#normally I love bad endings but the absence of Shin in the good one made the labyrinth ending feel extraordinarily hollow

[carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich]

Carla’s CL Route: A Shin Fan’s Thoughts and Feelings

I have such mixed feelings on this route but I’m going to try and relay them as articulately as I can. Obligatory warning, this post contains massive spoilers for CL (mainly Carla’s route but i’m going to mention some of the other routes too). Now without further ado:

Before I delve into any of the issues I had with this route, let’s start with what I liked. Firstly, I think it’s safe to say that Carla hands down deals with the situation the best after he gets his memories back compared to the other routes I’ve played (Shin’s, Shu’s and Laito’s) and I would be very surprised if any of the other characters are able to handle things as well as he did (although admittedly that’s partly because he’s just so much more powerful than everyone else). I did like that the writers were able to show off how capable he can be, while still bringing up stuff like how it isn’t good at cleaning or cooking.

I liked the plot point about Carla being able to live without Endzeit if they stayed in the miniature garden as I thought it was an interesting concept.

I found it very interesting that Subaru was the only other character to regain his memories in this route, especially given that Carla actually played a role in his LE route which wasn’t the case for any of the other Sakamaki brothers in LE. I can’t help but wonder if the writers have them as a brotp when considering that they were also paired together in the Versus IV CDs. Regardless, I did enjoy seeing their interactions in Carla’s CL route.

The scenes between Carla and Yui after Carla gets his memory back are great and I’m sure Carla fans will have a field day with them.

Now, lets move onto to the issues I personally have with this route.

Because Carla is shown to be so capable, I never really felt fearful for the characters. In contrast, in Shin, Shu and Laito’s routes they all had moments of genuine peril outside of the bad endings, which meant I felt really concerned and was drawn into the story. Carla’s route however, went something like this: Oh no, how are they going to deal with this unexpected development? Ah wait, he solved it in an instant, as expected of Carla I suppose. Oh no, how are they going to deal with this other unexpected situation? Ah no nevermind, he dealt with it right away again... and so on.

This might just be personal preference, but in my opinion if you really want people to get invested in a story, there needs to be some element of risk for the characters (even if you know there’s going to be a good ending). If you take that away, even though the fluffy bits with Carla and Yui were lovely, every time we got to one of the more plot-orientated parts of the story, I’d start to get invested only for there to be no pay off as there never really seemed to be much of a problem in the first place. This is why you have to be a bit careful when coming up with characters to make sure that they have some sort of weakness, otherwise the audience knows they’re going to be fine whatever.

Yes Carla is undoubtedly the strongest of the boys when Karl’s powers aren’t involved (and especially when Endzeit is removed from the picture) but I still feel like there should have been something. We came a little close with Shin getting close to being killed by the Scarlet family but Carla took care of it so easily that it just felt a bit... I don’t know, flat maybe?

And now onto my biggest bugbear of the route: how they handled things with Shin. 

First things first, I am fully aware that I am incredibly biased here and Carla fans, you may see no issues with this route at all and honestly, good on you, I’m glad you enjoyed it, but hopefully after the end of this post you’ll at least understand why I was a little upset.

Things started off really well on this front, I loved the scene where Carla starts to remember things, Shin cuts his arm and then says that seeing Carla kneeling in front of him makes him feel frustrated for some reason. I was pleased when Carla and Yui went to rescue Shin (and by extension Ruki) when they were being attacked by the Scarlet family and the angst when Carla and Yui saw Shin treating Ruki as his big brother. But it then just... went nowhere (well in the Euphoria ending anyway, I’ll get onto that Labyrinth ending later).

The writers threw in some token lines from Shin in chapter 15 sure, but did he get his memories back before they returned to the real world? No. Did we get any sort of scene between Shin and Carla after Shin had gotten his memories back? No. In the route to achieve the Euphoria ending could Shin have stopped existing from about chapter 12 onwards and it wouldn’t have changed anything? Honestly, yes. 

I genuinely don’t think this would have bothered me so much had it not been for two things: 1) how much of a big deal trying to return Carla’s memories was in Shin’s route (although I would never have really expected anything else) and 2) the fact that all of this Shin and Carla angst was dangled in front of my nose only for there to be no pay off whatsoever.

I know this route is meant to ultimately be about Carla and Yui, not Carla and Shin’s brotherly relationship but I can’t help but feel cheated that the little Carla and Shin content we did get never amounted to anything. There was no heated discussion/argument between the two of them, there was no exciting climax where Shin tried to kill Carla because he still had his fake memories. Hell, we didn’t even get a token scene at the end where the brothers finally both had their memories back; Shin was unconscious for the conversation with Socrates and then he never comes up again.

My main point here is that I don’t think it was a good decision to include all these bits about Shin being important to Carla and then to not do anything with it in the climax of the good ending.

