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world-without-authors · 3 years

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15th anniversary of our madness!

Yes, you read that right. Today, April 13th 2021, marks the 15th anniversary of when I was crazy enough to bring out the idea of a crazy roundrobin crossover on the Moony Witcher Forum.

When on that day, April 13th 2006, I made a post with the general idea for Mai Dire Fine I never thought I would be starting a saga that would be still ongoing 15 years later.

But here we are, with me and Aelit still working on its latest sequel of sorts, The World without Authors. Compared to back then, our writing skills improved a lot (Mai Dire Fine was not a good story) and, while there’s always more we can still learn, we are proud of our improvement.

So, where are we? We published recently the 10th chapter of The World without Authors, which is currently around 69.000 words – we’re already closing in towards Blank Sprite‘s length (77.000) and that’s just part of the first arc, Scattered Shards. Adding in the previous stories, we’re past 320.000 already.

Even with The World without Authors‘s “all-stars” cast, we still only have a total of five characters from Mai Dire Fine, only three of which (Sergio, Nikki and Kathleen) were part of the main cast as the other two (Faith and Virgilia) were introduced towards the end… well, technically there’s a sixth character, the mysterious “Professor”, but his identity is spoilers as of now. I believe there might be enough hints between The World without Authors and my older behind the scenes post for you to be able to guess his identity already, but the reveal is meant to be a nasty surprise that will set up the second and third arcs, Venezia Immortale and The Dove and the Crow. Yes, we’re planning (well… sort of planning) that far!

But enough of that, let’s head to the celebration specials!

Unfortunately, the Q&A session was a complete failure. We didn’t receive any question by the deadline, but the mailbox is still open! Feel free to ask us anything, we’ll make a Q&A post as soon as the question come in, and we’ll keep it updated every time new questions arrive.

We still have a few more goodies, though. The first is a bit of an experiment on my part, I took one of my early PPC missions, A Very Awkward Exorcism, alongside a couple scenes from the interlude set chronologically just before it, Planes, Guns, Clones and other usual PPC Stuff, and gave them a complete makeover into a comic. Yes, I made what I believe might be the first full PPC mission in comic form! You can download it in PDF format (Trigger warning for rape, contains some partial nudity) here. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Another thing I made is a special anniversary illustration, in which our characters, and a few we borrowed, from all over our works enjoy some partying. With all the things happening due to the Unravel they deserve some off time, don’t you think?

Let’s start with the back row, left to right.

First one is Ai Minase, from Koikatu. She has the distinction of being the “adopted canon character” of The World Without Authors – while we have other canons working with Strike Dove, she’s the only one who became part of the main cast on a deep level. While Hayate Yagami, her crew, the Razgriz and Long Caster also work with my main cast, they’re more of external allies. Her dress looks a bit like a tablecloth, but that’s a canon-ish outfit of hers: while she never wears it in her route, it is in her character card in the slot that gets used during dates in normal gameplay.

Next to her we have Keiko Caterina Turbo, Sergio and Nikki’s daughter with her own PPC spinoff, Wings of Canon: Second Strike. She is also the only survivor of the Second Strike cast, having lost Shiro and Saki in the Unravel, and as such the role of representative of her series is all on her. She also doesn’t like skirts, at all, why do you ask?

Then we have Hajime Irene Turbo, Keiko’s half sister/alternate incarnation from the timeline in which Sergio got together with Ami instead. She’s an original The World without Authors character, but still related to characters from my previous works. Fun fact: Keiko and Hajome’s birthday, April 13, in indeed based on the day and month we began Mai Dire Fine. If we consider HQ Standard Time (the PPC’s timeline) to coincide with the real world, they turned two years old today.

