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miss-choco-chips · 2 years

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Bribery was, after all, the best way to achieve her goal

“Mmmh…” Wow, was he actually considering it, that easy? From his fast reply last time, she would have thought the sale would be harder than just blatant bribery, but hey, if it got the job done- “No, actually.”

This motherfucker.

Suddenly, there was another voice in her ear. It sounded kinda far away and muted, obviously not meant to be heard, but clear enough in her overpriced phone’s speaker.

“Oh, you’re on the phone. Sorry dude, just came to tell you I’m headed out to meet Miya at the park. You can meet us there when you’re done, if you want?”

Then, the little shit, Langa, full volume, not even caring a little bit that she was still on the phone with him: “No! Wait, I’m done here, it was just a salesperson, it doesn’t matter. Reki, wait for me!”

And then he hung up. On her. Again.

And he called her a salesperson?

Oh. Oh, it was personal now.

-.-.-.-.-

Or, an unstoppable force (a lady wanting to sponsor Langa to compete as a snowboarder for her company in Canada) meets an immovable object (Langa's pining ass 100% unwilling to leave the love of his life's side).

(I had this sitting on my wips for like six moths, until @marudny-robot said they were curious about this idea and kickstarted the muse)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Charlotte Reigny, Lottie for the friends, is so fucking ready for this. She’s been preparing herself for this call, and done her homework on the subject. Her company had, after all, put the folder on her desk two weeks prior, and it was a high priority case; mistakes were not an option. It could mean a juicy raise, to get this done right, or a disapproving eyebrow from her boss, should she fail.

More than that, she pried herself in being the best at recruiting hopeful young athletes. She could drop weird, forgotten facts about almost any sport on demand, was known to make pretty solid guesses on who was going to win a specific Olympic game at the drop of a hat, had the best memory for names and abilities on the market, and was very persuasive.

She had this one on the bag.

Humming to herself, grateful for the years spent studying japanese, she checked the clock again to make sure time zones wouldn't get in the way, and dialed. As she waited for someone to pick up, her fingers trailed over the picture at the top of the file she made on the kid. Young, trained since age two on the sport, often referred to as a genius, but had kept a low profile long enough to ensure she wouldn’t have to compete against other agents? This was the golden egg goose.

“Hello?”

The voice broke her from her money-filled daydreams. Making sure to put on her brightest smile (people could tell, sometimes, what expression you had on just by hearing your voice, and she wanted to give the best impression), she focused her laser-like attention on this call.

“Hi! Am I speaking with Hasegawa Langa?”

“Oh, uhm, no, sorry.”

That… couldn’t be right. She looked down at her file, just in case she made a mistake (unlikely, but could happen once per century; maybe this was it?) but no, she had marked the correct numbers.

“I have this as his contact information, though? Hasegawa’s cellphone?” she tried again, because her information was spot on, but maybe her japanese was a bit rusty and whoever it was didn’t understand?

“Oh! Sorry, no, I’m Langa’s housemate. We are very close, and we kinda co-own each other’s phones, so maybe that’s why it got confusing. Erm, who is this? The area code is…”

And… Okay, Lottie didn’t have much patience, she saved it all for the hopeful young athletes she had to convince to come work under her company’s name. She hated to deal with families and the like, always so happy to talk about their precious kid’s achievements for hours, or nosy friends who wanted every little detail that, frankly, didn’t concern them. So in any other case, she would just ask for Hasegawa’s true number and hang up, but…

She wasn’t the best for no reason. A lot of her success was from hard work and painstakingly sculpted abilities, but there was no denying how helpful good instincts were. And hers were screaming for her to be nice to this kid. If a 19 year old was happy enough to share phones with his friend so much that even she could get her information wrong on which one was his, then they were probably insanely close, and alienating this person could prove to be very counterproductive.

“Oh, where are my manners? My apologies, I’m Charlotte Reigny. I work for H-Y, a sportswear company here in Canada, with many franchises all over the world”, she explained, voice carefully friendly, hoping to get the niceties done with soon.

Then, the kid’s voice got unexpectedly higher. She started, almost jumping out of her couch.

“That sounds cool! It must be an interesting job!”

He sounded… honest? Like he really thought it was something to get excited about. Bright and hyped, kinda like a puppy.

She felt her smile softening at the edges, and quickly corrected herself. She would not get soft by one small piece of praise. She was a professional thirty year old woman, invested enough in this case to even work from home (the appropriate time to call to the other side of the world was, sadly, out of her payed-for hours, hence why she was doing this from the comfort of her living room, champagne bottle at the ready to celebrate another success), and she would not get distracted by plebeian things such as unexpected fondness.

“It can be, at times. I get to know many interesting athletes, as our company likes to hire and sponsor them, to make young stars shine their brightest”, ugh, that was so corny, please bite the hook…

“And you wanted to… talk to Langa. Do you guys want to… uhm, sponsor him?”

Finally seeing the conversation go where she needed it, her smile broadened.

“Yes! We’ve seen footage of his last competitions, before he moved to Japan, and we were amazed! You have a very talented friend, Mr…?”

“Ah, sorry, Kyan Reki… And yeah, Langa is the best, isn’t he?”

The voice was both incredibly tender and unbelievably excited at the same time, which. Huh. Usually, people tended to get a little bitter and jealous, when she spoke about their friends being so good. Honest happiness about their abilities being recognized wasn’t the norm.

What do you know, she’d stumbled upon a good person.

Hastily, she wrote down the name. It would do her good to remember it, just in case.

“I don’t know about the best, but my company wants to make him so. If I could speak to him…?”

“Shit, sorry! I totally babbled at you, and you’re probably busy with work!” Well, she wasn’t, but if he didn’t know about time differences or wasn’t connecting the dots, it wasn’t her job to explain it to him, especially if it got him hurrying to pass the phone to her objective. “Yeah, give me a sec, he’s in the room. Langa! Hey, Langa! Phone for you!”

Muffled voice, as if Mr Kyan had covered the receiver, and then came the voice she had been waiting to hear all along.

“Uh, hi…? This is Hasegawa Langa...”

Knowing from her extensive search that the kid was Canada born and raised, she gratefully switched from japanese to english. She’d have to brush it, probably, since she was going to be working with him in the future and bilingual people would often switch back and forth when they couldn’t remember a specific word or turn of phrase, but this would do for now.

