#i told u it was going to get Feelsy up in here :^)

[broodwolf221]

Heya! How about "you... brought this here for me?" From the people who don't know how to be loved prompts for Delwyn and Sera? Happy writing \o/

oh this was sm fun i love themmmm. and i got to explore them being silly AND feelsy /u\ the ideal. thank you! @dadrunkwriting 969 words cws: none

She fussed with the wrapping, feeling foolish. Sera had been so happy when she’d told her about her efforts to figure out a good gift, about asking everyone… and it stung, a little. She was glad that Sera was happy, but she hated that it had come as a surprise.

Had she not done enough to make the other woman know she was serious? Maybe it had nothing to do with her. She tried to tell herself that, anyway. It was just part of Sera’s history, her expectations. But it still stung.

This was ridiculous. A gift would solve nothing. And it wasn’t even a good gift. But she had never known what to get Sera. What do you get for a woman who could take what she wanted, who got bored of new toys so fast, whose interests bounced around so rapidly? How many hobbies had Sera taken up and abandoned since she’d come here? How many unfinished projects were stuffed in corners of her little nest in the tavern?

She didn’t even know how to tie a ribbon right. She stared at it, picked at it, untied and retied it, and still it looked sad and limp. This whole thing was sad. And limp. Could a thing be limp? Sera would have a good joke about that. Delwyn just flicked the ribbon.

She leaned back in her chair and drummed her fingers on her thigh. This was so stupid. Part of her wanted to throw it out, forget the whole thing, but that felt even worse. So instead she sighed, stood, grabbed the box, and went to the tavern, trying to tuck it under her arm—with limited success. But she ignored everyone’s stares and made her way straight to Sera’s corner.

The door was ajar so she just pushed it open, popping her head around the corner to see Sera laying down and tossing a little thing in the air. She thought it was a ball at first, but it seemed squishy. Sera glanced at her, grinned, and tossed it her way. She caught it out of instinct more than intent, squeezing it a little. “What’s in this?”

“Rice,” Sera replied brightly. “It’s fun. Crinkle-squish.”

“Crinkle-squish,” Delwyn confirmed slowly, giving it another quick squeeze before tossing it back. Sera caught it adroitly and sat upright, legs spread and hands dangling between, eyebrow quirked as she noticed the package.

“What’s that?” She straightened a little as she tried to get a better look at it and Delwyn felt herself flushing, but she was here, she was committed. It had to happen.

“Got you something,” she said simply, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. Sera met her eyes with a quick frown.

“You already got me somethin’. A big something. A good, big something.” Her frown shifted as she shook her head. “Well— you know what I mean. Anyway. What’s with all the gifts?”

“It’s… what people do, right?”

“People-people, or elfy-people, or herald-people? Because the people I know sure don’t give so many gifts.” Despite her protests she looked intrigued, staring at the package. Delwyn rolled her eyes and tossed it towards her, watching Sera fumble the little ball in her effort to catch it. 

“Me-people.” And elfy-people. But she hoped… well, it wasn’t like she was asking Sera to be Dalish. Shit. This was going to go so bad—

Sera pulled the ribbon off and opened the box, eyes widening—

“It’s, um.” She shifted her weight. “A Dalish thing. It’s just… something we give to people. Dalish or not. It’s a promise.”

“A promise?” Sera asked, pulling out the delicately woven bracelet and staring at it.

“Yeah. It’s a promise. It’s saying that… you matter to us. Well, to me. It doesn’t make you Dalish. Doesn’t mean you have to convert. Nothing like that.”

“I— wait, so—”

“You matter to me, Sera,” she interrupted, the words coming in a rush. “It’s not a, um, proposal or anything. Shit. I’m sorry, this is all messed up, I should’ve planned this better—” Suddenly Sera was standing, grabbing her face, and kissing her protests away. 

“You brought this here?” Sera pulled back just enough to ask, looking strangely vulnerable. “For me?”