I acknowledge that there was no big climax in Laito’s route with the triplets either but at the very least Kanato and Ayato got their memories back and made sure that Shu and Reiji didn’t kill Subaru while Laito and Yui were trying to find a way out of the miniature garden. Shin didn’t even do that much.

Now as for labyrinth ending, oh boy where do I even begin. Putting aside the fact that Shin getting infected with Endzeit is literally the one thing I never want to happen in the franchise, I wasn’t a fan of it at all. Part of my reason for not being a fan of this ending comes back to my point about Shin playing such a small role in the Euphoria ending version of chapter 15 that he could have been replaced by a mop and I don’t think anyone would have noticed. 

However my biggest issue is that we get no information on what’s actually happened to him in that ending.

For anyone unfamiliar with that ending, in the Labyrinth version of chapter 15 Shin tries to kill Yui before they reach the church (as he still hasn’t got his memories back) but Carla protects her and gets stabbed. Shin gets covered in Carla’s blood and because his wounds from earlier in the route haven’t healed yet, they suspect he’s gotten infect with Endzeit. As a result, Yui and Carla decide to stay in the miniature garden where time is effectively frozen rather than return to the real world and have Shin potentially die from Endzeit.

The actual ending is just Yui and Carla talking about whether they’ve made the right decision. They say Shin hasn’t shown any signs of Endzeit but did he get his memory back? Are they just keeping him locked in the dungeons so he doesn’t try to murder them both? Who knows.

I can’t help but feel that it was very unfair to have Shin used as a bad ending plot device and then cut him out of that ending too. 

Also I am calling complete bullshit on that line about Carla being able to suppress his symptoms. I get that Rejet are probably trying to hint to his DF ending where Yui’s blood is magically able to hold off Endzeit symptoms (which was retconed for LE but might be thing again now apparently?) but then why was there any hesitation from Yui over going back to the real world versus staying with Carla in the minature garden??? Like this makes no sense at all. Either Carla is dying from Endzeit or he isn’t, you can’t pick and choose within the route itself depending on what’s convenient.

Anyway I’m starting to rant which isn’t good, so I’ll bring an end to this post here. 

Do I think the route has its good points? Yes, absolutely, I think Carla fans who enjoy his softer side will have a great time playing it. Do I personally have some very specific problems with it which are likely related to the identity of my favorite character? Again, yes.

Anyway I’d be interested to know if anyone agrees with me or if I am just a Shin-obsessed mad woman. I’m going to go and listen to one of Shin’s drama CDs or something while I go and calm down. Hope you’re having a good day and thanks for reading :)

#Deep sigh #I just #I just felt so done by the time I got a couple of lines into the labyrinth ending #normally I love bad endings but the absence of Shin in the good one made the labyrinth ending feel extraordinarily hollow #it's a shame because I was really looking forward to this route but to be honest I'm extraordinarily glad I didn't leave it for last now #as I think I would it would have meant I ended the game on a sour note #I do like Carla and I'm glad he was able to deal with things so well but... #yeah... #I hope I haven't upset anyone with this #like I said if you loved Carla's CL route and didn't see any problems with it #then please ignore my ramblings #I just really needed to write out my own thoughts #own post #cl spoilers

[medusas-side-snake]

Scarred - Chapter 2

Megan works for the Order, she has been on a mission for them for over a year. A mission that was only supposed to last two weeks. Heritage means that she is on thin ice with the rest of the Order, mix that with some heartbreak by the dragon-loving Weasley boy and a certain Black family member with a vendetta and you have the following story.

When I woke up in Charlie’s bed, my own being the one that Hermione’s currently using, with Bill snoring on the other side of the room, it felt like things were almost back to normal, bar the incredible pain that I was in from the burns and the glaringly obvious absence of one Charlie Weasley.

I was so caught up in my thoughts of missing Charlie, that I didn’t notice that Bill had stopped snoring or that he was currently staring at me from his bed.

“You know, you’re gonna have to go downstairs and face them all eventually, right?”

I sighed, “I don’t look the same, what if I scare them?” My main worry was the burns on my face. If it came to it, I could just put up with the pain in the rest of my body and pretend that those burns weren’t there, I couldn’t, however, wear a mask around my family forever. They would know that something was up. If I was going to stay with them and be around them everyday, it was better to get the unveiling done as soon as possible. But that thought did nothing to assuage my fears, in fact it probably made them worse.

“They love you, they don’t care, they’ll just be happy that you’re alive and that you’re back home. Where you belong.” I knew that what he was saying was right. These people were my family, blood or not and they all loved unconditionally. But there was the nagging in the back of my head, that, what if though…… What if they don’t?

Bill must’ve known by my silence that I was getting drowned by my own thoughts because he left his own bed and climbed into mine. He lay on his side facing me, with one arm propping his head up while the other brushed the hair away from my face.