“Hello! My name is Charlotte Reigny, from H-Y’s sportswear. And let me tell you, Langa, we are very impressed over here about your past performances. Did you keep up with your training at all, these last few years?”

“Eh… Not exactly on snow, but I do train, and I have a kinda similar hobby…”

“Perfect!” That was better than expected; she was fully ready to dump him into a Personal Trainer’s hands to have him back in full shape, and was dreading the months it’d take. But if his words were true, it wouldn’t be that long. A fucking treasure, indeed. “So, Langa…”

“Ah!” came the unexpected gasp from the other side, like a little ‘eureka’. “I know H-Y! It’s a Canadian line, right? You’re from one of those companies that try to sponsor me, aren’t you?”

The mention of ‘companies’, plural (meaning competition), made her stop dead in her tracks, hand frozen where it was raised in a pre-emptive toast with her celebratory champagne. That was HER golden egg goose!

But it was nothing compared to what came next.

“I’m not interested. Thank you, though”, he paused, and then switched to japanese, conversation seemingly forgotten already, and asked: “Reki, is dinner ready-?”

She could hear a muted voice on the other side of the line, just before the dial tone.

What.

-.-.-.-.-.

“Hey, Lottie, good morning!”

“What’s up with the long face?”

She brushed past her coworkers, barely acknowledging their greetings with a quick nod, as she strode her way through the morning crowd towards the elevator, her boss’s office her final destination.

For the first time in her career, she’d need to ask for an extension in her deadline on this case. What would, to other people, be a normal occurrence, to her it was tantamount to getting a last notice before being fired. But she wasn’t giving up yet, not by any means. The easy dismissal, the clear indifference in the boy’s answer had been colder than Mount Logan on the harshest winter nights; but she did work for a winter sportswear company, after all.

This golden egg was perhaps a bit harder to crack than she had been expecting, but hey, better quality often meant that.

-.-.-.-.-.-

The next time she called, two days of preparation later, she was actually expecting Langa’s friend (Reki, she reminded herself after a quick look at her notes) to answer. It would be a good opportunity to hype the kid up, make him pester his friend about what a great chance this was, what a fool he’d be for rejecting the offer twice. Maybe it was a bit mean, to be half expecting someone else to do the heavy lifting for her, but. Well.

In her ex’s words, she was a right bitch. And he wasn’t wrong; she could be a bitch, and she tended to be right most of the time. So.

“Hi! Is this Reki?” she chirped happily as soon as the call connected, recently- brushed-up Japanese slipping almost effortlessly out of her tongue.

“No, I’m Langa. Who’s this, again?”

Oh. Okay then. She just didn't have any luck when trying to contact either of these boys, did she? Couldn’t they own a single phone each, like any normal middle class young adults?

“Langa! How are you doing? It’s Charlotte, I called the other day.”

“...”

“...from H-Y?”

“Oh, the sponsor lady. Why do you want to talk with Reki?”

The last word was the most emotion packed one she’d heard from the boy, in all their admittedly short exchanges. And it was his buddy’s name.

She carefully underlined the boy’s mention in her file, the way she would with a very close relative or a significant other. This kid was obviously above peon category, maybe a knight? A rock? Chess wasn’t really her thing, but that seemed about right.

“I just thought this was his phone, since last time I called he answered first. But actually, I wanted to speak with you again, if you have the time”, she said, like a lying liar who lies. Somehow, admitting to wanting to use Reki as a means to her ends seemed like a bad idea, and she did want to speak with her prey/ her company’s prospective future hire again.

“Ah. I’m still not interested.”

“May I ask why? I didn’t even tell you about the benefits we’re offering! How does vast sums of money sound to you? Interested yet?” she tried to joke, pencil clenched so tight in her hand it was probably about to snap in half.

This motherfucker.

Suddenly, there was another voice in her ear. It sounded kinda far away and muted, obviously not meant to be heard, but clear enough in her overpriced phone’s speaker.

“Oh, you’re on the phone. Sorry dude, just came to tell you I’m headed out to meet Miya at the park. You can meet us there when you’re done, if you want?”

And then he hung up. On her. Again.

And he called her a salesperson?

Oh. Oh, it was personal now.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Click. “Hi! This is Charlotte!”

“...Who?”

“We… spoke the other day. I’m from H-Y.”

“...”

“...About the sponsorship in Canada?”

“Ohh, it's you… No, thank you.” Click.

…. Okay then.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Click. “Hey, good afternoon, Mr Langa! It’s me, Charlotte from H-Y again! Is this a good time?”

“No. Good-bye.” Click.

…Fucking- Fuck.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Click. “Hello?”

“Hi! You are a tough nut to crack kid! Worry not though, my boss approved my petition to raise our offer to you, and trust me, you can’t reject this! Imagine adding a few zeroes to the number I told you about last time, and-”

“Oh, it's you. Bye.” Click.

That little…

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Click. “Hello! PLEASE don’t hang up.”

“... Hi? Reki Kyan speaking..”

“...oh. Good afternoon, Mr Kyan. I don’t think you’d remember me, but I’m from the H-Y company…”

“Just Reki is fine, Mrs. I remember you, don’t worry. What can I do for you? Do you want to speak with Langa?”

No. No, she didn’t want to.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, have a nice day! Langa, phone for you!”

The sound of phone changing hands, Reki’s whisper as he told his roommate who was on the line, then-

“Still not interested. Bye.” Click.

THE FUCKING-

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The number you’ve tried to reach is unavailable.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The number you’ve tried to reach is unavailable.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The number you’ve tried to reach is unavailable.

Has… Has Langa blocked her?

No… surely no.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The number you’ve tried to reach is unavailable.

THAT LITTLE SON OF A FUCK. DEVIL-DAMNED BRAT!

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Lottie liked to think there were some lines not even she would cross, to get what she wanted. They weren’t, like, many of those, or very well defined, but they existed.

Thankfully, contacting family members of prospective new hires wasn’t a no-no on her books. Admittedly, it was a bit of a bitch move, but, as said before, she was a right one, and Langa had pissed her off.

“I just don’t understand…” Nanako trailed off, the sounds of something cooking in the background reminding Charlotte of her cooling dinner. She hastily took a bite of her omelette, hating the unprofessionalism of eating while on call, but needing to keep up the energy for this particular case.