“Well, no. I, um. Made it for you. It’s—” she was interrupted by another kiss, Sera’s arms winding around her waist, her smile pressed against Delwyn’s lips. 

“Crafty girl,” she breathed, their lips still brushing as she spoke. “You really made it? For me?”

“Yeah. I— yeah,” Delwyn managed, a little breathily. She gave Sera a quick kiss, then another, relief flooding her. “It’s um. Okay. So the thread—it’s about how we met. Right? Sometimes it’s about where people physically meet, the plants in that spot. Other times it’s more representative.” Sera tilted her head before looking down at the bracelet, thumbing across its surface. “It’s Vandal Aria.” Sera snorted and looked back up at her.

“Because I’m a vandal? C’mon, now—” but Delwyn was already shaking her head.

“No, no. It’s because… Vandal Aria is a desert rose. Well, not a rose, but… look. It’s beautiful, unexpected, and tenacious. It just… reminded me of you. Besides,” she made a face, “I wasn’t going to use elfroot. That’s a bit on the nose, don’t you think?” Sera snorted, nodding.

“I… really like this.” She was staring down at the bracelet again, slipping it onto her slim wrist. “I mean, I really like this. It’s a bit of you. Or how you think of me, or… something. I just like it.” She drew her forefinger across the surface, then glanced back up at Delwyn. “You did good, Inky,” she crooned, wrapping her arms around Delwyn’s neck and drawing her in for another deep kiss.

And another.

And…

She wasn’t going to be leaving this little room anytime soon.

[silvermuffins]

Pokemon Scarlet Liveblog! Part 4

We left off at "running around in a field"

ftr we are at caught 78, battled 103

they really did bring back headbutting trees tho. i am trying SO HARD to find another Toedcool, mgiht need to give up.

is Saul the waiter....hitting on me? sir im twelve.

anyway, Cowch the Mareanie. This Magikarp knows tackle??? Marrgh. Wow they nerfed Magikarp, dex says it never jumps more than seven feet. Come on, dex, that was all Magikarp had! !!! ACTUAL DOLPHINS??? FINIZEN! Oh I think I see a Mareanie terrorizing a Shellder under the waves in the bg but. DOLPHIN. name of Dip.

Jupe is evolving....they haven't done an evolving Pikaclone in six generations.....also Jupe is just kind of. Mostly underwater? Buddy u ok is this the best place to do this? welp, Pawmo. Oh, found a Crabrawler, you can be Monch. Chomper is evolving! ...Into Grafaiai? Did...did my mouse just turn into a monkey? Swapping her out for Pebbles. Anyway here's slowpoke, you will be Ruffle. I could use more balls... Ooh, Wattrel. Leep. Shellos? Bungee. AAA SANDYGAST. You're Pierrot!

I think Jupe my be my second permanent party member I'm loving this dude.

has a picnic and washes all my pokemon right outside the base....is naptime for the team. Pinkle decided to sleep on my chest, because is about chest height on his feet....when im standing....

dammit im so bad at making sandwiches. but man this one sounds like it'd be interesting but also tasty.... Butter, lettuce, ham, banana, and strawberry.

anyway time to fuck team star up, i have a duck

"self defense" bitch you better get a defense lawyer

feel like we're getting to the stage where more trainers should have multiple pokemon

Fani low key like "hey if i take out the leader of a team star squad then i should be the new leader, and if i consolidate all five under my own leadership, then i could found an empire!"

have just been told they made a game where you can tackle goals in any order but didn't bother scaling the difficulty.....seriously???? what the FUCK. it's like they released a nonlinear game but 100% expect you to play it in a 100% linear way. they want to railroad you so bad.

i am having a pretty good time, my gripes are largely ignorable, but...man I was really hoping I wouldn't have to just accept steamrolling literally everything

anyway we are heading into the base with Daya, Pinkle, and Sotero. that wasn't hard. i will steamroll everything.

hi, mela! prepare to meet your doom!

can't deny she's got style tho like goddamn. i AM rocking to the music and team star is, i will admit it, kind of cool.