Next is Hajime’s mother, Ami Tanegashima. Mentioned first in I don’t like luxury cars to pave her way for her posthumous role in Blank Sprite, we can consider her the representative of my Blank Sprite original characters here. She’s now stuck with the absurdity of not only having a daughter she never thought she could have, but also of said daughter being currently only four years younger than her. Considering Ami’s small frame, there will likely be plenty of times in which she’s mistaken for Hajime’s younger sister… also, now that she’s 20 years old and of drinking age in Japan, she discovered she actually likes alcohol. And can deal with it surprisingly well despite her light build (as opposed to Sergio and Nikki who both can’t hold their liquor)… yes, she had more than a few glasses here. Luckily, she doesn’t drink very often.

Toasting with her is Aya Kibokami, the “fragment” that split off Madoka Kaname at the end of Blank Sprite. As such, she’s here as a representative of canon characters of Blank Sprite. Due to a certain scene of Madoka Magica, in which Madoka expresses a desire to go out drinking with her mother (who really enjoys drinking) once old enough, there is fanon of her eventually developing the same taste for liquor. While we’ll likely never know if the canon Madoka would, Aya is the other heavy drinker of my cast and here is depicted finally having a toast (or two… or a few…) with Ami to celebrate the success of their “Save Sergio and Homura from their spirals of self-destruction by making them defeat Vera and save Madoka together” master plan.

And, of course, fussing over Aya’s excessive drinking we have Kuroko Tenshimi, AKA the “split fragment” of Homura Akemi retaining the memories of the Blank Sprite Incident. While her and Aya haven’t featured yet, they did make it to the Unraveled World. However, I don’t plan on making them part of the main cast yet (in fact, I’m planning to reduce the amount of characters we’re following as the cast is getting too big), and I’m actually considering having them star in their own The World without Authors spinoff, but nothing set in stone yet. Oh, and fun fact about them, they did already have a bit of starring of their own as they were the hosts of the Third PPC HQ Hunger Games. How Nutmeg TV managed to get hold of them for that will forever remain a mistery.

Next, a character very few of you are likely to be familiar with. Nina De Nobili, the title character of the Nina, the child of the Sixth Moon book series. Acting as a representative of the Mai Dire Fine canon characters here, she’s been chosen since, as I said in the past, we started Mai Dire Fine on her author’s forum, and even received encouragement from her to keep writing at one point… despite the fact we were basically butchering her work. However, everyone has to begin somewhere, and Moony Witcher (real name Roberta Rizzo) knew that, so I’m glad she didn’t shoot down our hopes – I might not be here now with a 300.000+ words saga under my belt otherwise. Nina is not planned to reappear in the Unraveled Worlds, as she’s from a series intended for children that wouldn’t mesh well with our current plots.

The little guy sitting over the counter doing karaoke is Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan (anyone insisting on calling the series Case Closed can leave now). He’s again a canon character featured in Mai Dire Fine, but there are plans to involve him and some other characters of his series in the third arc. Also, as you can guess by Nina’s reaction, he’s a terrible, terrible singer.

Leaning on the couch we have Hiro Shirogane, our Gundam pilot. He’s a fully original character created for The World without Authors whose original concept was made by Aelit, although I was the one developing his backstory and relationship with Miksa. I admit that for a while we weren’t too sure about what to do with him, but I hope his current subplot will be enjoyable.

And now, the front row. Leftmost is Hanami, Nikki’s alternate from Kathleen’s alternate timeline (and as such a The World without Authors original). She’s been adopted by the Kinomotos (as she’s also an alternate of Sakura) and is now living with them. Something that debuted in this illustration are the glasses: those are her timeline’s Sergio, and she doesn’t actually have a need for eyesight correction. She had the lenses replaced with fake ones, and wears them due to them being one of the few things she has left of him, though they’re also a good way to differentiate herself from her “sisters”.

Then we have Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura herself. If we go by name only, her first appearance in my works would be Mai Dire Fine, but that particular Sakura ended up becoming Nikki so it is safe to assume her first appearance was actually in the first mission of Wings of Canon, my main PPC spinoff, titled Don’t Forget The Canon, and she has been confirmed alive in the Unraveled World, in which she is now legally Nikki and Hanami’s younger sister. As in the comic I posted above, her hair is actually lighter than Nikki or Hanami’s as most CCS media have her with a light shade, but Nikki and Hanami both derive from the 1998 anime that had a darker brown as Sakura’s hair color.