“Hmm?” she asked, thankfully not sounding like her cheeks were stuffed with egg and cheese.

“Why call me? Langa is legally an adult. If, like you said, he refused, then I don’t know what else I can do for you. He makes his own choices.”

Well. Some kids tended to be weak to the Disappointed Mom stare, a fact she was heavily banking on. If only she could get Mrs Hasegawa on her side and on board with her kid making a killing as a professional snowboarder, then all would be good. She’d guilt her kid into fucking accepting Charlotte’s calls again, at the very least.

(She had the sneaking suspicion that he had blocked her from his -Reki’s?- phone, but no concrete proof.

That little brat.)

“I’m just afraid he’s not giving this opportunity proper consideration, and I’d hate for such an amazing talent to be lost so soon when he could still shine on the slopes for a long time, if he considered it.”

On her side of the line, Nanako hummed. Lottie briefly considered mentioning her late husband’s brief career as a snowboarder to hopefully elicit some memories that would help her case but… yeah, that WAS one of her lines. She wasn’t above using a mother’s expectations against her child, but reminding a widow of her lost love… nope. She’d actually feel bad for that one.

Frankly, she was appalled about that brief consideration she gave to the idea... Was exposure to Langa turning her into an even worse person? Did she need therapy? She probably needs therapy.

Or alternatively she’ll try to contact the bastard child again. If luck’s on her side, she’ll end up speaking with his happy go lucky friend, Reki. Last time, she almost felt like a decent person, and that was after like five minutes of conversation. Double that time and she’d probably cleanse her soul of any mortal sin.

“I can mention it in our weekly meetup, but you’ll have better luck if you get Reki to talk about it to him. Those boys are joined by the hip, it’s not like Langa can ran away from that conversation.”

“I would, but” she couldn’t exactly tell the woman that her son had blocked her on his (Reki’s?) phone, “I just have, uhm, Reki’s phone, that apparently Langa uses? It’s very confusing, I don’t know how to safely contact one or the other.”

Nanako laughed a little. “Oh, yeah, the phone thing can be a bit annoying at times. Here, let me give you both numbers, so you can check the one you already have and differentiate it from the other.”

Lottie would have swooned. Nanako didn’t deserve such an evil son.

“Thank you, I’d really appreciate it!”

After listing the numbers, the older woman stopped for a bit, brow furrowing.

“It’s a little weird, now that I think about it. I know Langa struggles with work and school. One would think he’d appreciate the opportunity to earn a bit more doing something that comes so naturally to him… Is the commune too far? You said H-Y, right? I didn’t know you guys had a branch office in Japan. The mountains are pretty far from here, maybe he dreads the travels back and forth?”

“Ah, we do have one, up north, but the boss actually wants Langa here, at the main office, in Canada. All moving costs would be covered, of course, so I don’t know why/”

“Canada, you said?” asked Nanako abruptly, sudden understanding in her voice. “Oh dear, no wonder. Yes, I’m sorry Miss Charlotte, but I don’t think you’ll get this one.”

“Is there… a problem with Canada? As far as I know, you two used to live here, right? Happy memories and all?”

“Yes, but you see, Langa found his happiness in Okinawa, and I don’t think he’s ever letting go of it. You can offer him all the money in the world, and I doubt it’d matter. What’s money to someone who thinks they already have it all?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“So I just make the fries now?”

“Yeah, let the chicken broth simmer with the butter thingie while you do that.”

“Oh, I see… when do I add the cheese, though?”

“Not for a while. Just focus on those fries, and leave your phone where it is on the counter, so I can keep an eye on the broth for you.”

Spending her Friday night giving a college student a cooking class wasn’t on her plans, to be honest. But somehow, after calling Reki and finding him utterly distressed, she couldn’t help but ask what was wrong. Apparently, today was a special date for him and Langa (Olley Anniversary? What the hell was that?), and Reki had been determined to cook the bastard child’s favorite food. But he knew jack shit about Canadian dishes, Mrs Hasegawa was at work and the internet guides he found were either in English or so badly translated that they might as well be for him. Lottie had called during Reki’s second attempt at replicating a youtube video, and while she tried to subtly ask about Langa’s weaknesses (happiness, Nanako had said in truth, but she called it as she saw it), the background sound of distraught teenager failing despite his better efforts finally got to her and she put the interrogation on hold to offer her assistance.

“Thank you so much, Miss. I would have never managed to cook this, let alone finish it in time for Langa to get back home.”

“What is he even doing outside at- “ some quick mental math; if it was friday, 11 pm at Canada, then for them… “- half past one in the afternoon?”

“Picking up a gift for me, I’m sure. All the more reason to make this as perfect as possible; he’s not a very good gift-giver, but he tries really hard, and I wanted to surprise him… You know, make him as happy as he makes me.”

The catch word, ‘happy’, reminded her that, oh yeah, she was supposed to be gathering information. Still, it was late, she was off the clock, and the ungrateful brat was not on the phone or near it for her to manipulate, so she could put off the interrogation for a bit longer.

“How do you know he’s doing that?”

“He said he was meeting with some friends, but I just spoke with Miya, and he was at home. I know for a fact Joe and Cherry are on a trip together, and Shadow should still be at work. Langa doesn’t have other friends. At least none that he would choose to hang out on a Saturday unprompted. And I caught him checking some skate stores online the other day, so he probably ordered something for me and went to pick it up.”

So, Brat was a bit of a loner, good to know. And apparently, subtle as a brick.

“Couldn’t he be buying stuff for himself?”

“In a skate shop? Not at all. Everything he owns, skate related, I custom made for him, and he has said on multiple, separate occasions that he’d rather chew off his own arm than use a store-bought board instead of mine.”

That was… surprisingly wholesome, for a hellspawn. Still, she was officially on her Langa breaktime, so she focused on the other bit of the spiel that caught her attention.

“Custom made boards? You do that?”

“Oh, yeah! I sell them around here; wouldn’t say I’m famous, but I make good money. I also made a snowboard once, for one of Langa’s old buddies. He called Langa some months ago, desperate for the number of the man who sold him his old board. Something about sportsmen superstition, dude only used the ones that older champions would consider useful. But Langa had long lost that contact, so he panicked and gave him my number. It was… an experience, making a new kind of board, but he apparently won the competition where he used it, so it’s all good. And he paid me BIG time, so I’m not complaining. Shipping it there was a bitch, though.”