SO THE CAR IS A POKEMON

honestly i did expect Mela to be less....subdued.... She seems so apathetic and bored, which is fine, but she was getting built up as an ugly screaming mess and i was SO eager to see that

like "what a hassle" that's???? all????? unless like they're going for a rep built up when she's no longer matching it, we ARE entering a flashback

oh. oh there were bullies...

ohhh dear....but i knew it there's a man behind the big five isn't there

......and we ARE going with her being Tired and no longer being the fiery, furious girl she used to be, aren't we?

stop making me sad

rtdyguik the way she walks though oh my gofd

why does the photo look like that

haha tsun away defeat means friendship

oh no it's about to get feelsy again ain't it

oh no now i'm invested

OKAY current take on things: there is love and charm woven into these characters, pokemon, stories, and the region. i am intrigued by everything. I want to see more. Yes, there are some brokey bits, but so far they seem to me to be structural, rather than foundational. We will keep going, with love in our hearts and sympathy for developers rushed by corporate greed.

tl;dr the game is flawed but this is a place to focus on the things we enjoy, and i see a lot to love here

supply unit??? who the hell are you cassiopeiaaaaAAAAA PENNY IT'S PENNY ALL FEELINGS ARE GOOD

"i'm good with machines and hacking and stuff" *starry eyed* are you cassiopeia?

honestly the vibe i'm getting with team star at this point is "you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"

looking at pokedex, realized Pinkle isn't gonna evolve, think i'll swap out for something else....

raiding the base for items and dialogue after, getting the sense Mela just....disappeared. But her squad really cared about her. And one is saying the other crews will get revenge.... I wonder fi they would? How close were the five leaders, and how close are they now?

i am just gonna copypaste in some nattering from a DM so you can see how absolutely hopeless I am

"i guess i should probably go do early things in western paldea now huh....get at least a LITTLE balance...." .... "also. i meant early things in EASTERN. paldea. i am in western paldea." .... "okay im gonna hit the next pokemon center up the road, then head back to Mesagoza so i can head east" ... "...west?" ... "WAIT NO I AM IN THE EAST I NEED TO GO WEST"

SOMEDAY I WILL FIGURE OUT WHERE ON THE PLANET I FUCKING AM AND THEN YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY

...?

...!

SHINY BUIZEL!!!!!

CRIT CAPTURE?!

AAAAAAAAAAA

Goldilocks

also we are swapping Pinkle for Teeny

oh there's new dialogue at school

oky not as much as i thought

oh hey while I'm in Mesagoza I should maybe accessorize? i'll take a peek

i honestly kind of really like Fani's current look tho....eh, some new shoes, maybe some gloves...ooh, picnic customization stuff....and some new sammich ingredients....picks up new recipes.....

Okay! Westward! Yes, it's westward!

picnic time to set up my new stuff....and make a sweeeeet sammich....best stacked one I've made yet

scoots took a nap on the table and then kicked the ball off a cliff......

Anyway time to explore and catch pokemon!!! Misty the Mareep! PUPPY. Dervish the Maschiff! Coppel the Rockruff! OH fancy scyther with a normal tera... You can be Mozart. Meditite is now Karov. Eckles the Mudbray. Flittle? What's that? You're gonna be Flan now. IF it will stay in the goddamned ball. Riolu! You're gonna be Joot. Once again, if it stays in the goddamn ball. !!! There's Swablu here, get in the ball Bula. Ooh, Phanpy friend, you're Wikae. Toxel is Niv.

I am starting to feel the.....three hours of sleep I got. Anyway, Bramaram the Gastly. Moosley the Starly. Back toward the low level area.... Tyse the Smoliv.

Ten Sights of Paldea, that sounds fun! Got to the Pokemon center and the watchtower, I think I am done for the night. Did I really accomplish only one thing....?