Next to Sakura is Syaoran Li from the same series, who instead did appear as himself in Mai Dire Fine. He was badly OOC though, and if the The World without Authors incarnation of him does remember Sergio, things might a bit tense between them at first… though, hopefully, just until he gets explained that no, the “Sakura” Sergio was in love with was actualy Nikki and there’s no need to be jealous.

Then we get to Kathleen Leone. She is not the Mai Dire Fine incarnation of the character, but an alternate made for The World without Authors. Despite that, she started considering the main timeline Sergio as her own brother even before he had to kill her timeline’s, due to the latter’s descent into madness. We haven’t been able to give her much space until now, due to the action being mostly in the air, but that will change soon. I won’t spoiler anything, but Chapter 11 will be a big turning point in the story.

Of course, holding arms with her is Faith Leone, Everything I said about Kathleen applies about her too, as they’ve arrived in the Unraveled World together. We haven’t shown much on our plans to develop her so far, but trust us: we’re going to both fill in more of her bakcstory, and give her chances to shine soon.

Cutting the cake together we have Sergio Turbo and Nikki Cherryflower, both of which made their first appearances in Mai Dire Fine and appeared in all sequel works. For as much grief the Unraveled World is bringing them, it is arguable they’ve gained more than they have lost, as they’ve both got their families back thanks to it. Fun fact: their outfits are loosely based on the ones they wore during Chapter 7 of Blank Sprite.

Last but not least, Corolla. Introduced in Don’t Forget The Canon, she’s my most successful character. Defined by Aelit “Kathleen, but written well” way before we started working on The World without Authors, it isn’t a suprise they synergize so well together… much to Sergio and Nikki’s dismay. Here, is she more excited for the cake, or because they are cutting it together like it was a wedding cake? Probably both.

And that’s it, 15 years of writing, condensed in one image. We hope you’ll keep following us in the future!

#world without authors #blank sprite

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violethowler · 5 years

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What the Kingdom Hearts Series Means to Me

Holding the physical copy of Kingdom Hearts III that I pre-ordered and paid extra to have delivered on release day is a surreal experience. It feels like a dream in all honesty. Kingdom Hearts III used to be a formless thing. A cryptid that fans hoped to catch a glimpse of but didn’t really believe existed. To put it into perspective, Kingdom Hearts II first released when I was in third grade, and I’m currently approaching my graduation from college. Six games have been released in the last decade and a half to expand on the series’ lore and set up the major pieces for the next “main” installment, but only now are we getting Kingdom Hearts III. This franchise has been with me through middle school, high school, and college. It’s a big freaking deal.

I had never been passionately into video games as a kid. My first game system was the Nintendo GameBoy Advance, and the only games I was interested in playing were movie tie-in games that adapted the plot of a specific movie. The Incredibles. The Polar Express. Ice Age: The Meltdown, Madagascar. The only other game I can remember that wasn’t an adaptation of an existing film was a weird 3D Pacman game, but I don’t remember ever playing it as fervently as I did those old movie games.

Even after receiving a PlayStation 2 for either my birthday or Christmas in 2006, the only games I would play that weren’t movie adaptations were the NickToons crossover games like Battle for Volcano Island or Attack of the Toybots. But I only played them because they featured my favorite TV character. I was never interested in the storyline. That would change one day in late-summer/early autumn 2007, when, after seeing an advertisement for it in my old Disney Adventures magazines, I rented a PlayStation title I’d never heard of called Kingdom Hearts II.

In the beginning, I didn’t pay attention to the story. I just skipped through the cutscenes and focused exclusively on the gameplay. But as I got to the more difficult portions of the game, I started to watch the cutscenes and pay attention to the story. And the more I did, the more I fell in love with it. Once I had fully digested the story of Kingdom Hearts II, I wanted more. I went back and played the original Kingdom Hearts, then I bought Chain of Memories for my GBA. I was hooked. I started buying and reading the manga adaptations of the games. I bought a couple of collectible figurines. I. Was. Obsessed.