“That sounds cool. Who was it? If he won a competition, I would probably know him.”

Hmm… Actually… Someone winning a competition with a custom made board? From Japan? Where had she heard a story like that before…?

“I can’t remember his name, but I posted a clip of his after-win interview where he spoke about my board on my insta page. I could text you that, if you want? Ah-! Fuck, the broth!”

“Oh, yeah, time to turn that off. How are those potatoes coming along?”

Reki, who had been just off screen, appeared again, holding a bowl with at least three big potatoes chopped in multiple uneven slices. Even if she had already seen him, back when he first begged her to face time so she could see if he was messing up and correct him, it still caught her a bit off guard. The boy was, just as she had predicted, sunshine incarnate; bright red hair, shiny golden eyes, slightly tanned skin. He dressed as a punk and smiled like the sweetest cinnamon bun. If she ever had kids, she’d like them to be just like Reki. Langa absolutely did not deserve such an angel for a best friend.

(Was she taking her dislike for the kid to the extreme? Maybe. Did he deserve it? Absolutely. Only her mother got to hang up on her, and only when she was being a bitch)

“Are these okay?”

From what she could see, some were a little too thick to properly cook, and some so thin they’d burn fast, but the majority looked okay enough. And the gesture was sweet enough that minor details like those would go unmentioned, at the very least.

Also, Langa didn’t deserve perfect poutine.

“Yes, they look good. Careful when you fry them. When is the b- Langa coming back home?”

“Ten minutes, probably. I told him lunch was gonna be ready by two pm, and he never misses it. He’s always hungry, I don’t know how his mom fed him, I’m struggling and I don’t work full time as a nurse.”

Was this bashing Langa time? She was so down.

“... but then again, he’s such a help with chores, it’s not like he doesn’t pull his weight. He’s also a really good listener, and lets me choose the movie every time, because he knows I get scared easily. Oh, and the other day, there was this spider, and he was so brave-”

Aw. Damn, she’d gotten excited.

Still, it was late, she was enjoying the last of her wine and Reki’s voice was very nice when he spoke about Langa, all soft and tender. Damn, he was so whipped.

…wait.

“Hey, Reki?” she cut off what would have, undoubtedly, been a very long ‘Love Langa’ speech “A bit of a weird question, but is Langa like… seeing anyone?”

The boy turned to where he’d left his phone, propped against some kitchen appliance facing him while he fried the potatoes. He blinked at her, confused.

“I think your Japanese got a little jumbled there. I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

Fuck. It was too late to think of the proper term. Whatever.

“Like, does he have a… favorite person? That he hangs up with, before anyone else? Someone he’s… sweet on” -fuck, she could feel herself mixing up the words. She did her best to remember what Nanako had told her, because really, what she said and what Reki had made her think of could very well be the same thing- “That makes him the happiest?”

“Oh… probably me, I guess”, he answered, eyes going back to the cooking food, ears turning adorably pink at the tips. “I mean, if you’re talking about joy… When he’s sleepy or relaxed, like when I’m combing his hair or when he’s lying on my lap… he tends to say I brought that back into his life…”

Ho. Ly. Fuck.

No. God, no, please don’t let it be Reki. She had gotten attached to the brat already, and she never got attached to anyone, let alone in under 30 minutes of conversation. LAnga absolutely did not deserve this one.

“...I’m so glad I could be a friend for him when he needed it the most.”

Wait. Pump the brakes.

“Friend? Not, like…” the word, what the fuck wasthe word. “Dating?”

Reki’s face, slightly pink from the heat of the stove, turned bright red in two seconds flat. What an ability.

“W- What?” he whipped his face to look at the phone, and then immediately turned back to the food as soon as he made eye contact. “No! We- We are just friends.”

Friends who lived together, were so deeply into each other’s pockets that they co-owned their phones, shared hobbies and had special, unique dates they celebrated together. Reki was fucking cooking him a foreign dish just to make him happy, for god’s sake, how much sappier could you get?

She had stumbled upon two idiots dancing around each other, hadn’t she. And, thinking back on Nanako’s words and what Reki had just told her, it suddenly became clear that Langa was rejecting what could be a chance of a lifetime to get a marvelously paid sponsorship, because he was hopelessly in love with his best friend and refusing to move away from him.

She didn’t even need to ask Langa to know, she was sure the brat was in love with Reki. How could he not? The kid was adorable, clearly smart and very considerate. She couldn’t think of a single of her exes who had even one of those qualities, let alone all three. Clearly out of Langa’s league, but hey, assholes often had that kind of luck in relationships. This was like her best friend and her ex all over again; sweethearts and fuckers togheter were God’s favorite prank on humanity, apparently.

“...I have to go, Reki. I need to sleep and wake up bright and early for some plotting.”

“Plotting like… a garden?”

“Oh, yeah. Totally. And just add the cheese and the sauce over the hot potatoes and you’re good. Good luck on your anniversary! Don’t tell Langa I called!”

“Oh, okay. Have a nice night, Miss! Will you call again to speak with Langa?”

“Actually… I’d like to talk to you about something to do with your boards first. But I’ll wait until after your date for it. Tomorrow?”

“Sure! It’s not a date though…”

“Whatever, kid. Goodnight!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As promised, she called Reki the following day. It was a nice, fruitful conversation, and though Reki hadn’t promised her anything, she knew by the wonder in his voice that he’d talk it out with someone to hype himself up before agreeing.

So now, all she had to do was wait. Thankful it was the weekend, so she could laze around in her house, donning her favorite, Rich-Widow bathrobe, occasionally gazing at her phone on the coffee table.

When it finally rang, she looked at the number, to make sure it was the one that had her blocked until then. And after confirming, she cheerfully let it go to voicemail, because she wasn’t above pettiness.

The second time, though, she accepted the facetime request. This was still her job, after all.

“Hello?”

“Why are you trying to hire Reki?”

It was the first time she ever saw Langa, outside from the pictures she had managed to gather, from years before. It grated her nerves to admit it, but the bastard child was actually cute in those, and the years had been even nicer on him. Beautiful, in a prince-like sort of way; Light blue hair, ice-like eyes, skin fairer than Snowhite’s. And a delightful frown creasing such a perfectly symmetrical face. Ahhh, sweet revenge.

