japanese cutscenes, and the English script in the wiki.

First cutscene

Many interesting differences in this iconic cutscene. Isaac sounds much angrier in Japanese than he does in English, and I think he’s quite less effeminate too, although they couldn’t change his body language :P

ENG: With this, the most forbidden of arts, a wisp of conjured matter can be transformed into a hellish devil! There are but two humans who possess this magnificent power: you and I.

JP: A forbidden secret art feared by humans. Creating a devil that serves you and you only, from a bundle of magical power! There are only two people in this world who have mastered this power: you and I.

Additional details provided by the Japanese version: Devil Forging is “feared by humans”, implying their tragic pasts as outcasts of humanity, and Hector and Isaac aren’t the only ones with this power, but they’re the absolute best in their field. I also like the description of “bundle of magical power”, although both versions are equally “mystical” in this regard lol. Calling the Devil Forging “secret art” also refers to the name of the track playing in this scene, Flattery With The Secret Arts (“秘術との迎合”).

(speaking of “you and I”, Hector and Isaac use ore for themselves and kisama for each other.)

ENG: Ah, but you will, Hector. And soon! You have no choice. Without it, I could crush you in an instant... but that wouldn't be very satisfying, now would it?

JP: What's the point of a boring oath? It would be easy to destroy you here and now. You, who gave up your powers and became the lowest of the low, nothing but mere scum.

I love how in the cutscene you can see Isaac rolling his eyes at Hector’s oath so his snarky remark in Japanese is even more fitting 😂 but also geez man, I haven’t taken control of Hector yet and you’ve already killed him.

(if in English the last part sounds clunky, the original phrase is “ただのカスと成り下がった”: I really wanted to convey as much of Isaac’s contempt in English as I could)

ENG: You deserve a most gruesome fate for the humiliation you brought upon me three years ago.

JP: However, even if I destroyed such a thing, it wouldn’t make up for the humiliation I received three years ago.

The wording is vague, this is the version that makes the most sense to me. The Japanese line sounds even more bitter, as if even Isaac understands that it’s all futile and killing Hector won’t restore his old life, but he has literally nothing left other than his hatred.

(and yes, he says “such a thing”, which is a very Japanese expression but I’ve decided to keep it because, just in case it wasn’t clear enough, Isaac may be a little peeved at Hector :V)

ENG: But in the end, the glorious vengeance you seek will not be yours -- t'will be mine!

JP: That's it. I'll be waiting for you, as the former strongest Devil Forgemaster of the Dark Lord’s army.

No idea why they completely changed the line here, but Isaac’s farewell in Japanese is slightly more condescending. As a note, he actually calls Dracula “Demon King”.

Yes, all of these are Isaac’s lines. It’s not favoritism: Hector’s lines in Japanese and English are nearly identical to each other. Except for this one:

ENG: Heed my words. I will hunt you down like the beast you are. I will have my revenge!

JP: Very well! I'll do as you wish! And I will corner you, without fail!

... man, poor Hector doesn’t sound nearly as raw in Japanese :(

(well, this fits the different voices: Takahiro Yoshimizu sounds much younger and softer than Crispin Freeman. I had no idea Freeman carried most of Hector’s badassery)

Also, in the Japanese version, the name is for some reason translated as “Abolition Castle”! But the kanji correctly mean “Abandoned Castle” (“廃城”).

~

Creating an Innocent Devil

Minor, but Hector calls Isaac “polite” (“丁寧”) because he went through all the trouble of carving instructions on a stele, and after the previous cutscene I find it hilarious 😂

(actually, the whole mental image of Isaac taking the time to write guides for Hector is hilarious, they really used to be friends lmao)

ENG: O great powers of darkness! Release to me one of the tortured souls! Let me infuse him with my life-force and awaken him to the world of the living! Immaculate being... Appear before me now.

JP: O magical power, converge here! Play the melody of an irrational soul, under my command, a person who is not of the human world. Innocent soul, come to life here!

The Devil Forging formula was hard to translate. Yes, it uses musical terminology, しらべ (melody) and 奏でる (to play a stringed instrument). The most interesting part is how it specifies that Devil Forgemasters don’t belong to the human world, a theme quite pervasive in Hector’s and Isaac’s arcs.

(nothing interesting with the conversation with Zead. He simply calls Devil Forging “splendid”, a downgrade from “it’s enough to make your blood run cold”. He uses watashi and speaks rather politely.)

~

“Baljhet Mountains” is spelled as “Balget Mountains” (“Baljit Mountain Range” in Japanese), which I prefer.

Not much to report about the cutscene where we meet Julia. The most unique change is that she doesn’t outright say that she can envision the future in Japanese: she simply “has some knowledge” (“それなりの知識はあるわ”). To be fair, it’s not like we ever see her powers lol, although it ruins my headcanon about her and Isaac sharing powers :( As for her speech pattern, she uses watashi and often ends sentences in wa but she’s otherwise quite brusque. Hector calls her kimi, and most importantly forget about the Shakespearan style she and Hector use to talk to each other in English, here they speak like normal people :P

~

St. Germain

ENG: I won't bandy words with you. I have an urgent request. Please refrain from pursuing Isaac any further.

JP: I'm here to ask a favor of you, it's a little thing. Please stop chasing Isaac any further. 

St. Germain is even more polite in Japanese, as expected. He uses watashi for himself and speaks in perfect keigo.

Hector also calls St. Germain “Isaac’s minion” (“手先”) specifically, and St. Germain says “adios” when he leaves lol. (sonic adventure 2 reference?)

Garibaldi Temple is also the Cathedral of Garibaldi.

~

Trevor

ENG: For one that served under Dracula, you seem much too weak. It's been said that the Devil Forgemaster's power rivals that of Death.

JP: You’re too weak to be the only surviving Devil Forgemaster, who was said to be equal to Dracula's aide Death.

It just says that Devil Forgemasters are “equal to” Death, not that they’re specifically as strong as Death - obviously that’s implied, but the use of the word “同等” also implies that Hector and Isaac were equals to Death in rank. That’s pretty high up.

Also, “The only surviving Devil Forgemaster” makes Hector’s comment “Oh, so you’re hunting Isaac as well” flow a little better: you can see how he could make the connection that Trevor only knew about Isaac. In English the “surviving” bit was moved later (“Could he have survived? It cannot be”), and Hector’s comment feels more forced. (although it’s still odd because Isaac was into hiding all those years, so why does Trevor assume that one Forgemaster survived but the other died? oh well)

(of course, Trevor also uses ore for himself and kisama for Hector)

~

The cutscene at the beginning of Mortvia Aqueduct is unremarkable, but the level is named “Mortavia Ruins” (“Mortavia Aqueduct” in Japanese). Why did they take out the A? It sounds better :(

~

Zead vs. St. Germain

ENG: That's ridiculous. You have different rules for yourself--

JP: What a funny joke. Your objective--

Not only St. Germain comes off as more sarcastically polite (Zead calls him kisama but he reciprocates with the courteous anata), the dialogue hints more strongly at Zead’s suspicious nature. He has an objective that we aren’t allowed to hear, huh?