I spent much of my computer time in those days scouring the internet for every scrap of information I could find on the next games in the franchise. Kingdom Hearts III wasn’t in the cards yet, so I focused my attention on the three titles that I vaguely recall being collectively referred to at the time as “the handheld trilogy”: 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, and Coded. I searched with a fine-tooth comb on websites dedicated to gaming news in general and Kingdom Hearts specifically, hoping to find out more about these next three games.

In many ways, Kingdom Hearts helped me take my first tentative steps into the wider community of fandom. My search for news on the next games in the series unearthed funny fan-made comic strips about my favorite characters. Even though Kingdom Hearts III was still a fantasy by that point, I found people using Photoshop, or whatever image-editing software was popular around 2008 or so, to create ideas for what the cover art would look like. I found detailed fan art of potential new outfits for all the major characters. I found theories and ideas and the ever-raging bonfire of speculation that grows larger with each new game released. I found fan-made music videos and fanfiction to sate my hunger for more content between games. I wasn’t as involved in fandom to the extent that I am today, but my experience with Kingdom Hearts helped me dip my toes in the water, so to speak, as I started to engage more with my favorite media beyond simply consuming it once and then going back to watch/play it again when I needed something to do.

And what makes this day so much sweeter is how much effort Disney is clearly putting into promoting this game. Almost a decade ago, and the most advertising any Kingdom Hearts title got outside of dedicated gaming magazines or events was maybe a single tv commercial per game. The only way to know a new game was coming otherwise was if you were actively following the development of each title before they even locked in when it would come out. In the last six months of waiting for Kingdom Hearts III, there’s been a concert tour, multiple commercials and advertisements on both TV and social media, and even ads playing before the previews at movie theaters. After years of trying to share my love for this series, only for a handful of people to have ever heard of it, it’s a tremendous thrill to see the games I love finally getting mainstream recognition.

It’s because of this series that I even consider myself a gamer in the first place. Before Kingdom Hearts, I just plowed through every game I had, treating each level as just another puzzle or challenge to complete. But Kingdom Hearts II exposed me to the possibility of video games as a medium for storytelling, and it was through my engagement with the Kingdom Hearts storyline that I found myself seeking out other games with their own compelling stories. Final Fantasy, The World Ends with You, Horizon: Zero Dawn… These are some of the many games with stories and worlds that have enthralled me as someone who loves to both experience stories and create them. And without Kingdom Hearts, I would probably never been enough of a gamer to know or care that they existed.

When I was younger, I was only interested in games if they were available on the systems I had. But Kingdom Hearts wasn’t limited to only one console. In the early years of the franchise, the series was spread across the GameBoy Advance, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and smartphones. So, whenever my research uncovered that the next title would be on a console I didn’t own, I would go out of my way to get it, either by putting it on my holiday wish list, or by saving up the money for it myself. And usually, I would buy these platforms years in advance of the Kingdom Hearts game I’d got it for came out, so I would search for interesting games to play on it while I waited. And unlike before, now I was actively looking for things to play.

When it was just my GameBoy, PlayStation, and a handful of movie/TV show tie-ins, I didn’t go out of my way to look for new games. I relied on advertisements in my trusty Disney Adventures magazine to tell me what games that were out that might interest me. Nowadays, I annually watch live coverage of E3, the entertainment expo where game developers show off the status of their current projects or unveil their next main title. And I keep my eyes out for every title that looks entertaining from both a gameplay and story perspective, whether I see ads in a magainze, footage at E3, a trailer on YouTube, or fanart online.

Before I realized that animation was what I wanted to do as a career, my first dream job was to be a game designer. And if your first guess as to why I wanted to pursue that career path isn’t Kingdom Hearts, then in the words of one of the franchise’s original villains, “You have come this far, and still, you understand nothing.” While I ultimately realized that animation was my true passion as an artist, it was Kingdom Hearts that set me on the idea of turning my art skills into a career. Without Kingdom Hearts, I might not have ended up where I am today.