[elataanarchive]

   *   @gamorr​ said : blows a kiss ~

           PETER   HAD   SEEN   IT   ALL   .   THE   VAST   UNIVERSE   .   THE   STARS   .   THE   DUSTING   of   galaxies   as   they   lay   beautiful   and   burning   in   the   endless   void   of   space.   he   had   seen   space   whales   float   through   the   nebula   /   etched   his   fingers   over   the   bones   of   DEAD GODS.   he   had   witnessed   beauty   in   its   purest   forms   time,   time,   &   time again  ...   but   every   time   she   walked   into   the   room,   his   breath   was   stolen,   claimed   by   her   and   everything   she was.   he   had   bedded   women,   men,   and   everything   in   between   ---   aliens   from   delaria,   geera,   xandar   ---   his   list   was   a   mile long.   nothing   came   close   to   her.   no one came close to her.

                                                  he was so . . . UNWORTHY .

        a   smile   carved   itself   a   home   on   his   lips,   radiant,   brighter   than   a   thousand   suns.   she   blew   him   a   kiss   and   his   heart   LEAPT   into   his   throat,   demanding   itself   to   be   known,   to   feel   utterly   and   desperately   alive.  ❛   dance with me.  ❜   hand   held   out   in   offering,   he   spoke   softly   ---   an   undercurrent   of   confidence   chased   by  the   gentle   expression   in   his   eyes.   the   soft   voices   of   his   mother’s   mix   tape   played   overhead,   the   window   of   space   their   backdrop   as   they   stood   in   the   rec   room   of   the   milano.         take my hand.

[willcws-blog]

hey y’all!!!! i’m lorna, she/her pls!!!! i’m v excited i’ve been wanting 2 play madelaine for a v long time nd she fits like perfectly for this muse so YAAA excited !!! ummmmm ya like this if i can mssg u to plot!!! 

born to a politician and a marketing executive, willow was always offered everything in life. she grew up in a penthouse, always had the prettiest bows , so on so on you guy get my point. her life was very big little lies pre-murder plot line. her parents were fairly cold, though she tells herself it’s just because they worked so hard all the time. unlike some kids, it was never something she could accept and got used to, she’s a feelsy person somehow and it was always in the back of her head.

she definitely sought the attention she didn’t get at home in her social life, she’s been the same way since she was a child until present day.   always seeking approval from her peers, always trying too hard to get every single kid to love her. but it also went the other way, going out of her way to include kids whenever she could because she knew how it felt. she was very well loved by many people, and with her fierce attitude and smart mouth was/is usually the one protecting all her friends and even non friends.

defintely a very large brat, but more of the rebellious type in comparisons to the ones who think they deserve everything handed to them. she’s always been impossible to control and yes she’s always done it to gain her parents attention. she went as far to do stuff that got her in big trouble with the law, if her dad wasn’t a politician she definitely would’ve been on Scared Straight. This is what got her sent to a boarding school, her parents realized she wouldn’t grow out of it  and of course they didn’t want to just talk to her about it. so yeah, she got to see them every holiday.

here she continued to cause problems but it was in very different ways. it was still in trouble making devil child ways but she also started to cause trouble in the sense that she was always challenging authority and speaking out and it’s really where she came into her label as the activist. before she didn’t really pay too much attention to the world around her because she’s clearly super privelleged and not just because of her money but she could just throw money around to fix things. she couldn’t at boarding school, and it really made her find her voice and open her eyes and she decided she really, really, wanted to do something to fix the world. of course she dives completely into anything she does so don’t be surprised when she accomplishes this.

boarding school is how she also came to develop phat intimacy and trust issues! she dates this older guy: completely enamored with him off the bat, he’s the guy everyone has a crush on, typical fuck boy, doesn’t even treat her right but hey he’s supposed to be a prize right? honestly there were so many problems that i don’t even want to list bc unneeded trigger warnings and too long. back to the point, one day… she happened to just happen to idk happen to kiss her best friend. thought nothing of it at first like, she’s 17 right? normal. —– nope she’s a big fat lesbian she realized a fat chunk of time later. of course, she’s not cocky but she definitely is sure of herself and after working up some courage broke up with the boyfriend and told him why. he didn’t like it! got very angry, physically in the moment, later angry enough to leak very personal things and it was all just very bad for someone so young from someone she did love in a certain way yeah

she’s headed off to law school since then though, i was kind of inspired by legally blonde so this part (and others) were kind of based off of her. no one actually believed her when she talked about changing the world and helping people so when she went to law school everyone was completely shocked. and she’s very very smart, so she’s completely kicking everyone’s ass.