ENG: I cannot have you interfering any longer. 

JP: I won't let you get in our way anymore.

Yep, our way (“我々”). Just in case you didn’t find Zead suspicious enough.

Finally, not quite related to translation, but I find the name of the track playing here interesting: Those Who Desire the Resurrection (“復活を望む者”). I think it should be singular, for obvious reasons.

Also, please enjoy this utter mangling of “Jigramunt”:

(technically it says “Jigrumunt” in katakana, but the English spelling is just beautiful)

~

The siblings’ sad fate

Not much to report about the cutscenes with Isaac and Julia in Cordova Town (or “Town of Cordoba” in Japanese), except one line that hit me hard:

EN: And also... if you are the one to slay him... only then could I live with it.

JP: Only then I could accept it. Even if I lose my family...

I think we’re all sleeping on how much Julia was hurting through CoD, game itself included :( Michiru Yamane as usual gets it.

~

Fight with St. Germain

Eneomaos Machine Tower is the even weirder “Clock Tower of Eneomaios”.

Only one line stood out to me:

ENG: In this space, I may be partially freed of the fetters of time.

JP: If you are here, the shackles of time will be partially released.

Actually there is no subject in the first part, but I assume that St. Germain is talking about Hector because he just confirmed that he entered Zead’s “trap” normally. Again, I think it makes the conversation flow better.

~

Trevor vs. Isaac

Similarly to Geclmunt, the name of Aiolon Ruins gets twisted into Iororn Ruins. It’s spelled correctly in katakana.

And this line from Isaac baffled me for days.

ENG: You vanquished Lord Dracula by a fluke, a mere twist of fortune. Yet I grant, you are adept.

JP: Not for nothing you destroyed Lord Dracula, even though it was a fluke. But the game is just about to begin.

Other translations would be “no wonder you destroyed Lord Dracula...” or “as expected from the one who destroyed Lord Dracula...” (“ドラキュラ様を滅ぼしただけのことはある”).

While his voice still sounds angry, Isaac is much more impressed by Trevor in Japanese: in English he sounds like he’s tacking on the half-hearted praise by force, while in Japanese it’s the other way around, as if the “fluke” part is an afterthought. I am genuinely surprised. Isaac, hon, why are you being so flattering with the man who killed your Lord? So let me get this straight, you’re a complete ass to Hector, you called him scum, and sure I don’t blame you, but Trevor nooo, even though he ruined your life just as much as Hector did you’re standing there like “oh wow you’re awesome, now I know why Lord Dracula was defeated!”.

between this and the stabbing scene, i think i understand now why the japanese side of the fandom seems to prefer isaavor over isaactor. yeah. yeah i don’t blame y’all. and trevor ain’t kidding either, in english he says “you’re not without skill” but in japanese he says “you’re pretty good” - i’d say “just kiss already”, but isaac already got me covered so :V

ENG: On the contrary. To obtain the vengeance I seek, Isaac must be slain by my hand alone. Ergo, nothing was lost. 

JP: Not really. After all, I promised that I would defeat Isaac with my own hands. I’m rather relieved.

I like how Hector puts it as a promise, the one he made to Julia, and not just his own selfish sense of revenge. He cares and was touched by Julia’s sadness. On the other hand, he’s outright relieved that he still has the chance to kill Isaac himself, now that’s the badass Hector I know and love.

(this is also where Hector and Trevor switch to omae for each other, indicating that they’ve become closer allies, even if Trevor is still being a prideful asshole :P)

~

Rematch against Trevor

ENG: “Oh, so that is why he fought me earlier!”

“What is it, Belmont?”

JP: “Damn it! The battle earlier...!”

“Why are you panicking?”

Trevor is more worried about the fact that Isaac stole his blood, and Hector notices it. I like how more serious this version sounds.

ENG: This is your reason! Defend yourself! 

JP: No arguing! Let’s go!

I’ll just point this out because Trevor says “問答無用”, and when I searched it to double check if it had any other meaning, I discovered that yes, it does. It’s a porn genre, apparently. Just wanted to share.

But yeah, the English version is funnier this time :P

ENG: For now, hold the image of Isaac in your mind. Think only of defeating him. Hector... Hunt him down. And when you have him, show him no mercy.

JP: I want you to concentrate on defeating him now. I’m depending on you, Hector. Make sure you catch up with him.

Uh... well, the two versions say the same thing, but Trevor’s tone feels weird to me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, so I’ll just leave this here. In general, I never understood why he’s taking Isaac so personally.

~

The Infinite Corridor became the Corridor of the Inferno, wow! Interestingly, the first part of the Japanese name, “無間”, means “ceaseless”, but is also associated to the Buddhist Avici Hell (“無間地獄”), or Hell of Uninterrupted Suffering. Welp.

Nothing to report in the Stabbing scene, as much as I wish it was, except that listening to it in Japanese is an experience that needs to be had. this is the point where cod officially becomes an animated yaoi audio drama

~

Before Dracula’s Castle

I just wanted to show how much better the dialogue flows in Japanese :P

ENG: “I know not what happened to you in the past, but there is no time now for regret. We must try to cleanse the castle and dispel the vile curse...”

“If the curse from demonic power, I may be able to find the source! Indeed, I must, for this is something only I can do.”

JP: “I don't know what happened, but there’s no time to regret it. At the very least, we have to stop the curse somehow...”

“If the source of the curse is magical power, I might be able to do something about it. No, it’s something that only I can do. ”

Is this your idea of flirting, guys? :P

~

Rematch against Isaac

Much like the first cutscene, this one is juicier than the previous ones when it comes to dialogue changes. I don’t know why it’s Isaac in particular who changed so much in translation.

ENG: You want me to regain my powers. Now I see why. I fell right into your plot... After 3 years of peace, I'd lost my edge.

JP: You must feel good about yourself, don’t you? I fell right for your scheme. You’ve fallen so low... and so did I.

Finally it’s Hector’s turn to have a completely different, intriguing line. In English, there’s almost an undertone of... respect, for how Isaac played him like a fiddle? In Japanese, Hector sounds more biting (and tbf Isaac is even more of a little shit here lol, he’s like “Thank you so much for resurrecting the castle <3″) and much more disappointed in himself. No reference to his powers and how he was rusty: he doesn’t care about Isaac’s plot, he cares about the guilt he’s feeling. Then you remember how he was ready to die in the ending, and well...