“Do you want me to plait your hair before you go down?” When I lived with my parents, the last thing on their agenda was teaching me to plait my own hair, they had the elves to do it, and then when I lived with my nana, she had arthritis and couldn’t do it. I never really cared or was interested, as long as my hair was out of my face, usually in a ponytail, I was happy. When I moved into the Burrow, Mrs.Weasley would always plait my hair and she taught me how to do it on myself and on other people and it became a source of comfort whenever one of us (mainly me, Ginny or Molly but occasionally the others joined in too) were upset or worried or anything like that.

“No, it’ll just draw attention to… this.” I gestured towards the new marks that covered my face.

“You know they won’t care about that. Come on, get up.” Bill was pushing on my shoulder to get me to move and sit on the floor.

Once I was seated with a pillow underneath me on the floor, Bill put a leg either side of my shoulders and moved forward so that he was sat right behind me.

Gently, he brushed through my hair before parting it off into different sections. Neither of us spoke while he did this, I just closed my eyes and allowed my soul to be soothed by the familiar feeling of family.

Fleur walked in when Bill was about halfway down.

“Hey, we’ll be down in a bit, just want to finish this.” Bill spoke softly and you could hear the love that he held for her in his voice, it reminded me of how Charlie used to talk to me in the soft moments.

“Don’t worry about it.” Fleur’s accent was strong, but it was obvious that she had been working on making herself easier to be understood since the last time that I had spoken to her at the Tri Wizard. “You ‘ave a package.” She held the brown parcel out to me and, after I took it, came to sit next to Bill on the bed behind me.

“Did your shoes come today?” Bill asked her while he was tying off the plait. With one of the many hair ties that littered Charlie’s drawers.

“No, but they’ll be ‘ere in time for ze wedding so I am not worried.” Bill hummed as she spoke and brushed out the last section of hair for his final plait.

“Wedding? Who’s getting married?”

“We are. Didn’t anyone tell you?” Bill asked.

“She was not ‘ere. There is no way she could know.” Fleur answered before I could.

“Billy boy! You’re getting married?! When?” I tried to turn my head around to look at them both as I questioned them about their upcoming nuptials, but I was stopped by a firm hand in my hair and another on the side of my head, making sure that I faced forward while the final plait was completed

“Stay still! You actually haven’t changed, you still move around too much when I’m doing your hair.” Bill ordered in a sharp voice and I mocked what he said while Fleur giggled slightly at us.

“Congratulations anyway guys! I’d hug you but the hair dictator,” a sharp tug of the strands of hair that he was holding was returned with an elbow to the shin which probably hurt me more than it hurt him, not that I’d let him see that, “won’t let me. What do you guys want for a wedding gift? Do you have a list thing going on or what?”

“Nothing, having the ‘ole of Bill’s family ‘ere is enough.” Fleur put her hand on my shoulder and rubbed slightly as she spoke. I winced as she rubbed one of the burns that was there. “Sorry.” She took her hand away as soon as I had done so.

“It’s no problem, don’t worry about it.”

“What did you get anyway?” She asked, referring to the box in my hands.

I looked down at it, “I have no idea.”

“You’re lucky that I’m done now because you cannot stay still.” Bill said as he was tying off the final plait.

I chose not to respond to him as I tore open the brown paper covering whatever was in the parcel to unveil a very large, unboxed pot. It’s label stated that it was called ‘Dragopren’ and when I unscrewed the lid, it looked like some sort of cream and it smelled funky.

There were no instructions to go with it but a small piece of paper was attached to the bottom of the pot with a hand-written note that read,

‘ apply liberally twice a day until hard, grey skin covers the burns

C x ’

Bill placed his chin on top of my freshly braided hair. “Thank God Charlie only sleeps naked if you’re in his bed because he nearly jumped a mile when I appeared in his fire last night and that is not something I want to see.”

“I’m confused, how, when did you speak to him?”

“Oh, Sirius taught me this thing where you can talk to some through the floo by only putting your head in the fire. The order has been using it for a while. He….” Bill sighed, “He also said that the cream wouldn’t heal the burns, only prevent infection and reduce the itchy feeling. They’ll heal in their own time and they will also leave some pretty nasty scars. I’m sorry” His voice grew quieter as he spoke and I could tell that it was hard for him not to be able to fix all of my problems like he thought a big brother should.

“Not your fault. You didn’t do it.” I tried to do my best to comfort him, I had already accepted that that would be the case anyway so he hadn’t really destroyed any of my feelings. “It smells nasty though.” I tried to shift the subject because it was hard to process all of that and I could see that he wasn’t happy with what he hadn’t been able to do.

“Let me smell.” I held the pot above my head for Bill to get his nose near.

“Merlin, that is bad.” He was coughing as he talked. “You’re gonna be properly stinky from now on. I'll have to warn the others that you may knock them out with smell alone.” He was laughing and even though his heart wasn’t in it, I appreciated the effort.

I scooped out a small glob using my middle and fore fingers, and gently applied it to the mark that ran from my left eyebrow and wrapped itself around my face diagonally and ended at the bottom-right side of my neck. It was only by luck that it had missed my eye and that I wasn’t blind in, at least, one of them.