her parents have recently kicked her out of their lives because she was just not agreeing w her father’s politics like over twitter nd stuff hgjfhgjk lmao but a huge fight occurred nd they gave her either u be quiet or ur out of this family ultimatum so ya now she’s broke nd has only friends for fam! she’s been working as a receptionist mostly, tho she works occasionally as like a lounge singer kinda thing where it’s like live entertainment nd she’s always thought singing was cool nd she has a good voice so hey! 

her personality kind of reminds me of amy santiago to be completely truthful, just maybe a little bit of a hardass. she’s very excitable with whatever sparks attention which is a lot and is very girl next door once you speak with her as much as she seems like a rich brat

she’s a complete nerd — knows about so many things and will rave about them all if given the chance (the ocean is her weak point)

she doesn’t half ass things, she has a lot of passion in her and it transfers into whatever she’s focusing on at the time... but she does give off the impression that she treats everything like a joke like other than school 

very goofy, although she’s kind of in her shell at the same time. she is a little bit more introverted, not so much shy but definitely isn’t the first to initiate the “hey i’m wil and here are my two truths….” she’s somewhere in the middle  

has very deep issues with trust because of what happened to her. honestly she wishes she could just go back to trusting blindly because she misses intimacy with new people and because it happened so young it’s always stopped her from having intimacy romantically. she has pretty much a legit fear of it all. even with old friends sometimes.

can get very wrapped up and serious, definitely needs people to make her chill and go back to herself

she’s so energetic she’s like a happy sugary child she’s just so about living life to fullest ugh i love her

still feels an obsessive need to please people and it’s very annoying to her but she can’t help it, also getting competitive because of it

is an emotion based person but even has trouble trusting her own emotions so she loves facts and needs the facts or watch out

doesn’t have an intentionally mean bone in her body but she will get mean if it’s what she’s gotta do to defend what she thinks is right, so like if ur not a dick she’s the sweetest girl there is 

very smart girl, but is so dumb and reckless because she gets an idea into her head, falls in love with the idea, and just goes for it without even thinking. gets her into great places but also bad ones

she is a FUCKBOY she does it better than them, ladies watch out

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK]

It took me all night to stop feeling embarrassed about the scene Knives caused. Maybe deep down, I really did feel flattered that she cared this much, but it was buried under so much shame and annoyance that I couldn't even feel it accurately. Where did she get off inserting herself into my life as some weird kind of protector? Especially since I didn't need any protecting. At all. That was just some random crap I made up to make it clear that I wasn't interested in her hanging around and making me feel better. Not my fault she was too dense to realise.

A few days later, I saw her again. Just enough time to forget that the whole incident happened before I was freshly reminded because she came barging back into my life. Great.

"Are you stalking me?"

"What?" Knives asked, trying to casually drop down from the tree branch. She landed with a quiet tmp against the little patch of grass around the trunk, a would-be innocent smile playing across her lips. "Noooo… not at all."

"Because it feels like you're stalking me. And what's with that?"

"Nothing!" Her hand whipped to one side, throwing the binoculars so hard that they disappeared into the sky with a brief gleam. "Nobody was watching you since you left the house this morning, don't be silly!"

Sighing, I continued walking down the pavement. She kept pace with me; now that I'd found her out, apparently she had decided there was no point in keeping a low profile anymore. My hands clenched into fists in my hoodie pockets. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Well… I'm trying to do surveillance."

"Yeah, I got that."

"For the challenges? You know… see if I can tell from the outside anything more about what I'll face on the inside. So far, nothing obvious. But I wanna be ready!"