Most of the fandom knows that Kingdom Hearts III isn’t the end of the road for the franchise. Even aside from its immense popularity, series director Tetsuya Nomura has spoken about the fact that the series will continue beyond III, but that this represents the conclusion of the current story arc that has been going on since the original Kingdom Hearts game back in 2002. It’s fitting that this arc of the series is ending the same year that I graduate from college. This series has seen me through multiple chapters of my life. Middle school. High School. College. And in May, I’ll be a college graduate looking for a job. Each time I moved from one stage of life to the next, it always felt like the end. But it never is. But life goes on. The story will go on, but this chapter of it is over.

You can imagine, then, why today is such a big deal. This series has been with me for more than half my life. These games, and other media I obsess over to a similar degree, mean so much to be precisely because the story and characters connect with me on such a deep emotional level. My opinion on storytelling in any medium is that the ones that put your emotions in a blender and take you from screaming in anguish to crying tears of joy in the span of a few hours or less are the ones that deserve to be remembered. The best stories should leave you wanting to know more, not just out of curiosity over what happens next, but also for the satisfaction of knowing that the characters you’ve grown to love will be alright.

Kingdom Hearts has consistently checked every single one of those boxes for me for as long as I’ve been playing it. Even the prequels and midquels that ended in tragedy and heartbreak still had a note of assurance that there was still hope. Even if the games that inevitably come out post-KHIII hypothetically don’t have the same emotional impact on me that the pre-III ones did, I will never be able to stop loving the series I grew up with. I’ve been invested in it for so long that it feels like it’s woven into my DNA. This series has grown over the last eleven years just as I have, and whatever the future holds for the franchise, good or bad, I will never regret the time I’ve spent with this incredible saga.

#long post #kh fandom #kingdom hearts 3 #personal anecdote

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pikespendragon67 · 7 years

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Late Birthday Present for writer-of-worlds!

Beginning Commentary: SO, my writing friend, @writer-of-worlds, had a birthday in April. I, however, was too caught up with schoolwork to do anything for them at that time. But now I have a few days off before summer school, I decided to make up for that. Happy late birthday~!

This is a modern AU I came up with a while ago…which was developed because I thought Kaze would look nice in a short-sleeved dress shirt and glasses. If this is interesting enough, I can elaborate more on this.

“You know, Kaze, you seem to be quite distracted today,” the older man with his teal hair in a messy ponytail commented, placing a pile of books down on the closest surface he could approach.

The younger man with the clean-cut yet still relatively long (for a man, that is) green hair, aged to be around his college years, blinked and freed himself from his daydreaming pose.

“Ah, my apologies, Sir,” Kaze quickly spoke, immediately snapping his attention to his boss. “I won’t let it happen again.”

“Come now, Kaze. I may be your employer, but I’ve also known you since you were a boy. If something troubles you, I’m open to chat with you. I’ve yet to reach the level of heartless CEO, after all.”

True, Yukimura’s book shop was still in its mom-and-pop phase of business; he only managed to open it around four years ago. How it was being slightly successful in the digital area is up to anyone’s guess, though.

“Very well,” Kaze sighed. “Corrin’s birthday is soon approaching and I still have no idea what to do for her. I tried buying tickets for one of her favorite bands, but they sold out the second they were released to the general public.”

“Ah, I see. Are there any other performances she might be interested in?”

“Unfortunately, no. …Unless she were somehow into polka music.”

Yukimura chuckled slightly before clearing his throat.

“And I’m certain you’re far past the phase of giving each other gift cards, correct?”

“If it were just a gift card, I feel she’d think I would break up with her. No, I want this to be special, Sir. We’ve been together for a few months now, with this being the first birthday of hers where we’re a couple.”

“In that case, don’t go too overboard so that you don’t scare her off. If you show too much dedication, she’ll think you’re obsessed with her. I’d say hold off on the very expensive gifts after a few years have passed, such as jewelry.”

“Well noted. Do you have any other suggestions?”