The last line is “落ちぶれたものだ、この俺もな”. “落ちぶれる” means “to come down in the world; to fall low; to be ruined; to be reduced to poverty; to fall on hard times​”, or "a person's social status and standard of living deteriorate, and they become miserable”. Very... interesting choice of word, to say the least.

ENG: And I've sharpened mine. I've been waiting quite a long time to plot my revenge. Not only did my Lord die because of you -- you stripped me of my pride, my home. Now I shall make you suffer as I suffered. You shall die a most painful, gruesome death!

JP: It's merely an entertainment to me. Three years ago, you defeated me. And then I lost my Lord Dracula... my pride, a place to return to... Everything, yes, you took everything away from me. Have a taste of the same hellish torment and die in despair!

Obviously Isaac’s response differs, but that’s not the main point.

His final words hurt. “Have a taste of the same hell” should be the anthem of every tragic villain lashing out. Both versions are good, but I feel the Japanese one really points out how much Isaac suffered because of Hector’s actions: notice especially how “I plotted my revenge for a long time” (emphasizing Isaac’s role as the villain of the story) was replaced with “I was defeated by you three years ago”, originally in passive (emphasizing Isaac being a victim).

I wish they kept his scream at the beginning of the boss fight, though. That’s just raw :(

~

Not much to say about the “Zead is Death” scene, although TIL that in Japanese “black curtain” is a way to say “mastermind”. A bit of a different nuance, Zead doesn’t say “Devil Forgemasters alone are suffused in my master's magic” but “Devil Forgemasters are always [constantly] with my master's magic”. Hector calls Death “close associate” (“側近”). Death doesn’t say that Hector was the favorite but Isaac will do - thank you, I think my man was humilated enough :V

~

Dracula

For some reason, this cutscene feels like a bit of a downgrade in Japanese. For example, Dracula doesn’t greet Hector calling him “the traitor”, shame.

ENG: Why did you unleash your hatred upon the humans? When you began slaughtering them indiscriminately, I had no choice but to disobey you.

JP: Three years ago, when you showed your hatred for humans... I just couldn't allow it.

The Japanese version is vaguer, both in describing Dracula’s genocide and Hector’s reaction.

ENG: You side against me... for the sake of humans? Humans are not worth the air they breathe. I was simply cleansing the world.

JP: Is that so. But you must have realized... Human beings don't even deserve to exist. That's the truth of the world.

“Humans aren’t worth the air they breathe” deserved to be translated faithfully :(

ENG: The powerful always judge the weak. The humans made their judgment of me, as well. Thus I sentenced them... to extinction. Sympathy is merely a form of weakness. You betrayed me, Hector... And for that, the punishment is death.

JP: The powerful have the right [to judge humans]. The humans who destroyed me with their power... Yes, as if they were brandishing justice. But now I grow tired of this nonsense. Traitor... I'll make you pay the price of what you did three years ago.

See what I mean? It doesn’t feel the same. “Sympathy is merely a form of weakness” could have been kept.

(Dracula uses watashi for himself but speaks plainly. Hector doesn’t speak with respect to Dracula, but he still calls him anata.)

~

Dracula’s death

To compensate for how flaccid the previous cutscene was, Hector tells Dracula “rest in peace and perish” (“安心して、滅びるがいい”), and I think that is the rawest thing he has ever said in the Japanese version.

ENG: The struggle has ended. I feel I can let go now, and die in peace.

JP: It's all over. Am I going to die like this? That wouldn’t be bad...

For some reason the Japanese version feels sadder, like Hector just accepted in that moment that it would be better to die :(

(“That wouldn’t be bad” gets echoed at the very end, when Hector accepts to live with Julia, and that is enough to mend my heart lmao)

ENG: You see through it all, don't you?

JP: I'm no match for you, am I?

Okay this is cute lol

~

And that’s it! The last two cutscenes are very straightforward.

This was very fun to translate :D overall, I prefer the Japanese script in its changes, although the English script is iconic in its hamminess lmao. If the Japanese version is the translation as I think, they did an excellent job, and I appreciate how they adapted Hector and especially Isaac.

[temporoom]

Hi! I'm a big TPN fan who's dying to read A Letter from Norman. I read your spoiler post about it. As a big Ray fan, what you wrote about him having a crush on a older girl really got me curious. What kind of interest did he have in her? How did he show it? What's their story?! It's hard to imagine since he acts different with only Emma. I'm so itching to get all the juicy details. Maybe even my RayEmma ship will sink, but I don't care! I need to know!! Would you kindly enlighten me? Thanks! QuQ

Thank you so much for trusting me with this ! Sadly, i am far from being unbiased, and that post is kinda old, so I need to rectify something :

No, Ray doesn’t have a crush on Susan. 

It’s just me and my own weird tastes in ships (I also like to see them as being actual siblings). But he indeed treated her differently from other children at the orphanage, mostly because SHE was treating him differentely as well. I’ll try to summarize, while giving as much detail as possible, the chapter.

(It’s a detailed summary of  it, so very long)

The beginning of the chapter starts with Norman talking about Ray for 4 pages (without mentioning Emma individually, take it as you will), he explains that he has never seen Ray’s tears in his entire life, but thinks that he may have seen him cry once. And he then goes on to explain in which circumstances it was. (The flash-backs part aren’t from Norman’s point of view, but from an omniscient narrator.)

It starts some time after Emma’s 9th birthday and the shipment of one of their younger sibling (called Jimmy but this is irrelevant). Most children go on with their life, looked after by their eldest sibling, Susan, the only one of her age left at the house. After proposing a game of hide-and-seek, she convinces Ray (with the help of Emma) to come and play with them instead of sulking in his corner. She tells Ray that she knows he is sad, and wants him to get better, to Ray’s annoyance, since he expected Jimmy to be shipped anyway. (She ruffles his hair by the way, he probably took that habit from her).

During the game, they explain that Susan is their elder, and the smartest in the house, even giving Norman a hard time during tag, so if they want to win they have to do better than follow Ray’s laziness. She is extremely attentive, noticing any changes in her siblings. Even Ray, who thinks he has mastered his poker face, couldn’t tell if she noticed those within him, as each time a sibling leaves she comes to him and forces him to play with them to lift his spirit. Ray observed her enough to know she didn’t discover the truth, and finds her pity towards him annoying. (And we all know Ray is a tsundere)

When he is about to give up on finding a better hiding spot, Ray finds a wounded bird. Emma suggests they take care of it, but Norman and Ray explains that if they were to touch the bird, then its family would never come to get him back again. Since the birds’s mother don’t seem to come, and Emma starts to feel sorry for the bird (being an orphan herself). She wants to take him home.