"For the imaginary challenges? Wow, quelle surprise."

"Are they imaginary though?" she breathed with a slight squinting of her eyes.

"Dude… you are so weird." For some reason, that made her grin at me, and I rolled my eyes. Didn't seem to be any point in trying to get rid of her anymore, so I just said, "I'm going to work. You won't have anything to do there but watch me watch old movies."

"I love old movies! Like, like… the first Harry Potter!"

Inwardly, I died a little.

                                                      ~ o ~

This manic chick actually came with me to the video rental store. I shouldn't have to tell you that in this millennium, especially after the first decade of it, there's really no point in even having a video rental store anymore, so we had no customers. It was literally hours of sitting around and watching movie after movie, while maybe one guy came in and asked where 'the good stuff' was kept. My glare sent him packing.

"So was it that bad wherever you went for uni that you ended up slumming it back here again?"

"Not bad," Knives told me as she sat on the counter, spinning the orange she had gotten from a convenience store on the way in her hands. It was the last thing either of us had to eat after we made our way through some cheesy Nineties rom-com. "Just not home. Toronto is just, you know? Like… everything's so cool here."

"Yeah, it's freezing."

"Not right now. Summer in Toronto is like, the best. Plus my friend Tamara lives here, I was hoping I'd see her."

There was something about how genuine Knives was that reminded me of Scott when we first met. That could probably play a role in why they were attracted to each other in the first place, and I might be more certain of that if I were some kind of TV pop-psychologist. As in, Scott saw something of his younger self in Knives, the way he was before he broke my heart and Envy broke his in turn. Yadda yadda.

Maybe that's why I hadn't thrown her out yet. Nostalgia.

"Kim?"

"What?" I snapped, since I had been snapped out of my stupor.

"The movie's over."

"Oh…" Ducking my head, I reached over to pull the DVD of 'The Mystical Head' out of the player. "Shit…"

Head tilted to one side, Knives asked me, "What would you be watching if you had to pick? Right now?"

"Zombie Corpse Mutilator IV: The Zombining."

"Really? Is it any good? I don't watch very many scary movies…"

With a long sigh, I stood up and stretched my arms over my head. Knives tried to balance the orange on the bridge of her nose, failed, and caught it before it fell very far. "You probably just want me to put on some drivel like 'Let's Hope There's A Heaven,' don't you?"

"No," she laughed easily. "What about… 'Seven Shaolin Masters'? I like action, but not like, just a bunch of stuff blowing up. And I heard that one's supposed to be pretty authentic, it was done by a Chinese director."

The way she looked all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed reminded me of a squirrel spotting a nut it hadn't cracked yet. Maybe I was the nut. Who knows? But for some reason, her excitement and complete disregard of whether or not I crapped all over her good mood was getting past my defenses. So much so that I said…

"Sure. Think we have a few copies."

We watched it. Not a bad flick. I guess I like it about as much as I like anything, really. Not high praise, but you get the picture. Knives was eating it up. Really… the weirdest part is that she never complained about having to sit there on the counter, just hopped down once in a while to stretch her legs and lean against it instead. Like we had been doing this for years: her coming to hang out with me while I 'worked'. Felt like the plot of some low-budget indie film, shot in black-and-white to be 'ironic'.

About halfway through, she did go to the lavatory, and when she came back she stayed behind the counter. I started to tell her she wasn't allowed, but decided I didn't care enough. Maybe I'm getting soft at the ripe old age of twenty-four.

"Hey," I suddenly asked, during a boring part in which the main character was meditating.

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Watching a movie."

"No… I mean like, going to uni. What's your whole deal?" I cringed; that was a pretty crappy way to ask the question. But, as usual, Knives didn't seem to mind.

"Not really sure. Just want to figure out what I'm doing. My mom wants me to be a doctor, but that is so not happening. Like… I kinda want to found a martial arts school. Super cliché, but I've never really been good at anything else, except fangirling. Which isn't really a 'job' I can get."