As soon as the cream touched my face, I sighed in relief. The warm and itchy sensation went away and was soothed by the smelly substance.

“It feels good though, I can tell it’s going to help loads. Can you help me do my back?” I turned my head to ask Fleur. “There’s a couple on my stomach but I think that I can do those, so it’s just my back that I will need help with until I can figure out how to reach them on my own.”

“Do not vorry about it.” Fleur took the pot of cream from my hands. “Stand up and let us ‘ave a look.” I did as she asked, I stood and lifted the back of my shirt up. I heard both of them suck in a breath at the expanse of my back.

“There is barely any untouched skin back here, Pumpkin.” I don’t know what it was that set me off, possibly the feeling of someone looking at my back, maybe it was the fact that they were looking and were so obviously disgusted with what they saw, or maybe it was the sound of the familiar nickname. Either way, I was crying before I knew it. Giant, ugly sobs that pulled at the raw skin of my back.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Bill wished me as he held my head with his hands on either side of my face and pushed his forehead against mine. I appreciated the comfort and pushed back against his forehead and placed my own hands on his fore arms and squeezed.

“I know, it just didn’t really sink in how good it is to be home.” My voice was thick as I spoke, my sobs quieting down.

“Are you ready?” Fleur asked from behind me.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”

“It is not a problem.” Her voice was quiet when she spoke and then I felt the first touch of the cream on the middle of my back and let out a sigh and arched into it slightly.

We were all silent for a few minutes, me and Bill still leaning on one another while Fleur was applying the cream to my back.

“There are some that I cannot reach at the top ov your back. You will see to take your shirt off.” I let go of Bill and he stepped away from me slightly as I pulled my shirt off. I dropped it to the floor and used my hand to cover my breasts.

“You have lost so much weight.” Bill’s voice was shocked at my appearance.

“I know.” I looked down.

“No, like a lot. Like too much. It’s…I….I can see your ribs.”

I tipped my head back as the tears started to fall from my eyes once again. “I know.”

“No, no. Don’t cry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I was just shocked. I mean, we could all tell that you had lost weight, it was just a shock for me to see exactly how much though. You’re still one of the most beautiful people I know.” Bill’s arms were suddenly around me, careful not to touch my back.

I couldn’t answer him, I didn’t have the words to express what I was feeling in that moment.

“I ‘ave finished.” Fleur’s voice sounded out. I sniffed and pulled away from Bill. I wiped my eyes and took the pot of cream from Fleur. The mirror was on the other side of the room and once I was in front of it, I dropped my hand from my chest and sucked in a deep breath once I saw that Bill was right, my ribs were clearly visible without breathing, in without bending a certain way. I could count them by sight instead of having to press down on them to feel them. Once I had grown accustomed to that, I did something that I probably shouldn’t have. I tugged down my pants slightly, only to be greeted with the sight of my hip bones.

That proved too much for Bill, who let out an angry puff of breath and turned his head away to the opposite wall.

I applied the cream as quickly as I could to the front of my body and then went to the drawer and pulled out one of the shirts that Charlie had not taken with him and tucked it loosely into my pajama pants.

“Guess Pumpkin doesn’t really fit anymore, hey?”I tried to bring the mood up in the room, but I knew it wouldn’t work. It was too hard for Bill to see me like that when I had always been, I wouldn’t say massive but definitely, overweight my entire life.

I didn’t receive a response from either of the other two people in the room.

There was, however, a knock at the door followed by Remus’ voice.

“Megan?”

“Come in.”

He only opened the door slightly and popped his head into the gap. “The Order is downstairs.”

He didn’t say it but I knew what that meant, I was going to have to go downstairs and tell everyone what happened.

“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.” With the obvious tension in the room, he just nodded and closed the door behind him. “I guess I better go down.”

Fleur smiled at me slightly while Bill remained motionless, I suspect so that he didn’t have to cry in front of me, but with one last look at his blank face, I left the room and walked straight into the lions’ den.

#charlie weasley x reader #charlie weasley fanfic #harry potter #harry potter fanfic #charlie weasley #scarred

[cookiecutterwrites]

Dog Days and Then Some

Summary: A boy and his slightly unsettling Rottweiler do everything together.

Genre: Contemporary YA

Notes: I’ll be posting some of my short pieces over the next few days, just so they’re anywhere at all. Luckily for you, much of my stuff is short and easy to read! Much like me irl no wait - My style varies wildly so if you don’t like this particular story, please do give my other pieces a chance! Feedback is always welcome. No seriously, I need feedback and writing friends real bad.

Dog Days and Then Some

Do you ever wake up with a question running through your mind? Today, mine is, ‘Hey, what's that awful, bone-crushing weight?’

And what do you know, it’s a shaggy, nightmarish, black beast that's sat on my chest! It growls and breathes in my face, rancid and hot.

I could panic, but I've done this song and dance before.

… Who am I kidding?