Ray scolds her, asking if she really thinks it would be happy in a cage, and that maybe it was the bird’s destiny to die here. To which Emma replies that maybe it was Ray’s fate to meet that bird and he shouldn’t leave it here. Emma wins the argument thanks to Norman, and they catch the bird. Susan joins them, and after getting Isabella’s approval, their older sister tells that the three of them are the one who will take care of the bird, to Ray’s annoyance again.

Norman names it Ner, and they get a cage with a little sign with its name written on it. The bird is a robin. To feed Ner, Emma goes to search for worms, and brings back a ton, making Susan squeal in disgust and hides behind Ray, only trusting him to protect her from them.

As time pass, the robin gets better, and everyone got attached to it. Then, Isabella announces to Ray that she received a sudden call from the center, asking for an extra shipment this month, and this shipment is Susan. (it mentions that it was very sudden, and considering the time... it’s most likely for the Tifari). Isabella asks Ray if he expected her to live until her 12th birthday, he doesn’t reply to that, but it’s what he thought. She then asks him to look after Susan to make sure she doesn’t escape. 

Ray suddenly realizes how much he would miss her if she leaves, how no one would speak to him like she does... No one would comfort him like she does. Of course he cares about Emma and Norman, but Susan was the only one capable of seeing those changes he couldn’t even notice himself. Her stubborness “saved him” (I quote). He considers finding a replacement to Susan, but knows it would mean sacrifying Emma or Norman. There is nothing to do about it, and he knows he can’t save everyone. He considers making his plan earlier, but it’s not ready to do so yet.

As he walks into the corridor, he wakes Ner up, who thinks the boy is here to bring him food. Ray mocks the bird for trusting him so much, and for being dependant of humans, comfortably locked in its cage. (You know what parralels he makes here, I hope I don’t have to explain) As Ray tries to free the bird and opens the cage’s door, Susan spots him and starts to scold him. Telling him that everyone takes good care of the bird, and he shouldn’t let it escape. (french translation here, idk about how it is in japanese)

It only reminds him of how she is going to die. Susan scolds him each time he is too harsh or refuses to play with the other kids, he thinks for a moment that a real sister, linked by blood to him, would have done that.

“I don’t think... It is happy to live in this cage...” He blurts out, almost revealing the truth. Did I just gave a link to my own art? Yes. And then ran away to his bedroom, leaving Susan confused.

The next day Isabella’s announces Susan’s “adoption”. While everyone congratulates her, Ray has been avoiding her during the whole day, even skipping his duties to the bird. Susan talked to Emma and Norman about what happened the night before, but they were as confused as her. She starts to doubt her own conviction and if keeping the bird is truly a good idea. She admits that she finds Ray always sad whenever one of their siblings leave, to which Emma replies what everyone had seen of him until now :

“But... Ray is never happy...”

No one had noticed Ray’s feelings. Everyone believed that he was just always like that, and even the idea of a Ray walking around smiling happily disturbs the red head. Susan dismisses it, and tells that Ray would be happier anyway without her, since she was annoying him so much. Emma and Norman reassures her, and tell her that she will be very missed. Susan thinks about those three’s friendship, envying it over her own loneliness as the last of their older siblings and without any news of how they are. But also happy they can count on each other, if one of them gets separated from the others, she was sure they would find each other again. 

The day of her depart, a sudden wave of nostalgia hits her as she walks through the hallway of the house, she looks at the bird, its cardboard with the initial of her three favorite people written on it. When she bumps into Ray, while he looks at her sullen (making her even sadder), she asks him if she can take Ner with her. Saying that since Ray doesn’t seem to like the bird, it would be fine if she kept it. Before Ray could reply, Isabella agrees. But the boy knows that if she takes the bird with her, it’s most likely to end up just like she will.

While the kids are sad to see both their older sister and the bird leave, most are okay with it. But Ray raises his voice to refuse. And despite Isabella’s stare, he insists on keeping Ner. Susan snaps and yell at Ray, asking him why he is acting like this and what he wants. She continues by saying that if she lets the bird here, Ray would try to free it again, denouncing him in front of everyone.

Ray seems taken aback as the other children looks at him. But Susan doesn’t want to back down. She wants the bird with her, she had hoped it would solve everyone’s problem, and especially Ray’s one with the bird... Seeing him refuse was beyong her comprehension. Ray stops himself, before it’s too late, from telling her that if she takes the bird with her, they will both die. He yells back at her that in the end, she’ll just do whatever she wants to and take the bird with him, whether he wants it or not, and then finishs preparing the table for breakfast.

The other kids are angry at him for ruining their last breakfast with Susan, and trying to free Ner. But Emma and Norman notices that there’s something wrong with him, he seems to react too strongly when it comes to the robin. Emma proposes to Norman to prepare a gift for Susan, to leave a memento of them to her. The boy, immediately understanding her intention, agrees. Despite Susan being able to see the changes in Ray more easily, they were the ones who understood him the best after all. 

Ray stays in the library during that time, thinking about solutions to save the bird, but Susan always stays near the cage, so Ray would not free it. No matter what possibilities come to his mind, Ray always come to same conclusion : it will be killed. He concludes that Isabella is testing his loyalty by checking how far he would go to save his sister and the bird, or if he would only save one of them. He doesn’t even know why he is so bothered by that bird, thinking that he just has to let it be killed like he had let all his other siblings die until now. Even if he can’t save Susan, he desesperately wants to save the bird... yet Susan doesn’t let him. (Do I really need to point out the metaphor again?)

As Susan is changing into her new uniform, Emma takes the cage, pretexting that she is going to clean it up one last time before she leaves. While Susan shows her clothes proudly to her mother, Ray comes and tells her that she can take the bird with her in the end, as well as to apologize for his behavior earlier. He looks like he is making amends for his actions, in the most natural way possible, and yet Susan sees that something is not going right. But she can’t ask what it is as she is overflowed by gifts from her younger siblings.

When she is about to get the cage back, Emma and Norman ran up to her, and apologize. They let the bird fly away. Everyone is shocked, and despite that Susan let a sad smile form on her lips. 

“I see... But if it managed to fly, then it means that it got better.”

Then Emma gives to Susan a bracelet with one of Ner’s feathers attached to it. (The one that naturally falls don’t think they took it directly from the bird). She shows to her similar bracelets to the one she is giving on her wrist and Norman’s one, and pulls Ray closer to she can attach one last bracelet to his wrist. She tells Susan that like that, they are still together even if she leaves.

Susan bursts into tears, thankful for the gift. And apologize for yelling at Ray in front of everyone, recognizing that it was selfish of her to want to keep Ner to herself because she was sad of leaving Grace Field alone. She explains to him that because the bird was named after them, she wanted it to keep them close to her, just like how Ray perceived himself in the bird, she saw them in it as well.