"Sure you could. Rent yourself out as a professional fangirl."

Her eyes went round. "You can do that?!" But for once, she seemed to get that I was teasing and smiled. "Aww, silly Kim. But… actually I wonder if there'd be any interest in it… maybe I could start a whole new thing!"

"Weirdo."

"What about you?"

That caught me off guard. "Huh? I'm a drummer."

"Yeah, but you aren't really in a band right now, right? You said you and Neil's sister are just kind of trying stuff."

"It's none of your-" But I cut myself off. This wasn't an interrogation, and Knives wasn't trying to pry. Wasn't trying to. "I just… am trying to figure that out. My life got kicked in the butt by a few events and I need a rebuilding year."

"But it's already been a year since your last band-"

"Knives…"

She fell silent, turning away to finish the movie. She looked guilty, which wasn't really what I wanted; I just wanted her to take the hint that it's not the most fun subject to bring up for me right now. But I didn't know how to tell her that without getting all sappy and feelsy, so I didn't try.

When Comeau came in to relieve me, we split, and she followed along behind like a good puppy. A good stray puppy. One I never wanted, but for some reason, I didn't mind her there. We did start getting along toward the end of Sex Bob-omb's career, I guess.

"You wanna get some food? It's about dinner time. Or you probably have plans, huh?"

Shrugging, I managed to mutter, "Eh." I didn't have any plans. I never had many plans anymore; met up with Stephen once a week, or less. Steph wasn't so much a friend as a colleague… which I guess was where both of them stood with me. Where did everybody go?

"Cool. Wanna get Sneaky Dee's?"

"Ugh… too noisy. Not in the mood."

"Poutine? Sushi?"

I started to make a very vaguely racist joke about sushi being the wrong food for her, but decided it would be more hurtful than funny. Especially to Knives, who only seemed to get the most obvious jokes. "Poutine works. I could use some gravy-laden goodness."

"Cool. Let's do it!"

She skipped off down the path, hair bouncing on the breeze. I didn't notice before that she was still keeping it short, I was so focused on the fact that she stopped dyeing it in the front. Kind of a compromise between who she had been before Scott and who she was after, maybe.

Not that I knew why I was noticing now. I must really have been bored. "Wait up, you dumbass," I grumbled under my breath as I trudged after her.

                                                      ~ o ~

Somehow, grabbing dinner with this almost-a-stranger was fine. She gushed about college life, about some group of friends she found online and really connected with or whatever. I was only half paying attention while I chewed. Between bites she was drinking a ginger ale, and kept setting it down so hard that a few droplets would fly up and land on the table, or even on her face. That annoyed me, but it was also kind of… cute somehow. Maybe I needed therapy.

Once we finished up, we walked to the bus stop that would take her back in the direction of her house. It was awkward. There was no real reason for it to be awkward but it was; she looked down at her boots, rocking back and forth with her hands in the small of her back.

"U-um… do you mind if I drop by more? You seemed kind of unhappy to see me at first. If you really want me to leave you alone forever…"

"Yes. I do."

"Okay. S-sorry, Kim."

Now I felt like I was kicking a puppy. She wasn't really that bad; I just hated being forced to endure the company of anyone besides myself and my inner demons. "Ugh… just don't make a big deal about it, and shut up if we get too busy, alright? God."

Her mopey face turned into a wide smile over the course of the following five seconds. "YAY!" No seriously, she said 'yay'. And meant it. What the fuck was she even? Her arms sprang forward, and before I could tell what was about to happen, she had me caught in a crushing hug.

"Let GO. Dude, seriously! Off!"

"I'll see you tomorrow! Oh man, this is gonna be a great summer!" Without any further ado, she pranced over to the bus stop, walking backward so she could wave at me the entire time. Anybody could have predicted that she would trip over the old man's dachshund, but she picked herself up right away with a light giggle, apologising to both of them before waving again.

Our definitions of "great summer" don't have much overlap.

                                                       To Be Continued…