I’ve got plenty more questions where that came from.

What is that thing? Is it gonna tear me to pieces? Why can’t I move? Will I live to see high school?

So many questions, so few answers.

I want to thrash and scream, but I can’t.

This lasts for a good couple of eons, but the second I feel my limbs again, I prop myself up and wrestle the Rottweiler off my chest. I glare at him and groan. “Escher, you gotta stop scaring me like that.”

He barks once. He seems satisfied with his work. He makes one smug pooch.

Escher has this wonderful habit of showing up unannounced. Sometimes I seriously doubt he ever really leaves to begin with. Whenever he reared his ugly mutt mug, I armed myself with all sorts of self-assuring nonsense: ‘Escher’s not gonna be around for that long this time,’ and ‘Uncle Grady has a black dog, grandma had one too. I’ll be fine!’

But I could never shake the feeling that he was seconds away from pouncing on me, sinking his grubby paws into my neck, and rasping,  — just a shadow of a whisper —, “Do you hear that in the distance? It’s your comeuppance.”

Weird, huh?

But I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Dogs can't talk.

Oh, what's that, boy? You wanna go out, Escher? Yeah, like I'm gonna let that happen.

I lock up the front door. Let's see him try — He’s taking the doggy flap.

Right.

See what I have to deal with? He sucks the wonder out of things in his own special way. He just adores eating at me and my stuff.

If it’s any consolation, at least he’s consistent. Added bonus: He’s impossible to train, trust me, I've tried. Nowadays, when people ask, I just say, ‘This is how I take care of Escher.’

A pitter-patter of claws follows close on my tail all the way to the stairwell. He pants while I hold my breath and wring my hands, but he’s impossible to ignore. He's driving me up the wall!

But what can I say? We’re inseparable.

I shuffle down one flight of steps, then another.

And then another.

Wait, that's weird, it's quiet. Real quiet.

Where'd he go? I twist around — There’s not a black dog in sight.

…Did he go home? Could he really be gone?! I have a couple of questions, but I’m also grinning like a lunatic.

…Maybe he just got off at another floor. He’s smart enough for that, for sure. I cup my hands around my mouth, “ESCHER!” Who loses a Rottweiler? Not even I could mess up that badly! …Right?

I carry on down, but that's the exact moment Escher decides to materialize on the steps behind me, barking mad and barking loud. I yelp and slide down a few steps, grabbing the bannister in the nick of time. I sigh. “Escher…You’re killin’ me here.”

He bites my ankle! — And not one of those dinky lil’ puppy nibbles, no, he goes the whole nine yards. Unsurprisingly, I cry out and jump about nine yards.

I crash-land and immediately scuttle away. I can brush off the bruises later, but first, I have to put some distance between us, lest he actually get a shot at killing me.

He whimpers once, then pads over like a good boy, all prim and proper. I spit, “What’s wrong with you?”

He licks my hands, then gnaws at my shoe. I sigh and pet him sluggishly.

I've lost.

Now, I’ll be honest, I know Escher. He’s my dog, for crying out loud! I know he’s a very special dog: he’s happy as long as I’m miserable, which I know sounds ridiculous, but he really is a good boy! He helps me steer clear of all the little things that could go wrong, he makes sure I don't say the wrong thing, or find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if that meant stopping me from getting out of bed or leaving the flat, so be it. He watches over me and makes sure I don’t make the same mistakes I’ve been making all my life. He takes care of me more than I could ever take care of him. It was never the other way around.

I’m jerked out of my pity party by the sound of someone entering the stairwell. The missus living next door? She was never one for formalities: “What are you doing out here? You look…” Pathetic? Like I’ve made a terrible mistake? Come on, at least, like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

“...Like a million bucks?” I brandish finger guns. I regret it immediately.

“...Tired.” She wasn’t far off the mark. “Are you alright?” She should have spotted Escher strutting around like he owned the place but people seem to get a kick out of pretending my dog doesn’t exist.

“Dog ate my homework.” This was not a lie.

And by some twist of fate, I wound up in her dingy family diner. When my father finally catches up to me, I’m treated to a big show of him barking into a phone at school administration — third absence this week. How about that?

It's the same as it’s always been, Escher’s back, but nothing’s actually changed. Today marks the last in a long line of flubs, and tomorrow, I’ll still be a disappointment all the same. Escher knows this better than anyone else. Escher knows best. “But you know,” I begin, “this morning was all you.”

He pounces without warning and barks in my face! It’s deafening, it’s unbearable. I push him down, yelling, “Down! DOWN! Bad boy!” And is it just me, or does he keep getting heavier?

My father shoots me a weird, mechanical half-glance. It’s as if he doesn’t want to acknowledge Escher’s here, but he also wants to know what’s running through my mind.