Before leaving one last time, she pats Ray’s head (he definitely took this habit from her) and asks him to never stay alone again. She ruffles his hair, as he voice breaks when he nods. He apologizes to her one last time, so quietly that only her, Emma and Norman can hear him. Either for being angry at her... or for being unable to save her. (it’s left to interpretation) She leaves with a smile on her face.

When Ray is alone with Norman and Emma, he asks them what they did with the bird. Norman replies without any hesitation that it seemed to be important to Ray, so they deliberately freed it. Emma follows up by telling him that she thought thoroughly about what he told her about the bird being unhappy in its cage, and she concluded that she wouldn’t a life like that either, dying alone in a cage. Even if she was protected and feed, if she was a bird, she would still prefer flying in the sky.

Ray knew at that moment that whatever may happen, Emma and Norman would choose to fly free. He is glad that he has them. He thanks them for doing it, Norman replies that when he is ready, Ray can tell them why he wanted to free the bird. Emma smiles and asks him to, play with them tomorrow. Susan is not here to drag him into their games after all. Ray misses her, but thinks that with Emma and Norman by his side, everything will be alright.

Then we end the flash back and go back to Norman’s narration but I won’t extend myself on it, this ask was about Susan. 

In conclusion: their relationship is the one of “blood-related” siblings, in the sense that they find each other annoying and yet stays close and attached to one another. But no matter how close Susan was of Ray, his closest friends are still Emma and Norman. 

It’s a very beautiful chapter, and I love it. I hope you found some kind of answer in this very long post ! As for me, I prefer to leave it at that, so everyone can have their own interpretations of Ray’s and Susan’s relationship.

But to be honest there’s only like... two Noremma’s moment in this whole book, and the rest of the time it’s Norman thinking about Ray. And since you are a Rayemma shipper, there’s an entire chapter where Emma and Ray shares one braincell and are cute.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 990 - Initial Thoughts

Well, okay then!

The new chapter FINALLY gets translated so I get check it out, both sides are teasing, pleasing and treasoning Something big is bound to happen in 10 chapters time though, OP1K is closing in on us quick and fast. Spoilers for Chapter 990, Support the Official Release

YES POUND, the receipts are enough to bring him on the ship, the family is complete!

Sasaki’s loose though, mainly thanks to BM’s Delphinium, it’s interesting though, their friendship seemed legit so this cuts deep for Sasaki - he’s not bothered about the Wano stuff as a whole, he just wants payback for himself

Thankfully, the Su Long Minks are able to kick most of the Ass, only Jack is really holding them off thanks to his durability as the Scabbards and Kaido still stare each other down (bit of an odd tactic, especially since Su Long has a time limit until death)

The Teases though! Inu and Neko stop Kin’emon from attacking, in shadowed out Su Long forms, so they could have the honors of taking on Jack

King just echoes my concern about Queen screwing up so much, but interestingly Queen doesn’t think that Babanuki was swayed, Tama’s DF still allows a wildcard to come into play

King though is rallying the Flying Six, meaning this will be some of the bigger fights

I TOLD YOU HAWKINS WAS ALIVE! Though shame he’s not the guy with Law, his buddy though Drake is there with him and there is a note that Hawkins could easily bounce since he doesn’t want to be here.

Here’s the interesting part though, 1% - that’s the probability of ‘that man’ being alive by the morning. But who is that man? Drake could easily think it’s Luffy (or ‘Stealth Black’) but what if it’s not, what if it’s Kaido? or Jack, or Queen or King? Maybe the 1% is Luffy but that’s his chance of Dying? The odds are nondescript, but Hawkins should know how Luffy’s avoided death, even in Marineford his cards would not be certain of Luffy’s death after all

Also gotta talk about that BIG ASS HELMET behind Hawkins, first the sword now this helmet, was there some Ancient Giant Shogun or something?

Back with the enjoyable Ulti/Pay-Pay stuff though, I really hope we see them again. But seems that the Yamato bounty has been called off for them and all focus is on the raiders. 

Pay-Pay just give her the damn Piggyback ride!

Who’s Who is making his moves though, asking Drake to take down his primary target: Queen. Hawkins looks at his cards though, did his predictions change?

The Oniwabanshu do provide a proper challenge for the samurai prisoners and yakuza but old Mega Forehead leaves the battlefield, and it is noticed

Good on the raiders to at least try and pave the way for Luffy against a Number, but Zoro and Jimbei are quick clean up crews

Thriller Bark mentions again, I feel like Moria is still set to show because of this

Zoro being a bit bloodied seems a bit worrisome, given how the rest are unharmed, including Sanji who was drilled into a building by King

LUFFYWHYAREYOUINGEARFOURTHYOUSAIDTOCONSERVEENERGYNOTWEAROUTYOURHAKIFORANOTHERTENMINUTES!

I had to look at Myo-o (Fudo Myoo) for a reference and...I kinda see it? I guess Hyou isn’t used to this much Haki coating and steam emanating from the body

Alas the twist belongs with Drake, Who’s Who led him straight to Queen because they knew he was a traitor

I’m conflicted by Hawkins as well on this, it seems he’s testified information that points to Drake being the one that freed Law - and he would be sore about that given how he got cut up - but surely this’d also be an out for him? Maybe he’s playing a longer game, making sure he knows what Drake’s plans are before joining in on them?

I still don’t think it was Drake though, the guy was wearing a kimono and the wooden sandals wasn’t he? Sure it could be a disguise but why hide that from us after we knew he was in SWORD?

X Calibur, yes. Just, yes. I was hoping he’d have an attack like that. Though it is a shame that Luffy couldn’t take out 2 Numbers alone

Drake sees his opening though, another unlikely ally declaring themselves! This one though thanks in part to Coby, who’s pro-Luffy dialogue convinced Drake to make a gamble on it.

‘Pirate Alliances and Betrayal go and in hand’ was the theme that carried over into Wano as we (still) fear the stability of Law and Kid’s working with Luffy, as well as whether the Straw Hats will be forced to sacrifice the samurai to defeat Kaido. But right not the treachery is unravelling for Kaido’s forces with Drake. It’s interesting that Drake thought he could escape Wano but decided to stick to the mission, Hawkins as glad as I am that he’s alive does make me concerned, is it just bitterness or observation. I hope the latter partly because of my 5 Captains theory. The pace of the story is jam packed because this whole chapter is just moments after the last, the battle is still in its infancy as Inu and Neko have just turned Su Long - and they refuse to show us STILL! No Carrot this chapter but the focus has mainly been away from the crew as a group aside from Zoro and Luffy, looking more at the enemy side as we prepare truly for the tower climb, the Flying Six will have to fight the rest of the crew if they are to push their way up to Kaido, who’s basically just chilling, but Jack’s about to be wiped out so if Oda does show it that may be a little cathartic Painfully, another week break, it was only 2 weeks since our last one D: Oda I know you’re giving space for the Volume Release as we feast on the juicy SBS content and whatever Sanada says, but the 1000th Chapter is so in sight it hurts to delay!