“Sorry, who is this?” She couldn’t resist. It was just too perfect.

“Miss. You know who I am. You've been trying to recruit me for weeks. Why are you after Reki now?.”

The smile on her face was nothing short of malicious.

“Oh, so he told you about my offer.”

“Reki is awesome, but H-Y uses Thriner’s boards for your athletes. Not custom made!”

“Well, some of our boys have been asking around for a change in that respect. After a certain someone got a custom made board from a ‘mysterious japanese manufacturer’, word got around, and my boss had been looking for him. Athletes and their superstitions, you know how it is. We want our boys to do their best, and that can only happen with equipment that's both top quality and makes them happy.”

“Reki makes mine, though. And he makes skateboards. The snowboard was a one-off.”

“Well, his ‘one off’ helped a kid in the rival company destroy one of our top champions, and got everyone all jittery for a Kyan Original. Also, you gotta learn how to share Langa, especially since Reki is going to be making them for all. My. Boys.”

Did she have to stress those words there and directly attack Langa like that?

Yes. Watching his face crumble with jealousy and rage was SO worth it.

To be fair, it WAS true that her boss was happy to hire Reki, if only to put their most superstitious athletes to rest. But even if he hadn’t, she would have paid for the kid’s salary herself if it got that kind of reaction out of Langa.

…She was getting way too much enjoyement over torturing a kid many years her junior, huh. Well. She never claimed to be a good person.

“He could reject your offer, though.”

It sounded a lot like ‘I’ll convince him to do so’, but Lottie wasn’t the best for nothing.

“Our offer was not limited to a juicy salary doing what he likes, we’d also help him enroll in a very prestigious Engineering college here. The one he’s at right now isn’t very good, as I’m sure you know. You wouldn’t want to get in the way of him following his dreams, would you?”

Langa’s face soured even more. Lottie wanted to cheer, but she made herself soften her voice. You grab more flies with honey than vinegar, after all, and she had one last ace under her sleeve.

“Listen. I know how you feel about Reki.”

“I… don’t know what you mean”, but the blush was oh so telling. So Reki was the oblivious one, while Langa silently pined. She was quite happy with this, to be honest. Let the brat suffer while her angel boy thrived in ignorance.

“Please, you are not subtle. Neither is he, by the way, although I’m sure he has yet to realize about his true feelings.”

“...you know that, and you still want to take him away.”

Langa’s voice was so low, almost broken. She actually felt for him, for a second forgetting what an annoying brat he was. He sounded absolutely heartbroken at the idea of losing Reki, she realized. Nanako wasn’t joking when he called him her son’s happiness.

“You know, my company’s offer is still here. You could continue your studies here, let us get you back to full shape, snowboard and model our menswear for easy money. Live with Reki while he chases his dreams, together with you… And that’s not even the best part. I have one last thing to tell you, and if that doesn’t sell you to the idea, I’ll leave you alone for good, no more calls, no more seducing Reki to the dark side.”

Charlotte laid back on her couch, smiling devilishly at the suspicious kid, waiting for him to bite.

“...What is it?”

“Gay marriage is legal in Canada.”

“...!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A month or so later, she took her first day off in three years, to the surprise of everyone who knew of her workaholic ways. And instead of spending it in the spa, meeting with friends or relaxing at home, she went to pick up two jetlagged boys from the airport, to drive them to their newly rented apartment, halfway between H-Y’s central and the campus both boys would be attending soon.

Hugging Reki, perfect sunshine boy, was worth ruining her spotless attendance record. Langa’s quiet setting in the background, both stubbornly mad that she got her way and a little grateful for giving him the push he needed to finally ask Reki out, was just a bonus.

She was damn good at her job.

#kyan reki #hasegawa langa #renga #renga fic #my writinf #I finished this at like 3 am and it has no editing whatsoever. I'm not sorry #comedy #romance #a poor lady just wants do do her damn job and an annoying brat refuses to let her #happy ending though #love (and capitalism) wins

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lottiesfics · 5 years

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Sandcastles (chap 8/dd) {Lemonade Series}

Prompt: Each song from Lemonade tells a story in one way or another, the story of love being tortured and ruined to finding a conclusion that will work. You and David had been together for years, 3 years of marriage and one child. Although, David and You have been through some hard times. Rumors of infidelity had begun to spring about, leading to a one night binge of you re-thinking your love for him. Word Count: 1,302

Chapter 8- Sandcastles (this is my favorite song from Lemonade, I did a cover of it on SoundCloud so if you would give that a listen that would be amazing, thanks guys xoxo-Lottie) --> https://soundcloud.com/charlotte-maher-836007383/sandcastles-beyonce-cover