And about that: not much at all, really. It’s just that there’s only so much mucking around, poking fun at stuff and shrugging off you can do before you can no longer ignore the howling, ever-present, torrent that coaxes you to curl up in a dark place and slowly tear the skin from your face. But until then, if you kept up a jokey attitude, or were cheery, or generally weirded everyone out, there’s a chance that they wouldn’t worry so much. They’d think you were perfectly sound. And if they could be convinced, maybe you could convince yourself too.

You know that self-assuring nonsense I love so much? At the end of the day, it’s still nonsense. It’s only a matter of time before the black dog paws are your shins and pleads, “Lend me your time, your name, your life. I’ll take good care of it, I promise.” That’s what happened to grandma. She gave in.

And even if Escher never pushes me to the edge of that razor, things won’t ever go back to the way they were before. Even if by some miracle and he suddenly started obeying my commands, things will never be normal — I will never be normal! I will always have Escher! And that’s not okay.

I jump up seething, ready to blame every last offense on Escher and demand someone sort him out.

I’m interrupted by a tapping on my shoulder.

I whip around and, well, this stranger’s small. Around my age. She’s tugging off her hat. I don’t know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn’t the small, curled up blackbird asleep in her hair. She jeers, “Oh, don't be so dramatic! Most people have pets at one point or another. Some people have more than one. Some of us just can’t figure out how to leave them at home even though everywhere is still basically ‘No Pets Allowed’.”

Who did she think she was?! “Yeah, but most people don’t have a Rottweiler.”

She shakes her head vigorously, nearly sending her bird flying, “That’s not my point.”

“Then what is?”

“That you’re not alone in this?”

And I’m taken aback, I want her to know that she's got it all wrong. But for a moment, a weight was lifted. The fight drains right out of me. Whatever it is she's going for, it works.

I nudge Escher away from her. She’s right, I’m not alone, so it couldn’t possibly hurt, could it? To not deal with the black dog right this moment?

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #creative writing #fiction #short story #short fiction #there's a doggo in this one but he's not so great #cookie's stuff #cookie's writing #writing #actual italics abuse i am so sorry

[multiversemuses]

A Sonata for a Root Vegetable ~ A Growing Love Story in Nine GIFs and 1,000+ Words

@darthvoldemaul

“You’re one of my favorite people in the whole wide world; you know that?” Danny prefaces one day while they’re hanging out at Spatola’s.

“Right back at you,” Rhett replies, scratching his chin and leaning back against the green cushion of the booth. “But?”

“But are you ever gonna break the ice and actually talk to her?”

“Who?”

Danny gives him a look and tosses a crumpled napkin at his face.

“You know who, dude.”

Rhett rolls his eyes even though his crooked smile belies this feigned annoyance.

“For the last time, I do not have ‘a thing’ for your lady friend’s best friend.”

“Lies.”

“I don’t. I mean she’s cute or whatever, I guess, but I don’t even know her.”

“You could, if you’d just let me put in a good word.”

“Nah, that’s even worse. I can do my own flirting, man, when I want to.”

“Nola says you just get this really intense look on your face and then sorta walk away all broody.”

“Did she tell her that?”

“No. Nola saw you guys pass each other outside Farley’s.”

“Then she also saw that her friend didn’t even look my way, so it’s all good. Doesn’t matter what my face is doing if it’s just your girlfriend and Butter the Cat watching me through the bookshop window. Her bestie didn’t notice a thing.”

Danny folds his arms and looks away. “I wouldn’t be so sure...,” he mumbles cryptically. 

“Why? What’d she say? Did she mention me to you guys?”

Danny’s expression breaks into a broad grin and he cackles triumphantly.

“Busted! You do give a shit. I called it!” 

Rhett slumps sideways and groans loudly.

“I hate you.”

As the months go by and Danny and Nola start spending more time together, so too do their friend groups. “Groups” is being used a little loosely here since Nola really only has a couple of friends her own age. However, this only means that there are even less people standing as physical buffers between Rhett and The Girl. 

The absence of Rhett’s A-Game is reaching such a level that it is even starting to be noticed by the (albeit unintentionally) oblivious. It took Marty three years to discover her best friend and roommate was in love with her and even she can discern something is up with her shaggy sidekick. 

“You okay, Rhettro Chic?” Marty asks one night at a party, eyeing him over her glass. “You’re being all quiet. It’s weird.”

Vanessa, who is seated at the table with them, follows Rhett’s line of sight and figures out whose gaze has left him flummoxed. Mercifully, she uses her very recent upgrade to girlfriend status to distract the other young woman from this line of inquiry. Nessa presses her lips to Marty’s ear and murmurs what Rhett can only assume is a request to dance, given that they start making their way toward the floor. 

As they cross the room, Vanessa gives Rhett a pointed look over her shoulder and tilts her head toward where Danny, Nola, and her friend are standing. Rhett gives her a grateful nod in return. If he is finally going to do this thing, love her though he does, Rhett really does not need Marty’s encouraging whistles and calls echoing after him. 