[laylaschreave]

unagi

a/n: hello!! this fic is literally so overdue I cry, like,,,pre ball overdue. yikes. *goes to hide in my shell* but I honestly haven’t had a single ounce of motivation until yesterday where I churned more than half of this out. HOPEFULLY I get the remaining two fics out this week that I need to: another wesla and a brief james one. wish me luck my oc brethren. anywhoooo hope you enjoy this, twas a lot of fun to rp with my sustenance of life water. word count: 3919

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l a y l a

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One.

“...Hazel was being surprisingly ridiculous, saying if I didn’t stop playing the same song she’d hide all my sheet music and cut the strings on my guitar to boot.”

Two.

“Which is a horrible threat! It’s a beautiful song and hard, why shouldn’t I practice it so much?”

Three.

“But sure, when the wonderful Prince of New Asia practices the same song over and over no one has a bad word to say about him.”

Four.

“Not that he’s a bad guy, he’s actually pretty decent. Little serious but that’s off topic. All I’m saying is that I deserve my rightful playing time without fear of anyone destroying my instruments.”

Fi—

“Hey!” My eyes zeroed in on the smug stable hand currently offering my horse a fifth sugar cube. “I see that! You know she already has too many.”

Wes smirked without even looking at me. “Has too many what? Sugar cubes? Is she collecting them now?” He looked up at Cleo. “You shouldn't be doing that girl. Don't become a hoarder.”

Smartass.

My expression fell flat, batting his hand away from her mouth. “You know what I mean.”

He chuckled. “I actually don't. Please enlighten me.” Translation: please indulge me. I humored him.

“Has too many. Eats too many in a day. Spoiled.” I patted Cleo’s side for emphasis, making the horse snort and shake her head as if protesting.

Wes bore an amused look I saw often whenever I joked or bothered him too long. I couldn’t figure out if it was a good or a bad thing. Did it matter?

“She’s not that spoiled,” he continued, looking over at Wyatt’s horse. “If anything Altivo is the most spoiled. The prince caves in more than I’d expect.” Altivo looked at us, almost as if he knew we were talking about him, chewing his food and huffing through his nose. “You need to stop,” Wes added, assuming he would get it. Instead Altivo neighed and Wes shook his head before giving Cleo another sugar cube.

I, on the other hand, eyed Altivo warily. “It's eerie how similar him and Wyatt are.”

“Does he also neigh a lot?” He patted Cleo’s nose.

I spared him a side glance. “Would it be surprising if I said yes?”

That earned a laugh. “You two argue too much. I’m not trusting you on this”

“He's the instigator,” I countered, lifting a shoulder. “And you should most definitely trust me.”

“Instigator, huh?” He flashed me one of his crooked grins. “It’s funny how you’re all very dramatic.” Our unspoken but agreed upon middle names.

I began to walk along a crack in the cement away from Wes, holding my arms out as if I was balancing on a tightrope. If I had turned around I would’ve seen a smile tugging at Wes’ lips in my direction before he turned back to the horse. “I'm not dramatic. That's Wyatt's area of expertise.”

“Yesterday you were complaining about how he ate the last cookie without asking anyone if they wanted it first.”

I reached the stable directly across Wes, turning around and resuming my balancing. “A very justifiable upset.”

“It was a cookie.” He gave me a serious glance, like his next addition would be a game changer. “Did you claim the cookie as yours?”

I paused then mumbled with a frown. “No. He should've politely offered regardless.” We were all surprisingly possessive of our desserts. Except maybe Hazel, though she seemed to be immune to most Schreave related traits.

Meanwhile Wes tried and failed to suppress a smile as he threw and caught an apple with his hand—amused by my denial. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when I eat cookies with someone else next time.”

“An excellent takeaway,” I smirked, making my way back over to him.

He shook his head, moving onto the next stable and remarking what a journey having siblings would be. I asked if he ever wanted a brother or sister to which he readily replied yes, though wasn’t made possible due to his parents separating. Hearing more about the situation of his parent’s divorce and how it impeded upon him ever having any siblings... well, it made me more appreciative of mine. Technically, a divorce wasn’t exactly legal, but somehow he trusted me enough to tell the story of his family.

His mother’s family was of Twos. His father’s of Fours. Apparently, when his mother realized she wasn’t too satisfied with the different lifestyle her husband could give her as a Four, her parents acted quickly. Discreetly, they utilized power and money to help her end the unfortunate marriage they never quite agreed with.

I was quiet as I considered his story, touched he’d confided in me before stepping after him at a loose follow. “When did it all happen?” I quickly added in a fumble, “You—well, you don't have to say anything if I'm... being nosy.”

He smiled awkwardly as he fed the horse. “No, it’s alright. It was years ago.” A pause. “I was... ten. Or maybe eleven? I don’t really know since years tend to blend in with each other around that time.

“Part of me hoped things would never actually end on divorce—even when she claimed for the first time that she could actually do it. A year after it happened, I realized maybe I should be grateful for not having a sibling.” Wiping a hand on his stained jeans, he continued to bring out more hay for the horse. “It would’ve been a lot harder if I’d had a little kid with me during all that.”

I picked up a piece of hay, spinning it between two fingers. “Maybe it would've been a little nice too. Not necessarily easier, but someone going through the same thing.”

He frowned a bit to himself. “No because he would’ve been younger than me. It was hard enough at my age. I can’t imagine if I’d been younger. It might’ve been more confusing.” Turning to face me, he gave a sheepish smile. “I didn’t really mean to take our conversation down this road, I’m sorry. It’s really not that big a deal.”

I smiled a bit, sensing his need to change the subject and a feeling I was all too familiar with. I poked his shoulder with the hay. “Back to cookies and overdramatic siblings? Or the Selected's uncanny skills to be everywhere all at once?”

His smile turned soft at my words, looking half relieved and amused by them. A change from his crooked smile. I liked it.

The thought was ruined when he snatched the hay from my hand and stuck it between his teeth, reminding me of a picture perfect country boy surrounded by horses and stables. “How uncanny are these skills?”

I sighed simply. “Very. They're nice and all but they're so... present.” Scrunching my nose up, I reached down to a crate and handed him a couple apples to continue his feeding.

“Well they can’t be past.” His expression immediately revealed that he knew his joke was kind of the actual worst.

I blinked. “You're lucky you're good with horses.” Still, a smile tugged at my lips while he only sighed.