“Hm… How about a trip to the observatory run by Professor Izana? I’ve heard he’s quite a romantic, so a tale such as yours could easily get you in.”

Now it was Kaze’s turn to chuckle, a warm smile staying on his face afterward.

“That might actually work. Thank you so very much.”

“Not a problem. …Though, could you please return to work? I know this might be a slow day, but I still want us to be ready for customers.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Once work had finished, Kaze returned to his apartment complex building. Before he entered his own, though, a thought occurred to him.

Would the observatory be enough for her? I feel she should also get a material gift. …But what?

Kaze thinned his lips, but then decided to go three doors down to hear other opinions on the matter.

He gently knocked on the door, to which he was greeted by his four-year-old nephew Asugi.

“Hi, Uncle Kaze!” Asugi exclaimed.

Kaze smiled and got to the boy’s eye level, soon ruffling his black hair.

“Hello to you, too, Asugi.”

“Asugi, I told you not to open the door without asking who’s at it!” A woman with her long, black hair in a ponytail and bangs covering her face gently scolded him.

“I’m sorry, Mom…” Asugi pouted.

She sighed, but then paid attention to the man in question. “Oh, hello Kaze. Saizo won’t be home from the restaurant until later tonight.”

“Sorry to bother you, Kagero. I was actually hoping you could help me come up with a present for Corrin’s birthday.”

“Get her a bunch of candy!” Asugi exclaimed.

“Now now, we don’t want her to get cavities like you would,” Kagero smiled. “How about you go play in your room while I help your uncle?”

“Okay, but I hope I get candy for my birthday.”

With that, the boy closed the door, and Kagero offered Kaze a place to sit on the couch.

“Can I get you anything?” She asked in the small kitchen.

“No thank you, I’m fine,” Kaze replied.

And so, they sat opposite of each other.

“So, what do you need my help in?” Kagero asked.

“Has Corrin told you about anything she’s had her eye on? I assume Orochi must gossip about these sorts of things and you are her closest friend.”

“Then why not approach her?”

“She drains too much energy from me, if I’m being honest…”

“Yes, she does tend to do that. Let’s see… I believe last Tuesday she told me that she saw Corrin walk into Oboro’s boutique during her lunch break.”

“Interesting. …It’s not too expensive there, correct?”

Kagero held a laugh in.

“Fear not, Kaze. I’m sure you can afford her wares on your salary. After all, you don’t have to buy her a complete outfit.”

“Ah…yes. Good to know…”

“…You were planning on that, weren’t you?”

“N-no, of course not.”

He soon looked away from her to hide his embarrassment.

Kaze made note to thank his lucky stars, as the observatory was only fifteen minutes away from town. Professor Izana, although busy with his work, was surprisingly approachable and…quite eccentric.

He’s almost an exact clone of Orochi… Kaze remarked to himself.

As he told his story the good astronomer, Izana looked at him as if he were telling the juiciest gossip, and gasped at the end. He wholeheartedly agreed that Corrin should be treated to a night under the stars, and told Kaze he would clear everything up by next Saturday.

Kaze thanked him, but before he could leave, Izana asked him to go over whether he wanted a laser show or not.

At first, Kaze was confused as he entered the boutique. It was clearly made for women, and he had no idea which item Corrin solely focused on. What if he got her something she would think was ugly by accident? He was half tempted to call Kagero and ask her to go with him so she could give him her input, or to at least get Orochi’s number so he could talk with her about this.

The store’s owner, Oboro, herself eventually walked out to see what was wrong, and he explained his woes to the blue haired woman. She snickered, saying that men tended to be clueless about these sorts of things, but still offered her help. Oboro apparently recalled Corrin looking at a new black and white scarf, but told her that she couldn’t afford it yet.

Ah, now I see. This would match with her hair and favorite headband, Kaze thought.

Fortunately, Kaze actually had the money to purchase said scarf.

Corrin was the kind of girl who preferred sleeping in on the weekend, which made being a light sleeper sensitive to light and sound quite annoying. Such as the case when her phone buzzed on the nearby nightstand. She groaned and pulled her sheets over her head, further messing up her long, white hair, until she remembered:

OH, RIGHT! Today’s my birthday!