"Did you cheat on me?" The question echoed in my mind as the words fell from my lips. David looked around, pulling his hair and said, "It was one night," That's all I needed to hear. I ran into our room and started putting together clothes for me in a bag. "(Y/N), I didn't mean it! She kissed me and I didn't pull back in enough time! I-Please don't leave me, please." David said he was begging. Begging for forgiveness. I gave him all I could, the forgiveness would never reach my soul again. "David, you lied to me. You put everything out there for the world to see, you-you." I just sobbed. I broke down, I was defeated. The house was a wreck, as this marriage. Our life was symbolic of the features around us. David put his head down, coming over to me. He lifted my body off the floor and onto my bed. "(Y/N), copy me, okay?" I shook my head no, the breathe flying out of my chest. "Don't fight me now, come on, please. Look at me." His voice cracked. "I-I" I tried, I attempted to tell him how disappointed I was. The tabloids were right, our friends knew, everyone knew. I was a joke. This marriage was a joke. "We can fix this," He said. "Can we?" I asked him, looking up at him. "Can we really?" For the first time, I felt it was inevitable. We couldn't fix the damage because the damage was too great. It's like we were the San Andreas fault and it just ruptured. My world was upside down. "Remeber when you were young, and you had that toy, what was it?" He said trying to think. I knew what it was, Dolly the Duck. "Dolly! Your duck!" He said. I laughed, "What about it David?" I said. "You loved it so much, you would sleep with it every night and one night, you squeezed it too hard and her head popped off." He said, remembering me telling him that story when we talked about childhood memories when I was pregnant with Kaela. "Yeah? Look, what does this have to do with us-" "Let me finish! You split it, but, you sewed the head back on. You fixed all of Dolly's problems," He said. I nodded. "Think of us as Dolly, help me fix this." He said. "Listen, I know I've made you cry. I know I've walked away from you. I understand I said I wouldn't stay but I realized something," He said, looking at me. "What Dave?" I asked. "I love you. I love you more than life itself, more than the sun. But there's someone I love just as equally." He said. I frowned, "What? Who?" I asked. "Kaela. It's Kaela. You guys are my girls. I don't wanna leave you. I don't want you to leave me. I want to raise her with you, be a better Father, be a better husband," He said. "David, I realized so much tonight about us. Too much. I found a bra that wasn't mine, a crumpled marriage certificate, OUR marriage certificate." I stated. I got up from my spot on the bed and walked into the wreckage of our house. I began to clean up what I could. I went for the kitchen first with all the smashed plates. "What happened?" David asked. "I did. David, I was thinking about my intuition tonight. The love I had for you right away, it shifted into denial slowly, thinking you would never cheat on me because I would never cheat on you. Soon anger came and with that came to damage." I said simply. I recounted what happened after my first few sips of Rosé. Speaking of, I saw the bottle on the counter and took the last few sips. The bottle was empty, the clock reaches 4:45 am. David started picking up fragments of my night alone. "Is this us?" He asked. His hands shaky, and bloody as he pulled the picture out of the scratched and broken frame. "The first night we met," I said. "You saved my ass that night and the vlog." He laughed, recounting the night. "You helped me realize I was more than a stripper." I giggled. For the first time that night, I looked at him and saw the same boy I saw that night. "Dave, I wanna fix this. Why did you do it?" I asked. "(Y/N), I wasn't thinking straight. I wasn't thinking about all the good you've done for me, for Kaela. I was lost and caught up in the grey goose and that's a pitiful excuse. I will be committed, I will be here for you. I will never again be unworthy to you, dishonest, cheat! Whatever you wanna call it, you are my one and only." He said, pulling me closer. "What is it about you?" I said, thinking out loud. "Huh?" "What is it about you that I can't erase? Even if I wanted to, I could never let you go." I said. He pulled me in for a hug and didn't let go. The rubble of plates, a divorce note, a marriage certificate, Summer's bra, and the picture all laid out before us. "We can't do this on our own." I said. "I know." He said. "But forgiveness is the first step." I said. "My heart is broken David," I continued on. "My heart wants for you to be happy," He said. "Are you hurt?" I asked him. He always came before me. No matter what, I cared about him more than life itself. "Hurt? That's not even the word to describe it. I'm disgusted in myself, in how I treated you. I don't deserve you, Kaela or your forgiveness. Why are you being so good to me right now? I promised you that I wouldn't be here tonight, I told you I was going to Zane's house and you still, you still forgave me. I cheated on you and you want to forgive me. Why?" He said, crying in my arms. "Every promise don't work out that way. Things change, ideas change, people do change Dave. You realize too late what you had done. You owned up to it, you wanna fix this as much as I do. You showed me your scars, you showed me you still loved me. It's time to rebuild the sandcastle that was taken down by waves. I'm here with you till the end baby, I promise you that." I said. David kissed me and said, "I'm here with you until the end." There we were. Standing in our kitchen crying and holding each other at 5am. Oddly, as I felt that he and I were so far apart, we felt connected. I felt final that I was his and he was mine. And although we had more phases to go through, phase 1 was forgiveness.

#david dobrik #david dobrik imagines #david dobrik imagine #vlog squad #vlog squad imagines #vlogsquad #vlog squad imagine #vlogsquad imagine #vlogsquad imagines #david dobrik smut #david dobrik fluff #jeff wittek #zane hijazi #lemonade series

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crownshrine · 5 years

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ugh im so bored… im gonna write down my hopes for animal crossing switch… or more like my personal pitch for an ac game. under a read-more bcs its gonna get long, but pls give it a read if u like animal crossing and tell me ur thoughts

TL;DR: the game will be called Animal Crossing Viva Resort and will be centered on making your town into a tourist destination, the campground will return and be expanded, u will be able to visit shopkeepers in their homes after hours, a cooking element will be implemented, and there will be multiple arcade minigames

- first of all with the welcome amiibo update and pocket camp, i expect rvs and the campground to return. also you will have your own rv which will serve both as a means of transportation to friends towns and a smaller customizable house you bring with you. harvey still runs the campground and ok motors will also be available for the same functions as acpc

- the game starts with you driving your rv when u meet a hitchhiker: rover. he jumps in and starts asking the usual questions…

- eventually you reach your destination where u are met by none other than mayor isabelle! thats right i think isabelle should be the mayor this time instead of you… however you still have the same powers (mostly) as in new leaf bcs, after some shenanigans, isabelle hires you as the new head of the tourism board! or something like that. your goal? transforming your small town into a bustling touristic destination, hence the title of this new installment: Animal Crossing: Viva Resort / Resort Destination… whichever one sounds best

- keeping up with the tourism theme of the game, many villagers will come camp in the campground, and the more you develop your town, the more campers will visit and the more often they will come. you will even get to act as a guide of sorts to these visitors, giving them a tour of the town or showing them where a facility is… some of them might even decide to settle in if you meet certain criteria, although they might ask you to build a specific amenity beforehand. you will also get a score depending on how much the campers liked their stay, kind of like with the hha but based on the whole town, and youll win items or get access to new pwp depending on how many points you have. there will also be an online leader board based on these scores as well as player ratings of towns they visit

- special characters who show up occasionally, like saharah, redd or even pavé will also come in their own rvs which youll be able to visit late in the day

- main street (or its replacement) will only contain nook’s homes, nooklings, able sisters, the post office, the museum and eventually kicks. you will also be able to visit after hours the able sisters as well as tom nook and timmy and tommy in their own homes, just like for villagers. other special characters like isabelle and digby, pelly and phyllis, and lyle and lottie will live in a housing complex run by a new character: the goose landlady Beatrice.