“Yes, they can’t tell how awful I am.” The white horse put his snout against Wes’s palm, silently asking for another carrot. His smile was relaxed as he obliged the horse, a typical feature when I took the time to really study him. There was something that seemed to put him at ease while he worked, no matter what it was. Peaceful. “They’d probably run away if they could understand all my sentences, however.”

“Why, do you reveal your deeply dark and personal secrets? A coveted stamp collection maybe?”

He snorted. “I don’t even know what coveted means.”

“Long desired, yearned for. Wanted.” My brows rose. “Do you have a stamp collection?”

“Stamps are expensive.”

I picked up another piece of hay, sticking it behind my ear. “Sad. I was hoping for some juicy gossip.” I stepped right up to—Bella? Ella?—and scratched her neck. “What has he told you, hm?”

It only took a moment’s glance to see his eyes roll. “Just so you know, I said run away because of my terrible jokes. Not anything else.”

“Which is exactly why I'm concerned for the animals. They can't take any more.”

He shot me a glare. “Luckily, they don’t get what we’re saying.”

I smirked. “Luckily.” Walking over to a large crate, I sat down and let my legs swing, adjusting the skirt of my dress around my legs. I brought my attention back up to him only to see he was watching me. He blinked.

“Your dress is going to get dirty.” Did it matter that much to him?

I looked down at the pale pink fabric once more before shrugging slightly. There were already dirt stains at the hem, what would a couple more do? “I don’t mind. I’ve done worse.”

“Oh, please do tell me one of your wild stories, Princess.”

“Fell into the pool sneaking back in, spilled melted chocolate at dinner, had wine poured all over me when I went out... The list goes on.”

His shock was admirably fake. “You‘ve snuck out of the palace before? What a rebel.”

“Aren’t I?” I intoned with a feigned proud smile, earning a laugh from him. Nice laugh too.

“What do you even do?” His dark eyebrows wiggled in his own goofy way. “Do you have a secret stamp collection?”

I nodded soberly, trying to recall my severely limited knowledge on stamps, of all things. “My first edition 1951 President Truman is my crowning jewel.”

“Uh... well, that’s nice?” Apparently I pulled it off well since he couldn’t tell if I meant it or not.

I laughed, swinging my feet. “I’m not a closet stamp collector, don’t worry.”

His hands raised in surrender. “I wouldn’t put it past you to get excited about stamps.” He had the oddest ideas about me.

“Seriously?” My brow rose, skeptical.

His eyes widened at my expression and he moved to hide behind the horse. “Maybe.”

“How on earth do I look like a closet stamp collector?” I stood and followed him, peeking over behind the horse with both my brows quirked up now. A smirk appeared as much as I could tell he tried to hide it, scurrying behind—Bella!—this time.

“Because you’re fancy like that.”

I kept up my pursuit after him, narrowing my eyes and only mildly offended. Did I really look that stuffy? “My fancy is not stamp collecting.”

He chuckled, feet quickening in his pursuit to get away from me. He knew me well enough by now. “How am I supposed to know?”

“It should be obvious.” I rounded the horse only to see he had rushed into the next stall.

“I don’t know about that,” he called back, “I kind of picture people that say “coveted” as stamp lovers.”

I scoffed to myself and stepped over to the wall separating us, gripping the top to glance over at him. “Then maybe I should start expanding your vocabulary.”

Another snort. “How would you suggest doing that exactly?”

“Today I teach you coveted. Next time I come it’ll be another word.” I lowered my face, allowing only my eyes and brows to be seen over the wall as I mirrored his previous action, wiggling my brows. “Exciting prospect, right?”

His eyes found their way over to me in the moment, narrowing as he stepped over to place some hay on my head. “Oh yeah, I can’t wait.”

I didn’t move for a moment, instead rolling my eyes. Although that small movement made one small strand fall onto my nose, triggering an excessively strong sneeze. A sneeze that made the rest of the hay fall around my face while I tried to bat it away, stumbling backwards into Bella’s side. In turn it made her bump me roughly back into the wall, my hand twisting at the sudden movement. I groaned and glared at Wes.

There I went again, embarrassing myself in front of him. “Thank you for all of that.”

What I failed to notice was that somewhere in my fumbling around the stall, Wes had moved closer to the wall to watch me in half amusement and slight concern. Except when my glare met his gaze, our faces were much closer than either of us realized. I watched as his breath caught, my stomach flipping that he was even more handsome up close. It only took a moment for him to snap out of whatever had happened, pulling away. I blinked.

“You sneeze too easily.” Pretending it didn’t happen? Encouraging. Though I couldn’t help a scowl at his comment.

“Because that’s something I can control.” I bent and gathered a fistful of hay, coming up to throw it all over him. Fine, we can both pretend we obviously weren’t looking at each other for a little too long.

His sharp gaze found mine again for a few seconds before smiling smugly. “See? No sneeze. It’s all about being aware and,” he pointed at his forehead, “Unagi.”

I could only stare in bewilderment. Did he seriously just… I hopped up on the wall stealthily—for once—the upper half of my body hanging off as I leaned over to smack his shoulder with a huff. “Wes!”

His laughter filled the stall as he took a step away. “What?!”

“You obviously watch way too much Friends,” I observed, climbing off and walking over to his stall.

“My dad “accidentally kept” some of mom’s inherited copies before she left. If she ever noticed, I have no idea.” A pause. “You should probably not pass that information to anyone.”

I stepped through the doorway, with the beginnings of a smile playing on my lips. “That you use Unagi on a regular basis?”

“I don’t use it on a regular basis. It just fit the situation.”

“Mm.” A pause of my own. “Then I guess you should start calling me Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.”

Wes didn’t hesitate as he burst out laughing, deep and hearty that I couldn’t help a soft chuckle of my own. “Yes, I’m the only one that watches Friends too often.”

“Hard not to.” I stepped up to the horse. Not just a horse. Altivo. Boo. “What about you? Crap Bag your new name?”

He raised both eyebrows. “Harsh words from Princess Consuela.”

I laughed. “Only going by the script. But I’ll forego that nickname in place of another, if you really can’t appreciate masterpiece that is Crap Bag.”

“I think the horse doesn’t appreciate being called that.”

I let out a small, feigned gasp of offense and went right up to Altivo’s face, looking him in the eye. “Never.”

Glancing back at Wes I saw his eyes roll, picking up some hay to feed Wyatt’s prized animal. “I’m done. Are you going to trail me as I go do my other chores or are you actually going to remember you have a meeting with the Queen and Mr. Hiddleston in…” He glanced at the clock I knew was behind me, smirking, “twenty minutes.”

My eyes widened. He hates when I’m late. “Shoot, I still need to change.” I began to rush out the stall before I remembered one very important thing. ���Thank you,” I said with a wide smile, pointing at him. Turning around I continued my haste out of the stall, but not quick enough to miss the smile tugging at Wes’s lips as he watched me go.