Birthday texts began flooding since last night at midnight, with the first sender being her mother of all people. With all the texts, though, Kaze had yet to message her. She was starting to get worried until she got a buzz.

you are free tonight yes?

Corrin squeaked. He was always so formal with her and she thought it was adorable.

yep~! ;3

Perfect. i’ll pick you up at 6. :-)

She had to remember that her cousin and roommate, Azura, was sleeping in the next room and to prevent screaming on the top of her lungs, she buried her head in her pillow and squealed. Corrin couldn’t really explain why she was as excitable as she was now. Normally, she felt more of a mature bond with her boyfriend of seven months, as she did her best to act her age around him, but today she felt like a high schooler all over again.

Azura had given Corrin an iTunes gift card for $50 along with a cute little card with an iguana on it before she had to head off for rehearsals. She received a Facetime chat with her “siblings” (family friend’s children) all the way in Nohr (in order: Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise) all wishing her a happy birthday before Xander had to leave for a business meeting. A few hours after breakfast and a quick shower, her stepsiblings of Hoshido (in order: Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura) had coerced her to eating lunch with them and spending most of the afternoon in the local square.

“We wanted to plan a surprise party, but our restaurant has another party planned tonight,” Corrin’s red-headed older sister Hinoka sighed.

“Yes, one of our shareholders Anna decided to have a family reunion,” the man with the long, spiky black hair named Ryoma added.

“Nothing wrong with that, I’m glad I can spend time with you at all!” Corrin smiled.

Ryoma gave Corrin a commissioned painting of flowers, saying that Kagero had quite an eye when she was serious about her artwork. Hinoka presented a model aircraft, which at first confused everyone until Corrin told them that the two of them bonded over flight shows. Takumi did his best to act like he didn’t care when he gave his older half-sister a copy of the fourth book in The Illusionary Mages saga, one of their favorite series. And Sakura timidly gave Corrin a little pink plush dragon.

After doing some window shopping, Corrin had returned home to relax and continue reading birthday messages as she snacked away on her hidden junk food stash. Azura was a complete health nut, so she had to make sure she wouldn’t get any crazy ideas.

…Speaking of crazy ideas…

babe are we going to a fancy restaurant tonight? Corrin typed.

After a few minutes, a response appeared.

oh no i’m sorry :-(

Whew, I can eat before we go, then.

dont worry i still love you <3 we can hang out after this?

i would like that very much :-)

Corrin laughed to herself, he started typing with emoticons not too long after the two started dating and even after all this time, he was still doing the basics. She couldn’t wait to see how he would react to emojis.

A knock on the door was soon to be heard, and after doing some last minute touch-ups, Corrin took a deep breath and opened the door.

“HEY!” She exclaimed, soon launching herself into her boyfriend’s arms. Fortunately, Kaze was grounded well enough to not fall backward in this surprise attack.

“Happy birthday, dear,” Kaze said after sharing a short kiss and pressing his forehead against hers. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yep, let me just lock the door behind me. So, what do you have planned for tonight, hm?”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Ooh, this is gonna be good.”

Corrin bounced a little, which Kaze found utterly adorable.

Kaze once again made note to thank his lucky stars, as his roommate Silas had agreed to let him borrow the car for this occasion. Silas was a pleasant guy in general, but he was serious about his car. One time, someone scratched it and it took all of Silas’ willpower not to yell at the one responsible.

“Saizo wanted me to tell you happy birthday as well, as he’s busy at the restaurant tonight,” Kaze said as he opened Corrin’s door for her.

“Ah, okay. For a second there I thought he disliked me,” Corrin joked. “After all, Kagero and Asugi actually sent me a video with him not there.”

“He’s never been one for celebrations, if I’m to be honest.”

Because it was her birthday, Kaze allowed Corrin to listen to her favorite station. However, he still preferred a quiet car so he could focus more and be able to speak clearly without talking over whatever music Corrin was listening to.