- a few days after ur settled in town, youll be able to use a trolley (driven by the monkey porter) to go to a new location a few ways from your town. this new location is a rundown mall overseen by the unlucky crow Fortunato… after talking with him youll agree to a partnership where u will help renovate the mall which will in turn help raise your nearby towns popularity… as you progress many new shops will open up in the mall, including shampoodle, gracie grace, the dream suite, the fortune shop, and some more relating to new game features that ill present afterwards… you’ll also be able to customize ur mall to ur taste and install several additions like a fountain (where serena may occasionally appear)

- one of these new features will be cooking: there will be multiple recipes you can collect and cook thru cooking mama-like minigames by using an oven or similar furniture as well as ingredients including fruits, fish, seafood, mushrooms as well as flour eggs sugar vegetables etc…. youll be able to grow your own veggies in a community garden run by Leif, who will also have a shack where he sells seeds and gardening necessities… what produce you can grow will depend on the season, although you may be able to develop ur garden into a greenhouse where u can grow anything regardless of the season… for the remaining ingredients, you will be able to buy them from a grocery store run by Jeanne, joans daughter, who will also sell out of season fish for a high price so you can cook them whenever u want (provided u have already donated said fish to the museum)… youll obtain new recipes either from your villagers, or by buying meals at Franklins new restaurant ( yes franklin will be a permanent shopkeeper bcs i hate thanksgiving) or coffee/desserts at the roost… once they’ve been cooked your meals can be exposed as furniture like in the previous games, or they can be given to your villagers as gifts… occasionally they will organise parties and youll be asked to prepare something and bring it with you

- another collectible will be books: several small illustrated stories and mini encyclopedias will be available to collect… villagers will occasionally ask you questions about books theyve read and if u know the answer theyll give u a prize… books can be stored in shelf furniture and u will be able to buy them from a bookstore run by a bookish guinea pig named Ronald

- a new tool thatll be available is the phone, which will serve a similar purpose to the megaphone, as well as allow you to text friends, keep a calendar and create alarms, and take zoomed in pictures (that are not screenshots) the phone will be given to you in your first week in town by a tech-savvy hummingbird named Pixel, who will later open an electronics store in the mall where shell upgrade ur phone, sell various electronics like fridges and tvs, and which contains a photography studio where u can take special pics with ur friends… ur phone will also be connected to the nintendo switch online phone app, which will allow u to stay updated on the goings-on at your town even when ur not playing… like telling you if a villager is planning to move out so you can change their mind b4 its too late (cookie… ill never forget you…)

- another store is the arcade, run by a cheerful red panda named Mateo where u can play multiple arcade minigames, as well as games such as darts bowling pool etc., either on ur own or with friends, and then win prizes depending on ur score.. youll also be able to play these games at ur home if u install an arcade machine or furniture like a pool table, although u wont be able to win prizes even if u get a high score

- in addition to these games youll sometimes have the chance to play outdoor games and sports with your villagers (like hide-and-seek in acnl)… also a few times a year there will be a sports day where a cheetah athlete named Ronnie visits ur town and organizes many games u can compete in with villagers or friends

- also you can organize several events either in your town or at a venue in the mall, like a fashion show, a comedy show, a kk slider concert, a book fair etc

- finally there will be two new villager personalities: prankster villagers who love jokes and playing pranks, and country villagers who are country bumpkins who love gardening and the outdoors… new species will be bats, geckos, armadillos and snakes

- oh yeah and while i haven't decided on an exact number of villagers, i think 16 is the highest number possible

#animal crossing switch #wow i wrote so much #ok to reblog

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tothelasthoursofmylife · 5 years

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Birthday, some Notes and Trivia!

As of today, Watchdog of the Queen is three years old. Three. Years. I have never written a fanfic for such a long time without dropping it before. The longest I’ve lasted before was a year and a half. Seriously, what am I still doing here?

I cannot believe that I’m still here - and that you are still here as well!

I’m an incredibly anxious person, and when I uploaded the first chapter three years ago, I was absolutely certain that nobody would read something with one and a half (?) canon characters in it (and another historical public domain character; excluding Vincent, Francis, and Tanaka who only appear in side stories). Because I’ve tried that before a few times, and it never worked out.

Now, years later, people are still reading it; I am still writing it. And some of the ones who read/follow this story are even people I am a fan of. Like, how did this even happen?

Thank you for not giving up on this, for still reading this silly fanfiction despite its terrible upload schedule, its incredibly slow progress, and, at best, mediocre writing. Thank you for all the reviews and comments, favourites and follows, likes and nice words you have left me over the years. Thank you for making this work out. Let’s see how long it will.^^

Anyway, I guess/hope, the intermission/bridge chapter will be up sometime in the next few days, but, for now, I thought it would be nice to share some random “fun” notes and trivia. If anyone’s even interested...

Story

Watchdog of the Queen is not only a Kuroshitsuji fanfiction. It’s also some sort of recycled version of an original story I’ve created a long time ago. I didn’t even realise it myself until halfway through WotQ’s second arc or so... It’s funny how eerily similar both stories are; mostly when it comes to characters. (To my relief, they are also, in a lot of ways, quite different too.)

The only reason why Chapter 8 is also set in August 1847 is that I wanted Cloudia and Cedric to participate in the Lammas Day (August 1) celebrations. In the end, I didn’t go through it, i.a., because I thought that the chapter was already long enough (hah).

In the flashback in Chapter 19, Barrington mentions Cloudia’s first Watchdog task: catching John Francis (one of the persons who tried to assassinate Queen Victoria). Originally, the second arc should go on for two more chapters after Cloudia’s decoration, and these chapters were supposed to be about this exact case/task. However, Chapter 14 wrapped up surprisingly nicely and the second arc was quite a mess, so I scrapped those planned two chapters. They would have also featured Wilbur Hopkin’s first appearance in the story. Let’s see when/if he will appear now…

(Chapter 20) Instead of Cloudia withdrawing, I originally wanted Oscar to burst into the room and destroy their little moment or whatever it was. But I thought that would be a bit too mean?

The Zucchini Bonus chapter originally consisted of three parts. Then, stuff happened and I was only able to finish the first part. The other two will follow eventually.

Also, I hope the Zucchini Bonus reads like something wrote by someone who was too long in the sun. Because that’s exactly how it was.

The Halloween comic bonus was supposed to be called “The Halloween Bonus, Not Scary at All,” but I ran out of space and arm capacity, so I had to cut it short.

The original title card for it was in colour, but it looked dreadful, so I redid it. (I think, then, the bonus was named “A Not Very Scary Halloween” or sth like that?)