“You’re welcome…”

I wondered what he meant when I heard a residual “shut up,” from him, though by then I was already halfway out the stables.

I’ll ask him tomorrow.

—————

several wes-filled days later

—————

My favorite stable hand didn’t see me coming.

From behind, the picture of him patting the horse’s neck and riding off into the horizon was downright tranquil. I perfectly imagined what I’d come to call Wes’s-perfect-relaxed-horse-smile he probably wore.

He, of course, didn’t expect me to come riding hard and fast on Cleo, a wide grin splitting across my face.

“On your left!”

He jumped as I sped past him, likely uttering a snide comment to his horse. I slowed down eventually, tugging on the reins to circle back towards him and call out, “Beautiful day isn’t it?” An innocent smile as I tucked a loose strand from my braid behind my ear.

He glared and called back. “You ruined it, princess.”

Cleo and I trotted to his side, a scoff from me. “Oh please, you probably needed the wake up call.”

He tsked. “You mean a heart attack? I think I would’ve lived without it.”

“Deny all you want but I bring such excitement to your life.”

“Oh joy, did you bring the dictionary today?” I chose to ignore his fake excitement.

“As a matter of fact I did,” I argued with a slight lift of my chin. “Word of the day: masquerade.” Some excitement broke through my expression, a small smile that he mirrored with a shake of his head.

“Have a mask yet?”

“Almost. Finishing touches.” Clicking my tongue at Cleo, I tugged the reins to face the same direction as Wes, calmly walking the palace grounds alongside him.

“Finishing touches? Such as?”

“Finding the right shade of ribbon. Plus the gold sparkles keep coming off and I’m afraid one of them is going to get in my eye and scratch my cornea.” I made a face, imagining wearing an eye patch instead of a beautiful mask for Ben’s birthday. Not a pretty picture.

He chuckled. “Seems like a lot of work to cover up your face when it doesn’t need it.”

I lifted a shoulder, the compliment completely going over my head. “I like getting dressed up from time to time. Plus it being Ben’s 21st makes it more fun.”

Wes mumbled something under his breath I couldn’t understand, the hint of a smile on his face before returning to his normal tone. “His Highness is getting old.”

A small laugh from me. “You aren’t too far off yourself.”

“Ah, but there’s a difference when you pass the 20’s. Ask him and he’ll tell you.”

“Because he’s so old and wise now.”

“You mock me now, but one day you’ll see I’m right and when you do, you will rue the day.”

I laughed shortly. “Dramatic, Unagi.”

“I don’t even remember what show that ones from... but it’s old.” Wes apparently was fond of old things.

“Rue the day? iCarly. Emmy worthy masterpiece.”

“I guess I’m just cursed to quote old comedies for the rest of my life.”

“Then maybe you’re actually the old one.” I spared him a side glance. An almost 20 year old isn’t that much older than me. Luckily.

Not that it mattered. In any significant, date worthy way. Not at all.

“Old soul. My dad’s fault.”

“I like it,” I stated honestly, focusing on the tree line ahead and smiling a bit to myself.

From the corner of my eye I saw him glimpse quickly in my direction before shaking his head, gaze also on the path in front. “So, do you think you’ll finally be too busy to come around here? Because of preparations.”

I frowned slightly. “I don’t think so. My mom’s taken most of it over, wanting it to be more special.” I looked at him with a wry smile. “Why, getting tired of me?”

I had been coming around the stables a lot more frequently since that fateful fall, but I never thought he minded. At least until now.

Wes laughed, though that didn’t do much to reassure me.  “No, not at all. I just meant…” He shook his head. “Nothing, it was just a joke.”

I paused, fiddling with the reins. I’d had too many experiences where people—including my own family—had only said what I wanted to hear to leave them in peace. I didn’t want the same from Wes if it came from some odd sense of duty for the royal family.

“If I really do interrupt your chores too much, I- well, I don’t have to come around as much.”

As much as the suggestion made my stomach turn, it was true nonetheless. I didn’t want any more pity friendships, especially from someone who seemed to be one of the most genuine people I’d ever met.

“What? No! I—” Wes stopped himself, focusing on his reins and only increasing my curiosity for what he wanted to say but didn’t. “I... I think it’s nice to have some company.”

I let out a barely audible sigh. Well, I guess that’s good enough for now. I nodded my agreement. “Even if your company includes princesses who talk too much and throw hay at you?”

His laugh was a bit nervous at that. “Oh, but those are the best kind of princesses.” Oh how I wished such a small phrase didn’t make me all giddy inside.

I chuckled softly, keeping my cool. “You might need to up your princess standards then.” Because putting myself down was the key to keeping my cool, apparently.

“I like my standards…” he said, a puzzled look in my direction before resuming his usual humor. “Funny, unagi-less, understands my references, terrible at lying—except when it’s a lie for herself—”

“Um, excuse me.” My eyes narrowed, forgetting any previous awareness of my growing crush on the stable hand. “I’m an excellent liar in all situations.” Ten seconds ago being a prime example.

“Oh yeah, totally. 100%.” He nodded, clearly not meaning it. I huffed out a breath, reaching across our horses to shove his shoulder.

“Hey! No pushing while on a horse. It’s dangerous.” An annoyingly smug look. “Rules apply to you too.”

“I think you can handle a shove from me,” I intoned dryly, resuming my grip on the reins.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, he pulled on the horse’s reins to gallop back into the stables we had come full circle back to. I followed him inside, dismounting Cleo once we came to a stop.

“What’s next on the ‘Wes, get to work’ list?”

“That’s an awful list name. It sounds like you’re nagging at me.”

“‘Wes please finish your chores with a Friends episode on top?’”

A click of his tongue. “That’s not catchy enough.” Turning on his heel to face me, he smirked. “And I have to bathe some of the horses with the rest. I don’t think you’ll want to stay around.”

My nose wrinkled at my least favorite part of tending to the horses, one I never was fond of sticking around for. “Not particularly. I’ll clean Cleo up and be out of your hair.”

He laughed a bit then paused. “I’ll be done with that in a couple of hours if you want to come bug me again.” His tone was teasing, but I couldn’t help an encore of the flutter in my stomach that he actually liked having me around.

Still, I wasn’t going to let up my teasing any time soon, pursing my lips. “I’ll see what I can do.” I began to guide Cleo away by her reins, calling over my shoulder. “Be careful what you ask for!”

“Well, I asked for nothing!” he called back with a scoff, though I could hear a smile in his voice. A cute, crooked smile.

I simply wiggled my fingers in a wave and disappeared into Cleo’s stable, already planning the headache I would fake to sneak my way back here.