“We’re heading out of town?” Corrin asked. “Oh gosh, oh gosh.”

Kaze chuckled a bit.

“Don’t worry, dear, I’m not planning anything malicious.”

“Kaze, you’re too sweet to do anything malicious. I’m just getting excited is all.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Plus you have to remember I’ve been taking that self-defense class.”

“I remember, poor Jakob had his back out for nearly three days when you demonstrated your prowess to me.”

Kaze made sure to park a little distance away from the observatory, as he wanted to surprise Corrin as much as he could. He wanted to have her eyes closed until they approached it, but anyone could see the observatory nearly a mile away with how big it was.

“I haven’t seen this place before,” Corrin said. “Is it new?”

Whew, the surprise isn’t completely ruined.

“It is for you,” Kaze smiled, once again opening Corrin’s door for her and holding his hand out for her to hold onto.

They approached the normal-looking doorway and into a slightly dark hallway. Kaze made sure to help Corrin up a spiral staircase, and they soon approached Professor Izana standing in front of his desk and a telescope.

“Welcome, welcome! I’m Professor Izana, but please call me Izana!” He eagerly shook Corrin’s hand.

“Oh, hello. I’m Corrin,” she laughed awkwardly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Very lovely to meet you, as well. Your boyfriend here wanted to make tonight extra special, so you must be quite the special little lady.”

“Uh, thank you…”

Kaze cleared his throat.

“Oh, right! We’re in for a real treat tonight, so please, head back downstairs and follow the light filled hallway to find your seats.”

“He sure is spontaneous,” Corrin whispered.

“Indeed,” Kaze remarked quietly. “Still a nice fellow, though. I promise.”

The two found their seats, which Corrin remarked was like a movie theater, and the dome ceiling slowly opened itself up. Corrin gasped as the night sky revealed itself, a very nice shade of navy blue mixed with a few lighter shades, clear of any clouds, and thanks to the lack of city lights, the stars could actually be seen.

“There’s so many,” Corrin said under her breath.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Kaze grinned as he held onto Corrin’s hand.

“They’re incredible!”

Corrin gasped once more when she noticed a shooting star. The first shooting star of that night, as it were.

“A meteor shower?! I can’t believe that the sky decided to give me a meteor shower for my birthday!”

Kaze was stunned, he certainly hadn’t planned for that to happen. He looked over to the window above him and noticed Izana giving him a thumb’s up.

Is this a special effect, then? Kaze thought.

“Oh, Kaze, this is wonderful!” Corrin exclaimed, soon wrapping her arms around Kaze’s shoulders and kissing his cheek in rapid succession.

“Well, I actually had another gift that I found the other day…” Kaze said as he tried to reach for the gift. Corrin halted after he spoke, and he managed to give her a small pink box with a black ribbon tied on it.

Corrin once again gasped (this must be a new record) as the black and white scarf appeared.

“OH MY… HOW DID YOU KNOW!?” Corrin squeaked.

“Let’s just say I had a friend to help.” Kaze pressed a small kiss on Corrin’s cheek this time. “Happy birthday, my love.”

Corrin felt like her heart could burst right out of her chest with how sweet Kaze was being. She immediately stood out of her seat and sat right on Kaze’s lap to wrap her arms around his shoulders once more and kiss him this time on the lips. …And repeated that action for a few minutes or so.

“Well now I have to find a way to make your birthday as special as this one,” Corrin spoke as she attempted to catch her breath.

“Honestly, you don’t have to…” Kaze blushed.

“But babe, you’re always such a sweetheart to me! Can’t I be a sweetheart to you?”

She gave him a big pair of puppy dog eyes and an overdramatic quivering lip. Kaze couldn’t help himself from laughing softly.

“Alright, I’ll let you do that. But just to let you know, I’ve always thought you were a sweetheart.”

#pikes writes #fire emblem fates #kaze #corrin #mint chip ship #happy late birthdaaaaaaaaaay~!#kaze x corrin #writer-of-worlds

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