He downs a gulp of his beer and strides determinedly toward the far corner. Danny sees his friend’s approach and gets a knowing look in his eye. After a little idle chitchat, Danny uses his best goofy smile and dance moves to coax Nola away with him so Rhett will have his opportunity.

Somehow, just like that, it feels like Danny has found a way to make this all easier on Rhett without directly interfering. Now, if he speaks to Nola’s friend, Rhett will seem like he's sparing her the awkwardness of being left behind as a third wheel. There can even be an unspoken commiseration over their current third wheel-iness. Rhett turns to face this fellow “single Pringle” and manages a smile that almost doesn’t look nervous at all. 

“So, how’ve you been?”

Progress has been made, it’s fair to say, although they're still very much in the friendly acquaintance stage. Even so, it’s nice to be able to exchange subtle nods of greeting across South Main Street. Danny has other ways of reaching the bookshop if he were so inclined, but he conveniently keeps asking Rhett for a ride to make sure his best bud will be in the right place at the right time. Not wanting to be too obvious, Rhett always busies himself afterward by entering other nearby shops as if he’s come this way to run errands. Much to his delighted surprise, there comes one afternoon when Nola’s friend uses this to her advantage. Rhett comes back to find a scrap of notebook paper with seven digits tucked under his windshield wiper. 

Call me sometime - S.

“So your friend Marty always addresses you by a nickname?”

“Sorta. I don’t know if it really counts as a nickname when she tries to steer clear of repeats so it’s never the same. More like name puns? Play on words or whatever.”

“Gotcha. I’m gonna give you one for your contact in my phone. It’s like  Rheumatologist, Rhinocerous, stuff like that?”

“Nah, that’s more like that Benedict guy who played the dragon fr--”

“Got it! I’m texting you a screenshot.”

“...Rutabaga Wickerchair. You’re pretty proud of that one, aren’t you?”

“Taking my bows as we speak. I brought it up a level ’cause your last name’s in it now, too.”

“All right, two can play at that game. Check your messages.”

“Symphony OldMacDonald. That is... something special.”

“Hey, it’s a closer match than Rutabaga.”

“Debatable.”

“A coffee date. Very conventional. And very not you.” 

“What can I say? I’m a man of mystery. Gotta keep you on your toes.”

"Sure, Jan. C’mon, spill it. What’s going on, Scruffleupagus? You’re up to something; I know it. This wouldn’t happen to be one of your collaborative effort pranks, would it?”

“Dunno. Guess you’ll have to wait in suspense and find out.”

“Gonna keep your secrets to the last, huh? All right. But I’m on to you.”

“Scruffle Shuffle!”

Rhett cleans the cheese dust off his fingers with meticulous care, pretending not to hear.

“Rhett!”

He tilts back his head, catching the remaining bag crumbs in his mouth. Rhett gives no indication that he has seen her waving.

“Pardon me... Handsome!”

Rhett smiles in spite of himself but keeps up the act that he hasn’t noticed her prior to this moment.

“Oh hey, Syd.”

“Y’know, strictly speaking, we’re not allowed to bring outsiders back here.”

“Funny, of the two of us, I’d have said you're the one who favors the Ponyboy aesthetic.”

“Har-dee-har. You know the kind I mean.”

“Non-delinquents?” 

“Uh, yeah, something like that.”

“They’re right to be wary, y’know.”

“’Cause I’m such a bad influence?”

“No, ’cause I am. I throw a mean bash, mister. Gimme a box of rinse cups, some AA batteries, and a little dry ice and I could put this place on the social map in a night.”

“A regular Party MacGyver, eh?”

“Damn straight.”

“I’d better not let The Powers That Be know you’re here, then.”

“You’re gonna protect me from your scary headmistress?”

“Yup.”

“Risking life and limb for your lady fair?”

“Yeah or, y’know, like a month’s detention.”

“And they say chivalry is dead.”

“This is where you wanted to show me? One of the piers under the bridge?”

“Yup, this is the one.”

“Interesting. Why this place? What makes it special?”

“I don’t know. It’s quiet, I guess.”

“Yeah. Or it was, ’til you brought me out here.”

“Hmm... The water does seem weirdly still. Even the semis don’t scare off the fish, but they sure heard you coming.”

“Watch yourself, Studly, or I’m gonna help you get intimately acquainted with the Delaware.”

A handful of the academy kids are sitting with Nola and her friends around a bonfire on the shoreline. On a log by themselves near the far side of the circle, Syd and Rhett scuff sand onto the ends of each other’s shoes and make shadow puppets in the flickering glow from the flames.

“Crap, outta juice again,” Marty whines a little louder than necessary and tilts her Solo cup with an exaggerated flip of the wrist. 

“There are a few Mike’s left in the cooler,” Nola points out.

Marty pretends to consider them but wrinkles her nose. “The ice has gotten melted from being too close to the fire.”

“I’ll get you a cold one from the spare supply in the truck,” Vanessa volunteers.

“Aww, thanks, babe. You’re the best.” Marty gives her a peck on the cheek and they discretely exchange a conspiratorial wink.

Things go back to normal for a minute or two until Marty’s cell phone suddenly blares. The ringtone is so loud that everyone around the bonfire jumps about half a foot. 

“Sha la la la la la! Don't be scared. You better be prepared. Go on and kiss the girl!

Marty puts a hand to her chest and gives an exaggerated laugh.

“Oh, that must be my talent manager. Excuse me. I really have to take this.”

She sweeps away into the darkness with the phone pressed to her ear, kicking Rhett’s shin rather sharply as she passes. He winces and rubs the leg of his jeans but, when he sits upright again, Syd is watching him. Did she glance at his lips just then or was it a trick of the light?

#Ship: All's Fair in Love and Prank Wars #Rhett Whitaker #theclonewriter #Me @ me: Y R U like this? I WAS JUST PLAYING AROUND WITH MY IMAGINATION. #There's like a whole story behind this too because like #my sister asked me to watch the show with her and I thought to myself #'Hmm she kinda has some Alycia-level waviness going on with her hair. #Since ADC is our Jackie maybe Katherine could be good for the OTP with Rhett? We shall see.' #And then of course after the series all I wanted was for a faceclaim of her to be in a universe where she'd be happy & laugh & smile a lot #and what better place than engaging in pranks and banter with my beloved Chewbacca son? #so I started tinkering around with ship gifs and got in too deep #and then I saw a book at work with Rutabaga in the title and that sparked an idea #and the next thing I know I'm writing scenes to accompany every gif #and now here we are :P #Made for Muses

[helerisheim-blog]

Entry #12

Hey, Diary!!!

Sorry for the long absence. I won't say I'm busy because I'm not, I'm just too lazy to write. It's Thursday today, tomorrow is Friday and we don't have classes because it's a holiday. An important historical event was being celebrate here in my country.

Anyway, I just finished watching Zankyou No Terror last night. Yeah, we talked about this anime on the previous entry. I should've finished watching it sooner but I didn't, I got spoiled. Yeah, it's so cruel. Based on the reactions of the people on the internet (netizens) the ending will be tragic. I won't tell you why, I don't want to spoil any details anymore. It made me cry, I love Lisa, Twelve, and Nine. I hate Five but pity her at the same time. They are just kids with bad--okay, I'll stop right now. I love the little romance between Lisa and Twelve. After watching some clips of the anime on YouTube, I figured out that some anime fans hate Lisa. I mean, yeah, she's weak but that's a realistic reaction from a normal teenager being thrown out in the world she's not used to. That's how I will react too when I'm in her shoes. Though I don't like the fact that she was always being captured, I still like her for making those two know the feeling of someone caring for them, especially Twelve. It's a good anime, highly recommended. Zankyou No Terror ❤

So, in able to move on from the heartbreaking ending of Zankyou No Terror, I chose to watch an anime that I know can make me laugh. You know what anime is it? Drum roll please!

CELLS AT WORK!

I'm watching the episode 10. The anime was so good! It is the anime that you can enjoy and learn at the same time. It is an anime that medical students should watch. Hehe. While watching, the app Merriam Webster is ready in case there are unfamiliar words I can understand. Glad this dictionary has a lot of medical terms in it.

Oh by the way, another reason why I stopped watching Zankyou No Terror before is because... I rewatched Kamisama Hajimemashita, My Little Monster, One Punch Man, and Noragami. Then I watched Blue Exorcist, Amnesia, and Akuma No Riddle. I'm so bad, sorry Zankyou No Terror.

AMNESIA! The anime that made me very confused. On the first few episodes I was like, "Wtf is happening here?" But then all the confusion vanished when I was near the ending. Of course. I dropped this anime a few years ago, glad I came back to watch it. Worth it. All of the guys: Shin, Ikki, Kento, Touma, and Ukyo are so gorgeous. But if I were to choose, I choose Ukyo. Why? I won't tell any details because that'll spoil you. All I wanna say is for me, he is the one who loves the MC the most. His route made me cry.

My father will visit us tomorrow, btw. I don't know if I mentioned it before but my parents separated when I was 8 years old. Me and my sister are not really close to him. Actually, we don't feel like getting close to him. We, especially my sister barely speak when he's with us. The way we act in front of him is really different from what we really are. My sister and I are only ourselves with it's just the two of us or when we're with our Mom. I don't feel any excitement meeting my father, actually I--I mean we, feel so awkward. But he's still our father, so as the first born child, I'll do the talking. Okay, I feel so awkward and uncomfortable when Papa's here, but when everytime he leaves, I can't help but be sad. Unlike my sister, I can remember a lot of good memories with him. Of how he takes care of us and how he loves us. But everything is different now, he made a mistake that made my Mom decide to take us and leave him. That mistake made a big scar in my heart and mind.

Oh, it's 12am now. Friday.

12:15am

-Friday, November 30

#entry12 #anime #zankyou no terror #amnesia #broken family #cells at work!