There were supposed to be many more “The Lady, Childhood” segments, but they kind of sucked, so I scrapped them. Why did I even upload the first few.

Before I killed the Untold Stories, the list of stories for it was ridiculously long. They ranged from more substantial ones like Newman’s and Lisa’s backstories, how Cloudia met Kamden, and how she met Milton to silly ones like babysitting stories. Some things will be included/mentioned in the main story instead.

Before I rearranged the story, there was, i.a., a Derby Arc, and a full arc set around Christmas. Now, I’m only going to spam you with Christmas bonuses. (But not this year. ): )

So far, I’ve done only one “Fun with Holidays” bonus. Originally, a third party was supposed to come to Cloudia and Cedric, making the duo a trio; said third party would then try to “cheer up” their colleagues and friends by making them celebrate/participate in all sorts of odd holidays. Well, said character was supposed to be introduced in the scrapped Derby Arc; then, I couldn’t find a better arc for them to be introduced, so they were pushed away, and this whole insane/silly idea scrapped. (But there will be some more Fun with Holidays bonuses, and said character was not entirely cut and will briefly wave through the story in the definitely not foreseeable future.)

I absolutely hate Chapter 9, i.a., because I was still dead from Chapter 8 when I wrote it and decided to put Cloudia in a white dress and all because Sieglinde wore one in Chapter 108. (I totally forgot that she only wore one because she was a debutante and not because it’s a general custom when meeting the Queen or so, and whyy...)

Oh, and I once entered this goddamn chapter in a fanfiction writing contest for fun (you could only send in fanfics which had been uploaded in a specific time frame, and Chapter 9 was the only thing I wrote that fulfilled this criterion). Obviously, I didn’t win, but I got it (properly) beta-read! Of all chapters, it’s this one that got a beta-read. Why. Anyway, she pointed out a bunch of awful mistakes to me like the “pompadour” one. In German, you can call these little bag things Pompadour or Retikül. The “English” versions of these words, however, refer to two different things: a reticule is the little bag thing, a pompadour is a hairstyle. -.-

The second chapter in my list of “Chapters I hate” is the eleventh one.

Before the third Three Times Christmas chapter became “Cakes and Comfort” it was “Graves and Grief” and about Undertaker visiting Cloudia’s grave.

Stats

Total word count per arc:

54,551 (includes The Business Partners, Jolly)

67,046 (includes The Green Ghost of Nephelius Cemetery 1 + 2 and The Lady, Childhood)

72,710 (includes Sneak a Zucchini onto Your Neighbour's Porch Day and Three Times Christmas)

Page count (1.5 spacing, Liberation serif, font size 12) per arc:

141

178

204

Names

If a character wasn’t given a name a) I thought sounded nice, b) a meaningful name, they, no matter how important or unimportant to the overall story, are often named after (or even based on) other fictional characters or, less often, after famous people. This got so out of hand that I think it would be easier and faster to list the characters who weren’t named after other characters/people.

Couples are often named after other fictional couples. (For example, Penelope and Simon Phantomhive were named after Penelope Lumley and Simon Harley-Dickinson from The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood.)

Okay, now after having established this, I hope it’s crystal clear after whom Oscar was named.

When it comes to titles, I am often clueless about how I should “expand” them/what to add after the “of.” I usually just use a random name generator because of that. That’s, i.a., how the Viscount(ess) of Middalanoware got their name. (It’s such a weird word, who came up with it??)

Newman’s original first name was Albert because, for a moment, I honestly forgot about Prince Albert -.- And then, I forgot Prince Alfred, but who cares anyway

When writing Chapter 8, I also totally forgot that Margaret Thatcher was a thing. Cue a last-minute rename.

Characters

Some characters’ stories are (loosely) based on one or more fairy tales. Originally, there were more such characters, but they were either completely cut or their (back-)stories won’t be addressed anymore to make this evident. (I’m telling you “who’s who” after the fourth arc!)

One of the cut “fairy tale” characters was the Goose Girl that was supposed to come with Falada...

Oscar’s servants (Scott, Ishmael, and Daisy) were based around the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” (You may have heard of the three monkeys of wisdom which embody this principle.)

Kamden’s existence is (somewhat) based on one of the passages from Lisa and Lottie (Das doppelte Lottchen - “Double Lottie”) by Erich Kästner. (I was 8/9 years old when I read this novel so I wouldn’t swear on anything that my recollection of this passage is 100% accurate.) Anyway, the passage I’m referring to is when the girls arrive in their summer camp, and the camp staff is baffled how similar they look even though, to their knowledge and to the girls’, they are not related. One of the staff members then suggests that they may be astrological twins – born on the same day, at the same time, and looking the same even if they are not related. I actually wanted to address this in-story, but I couldn’t find proper (additional) sources about astrological twins to back up anything, so I dropped it. (But, then again, there’s this whole thing about doppelgangers and Identical Strangers...)

At some point, Oscar was supposed to miss fingers, be 70 (!) years old, and a former Police Commissioner of Scotland Yard.

Also, at some point, Lisa was a pianist??? I think I’ve pretty much dropped this right after deciding on it.

Funnily enough, none of Cloudia’s original Aristocrats of Evil were born into noble families/are (really) aristocrats by blood.

In one of the scrapped “The Lady, Childhood” segments, Dr Alan (who was only ever mentioned) was supposed to be introduced. Well, as the segment was scrapped, I never got around to properly explain who he is. In short, Dr Alan’s doctor’s office is right next to the Sainteclare Bookstore. When Kamden’s adoptive parents (with whom he was friends) got ill, he treated them, but they still died. Dr Alan feels quite guilty about it and looked after Kamden ever since. (He made sure that he could keep the bookstore before Cloudia found Kamden and Barrington became his guardian. Of course, Dr Alan still looks after Kamden; Kamden basically has two dads.) Dr Alan will eventually appear, but it’s not like he’s very important anyway.

The same thing happened to Blodwen: She’s Kamden’s grandmother who lives in Wales.

Oscar actually likes Cloudia for three reasons: 1) He genuinely enjoys her company. 2) He needs her for something. The third one is a secret^^ (It’s also a reason why Oscar dislikes Cedric.)

Misc.

Cedric is Cloudia’s fourth Aristocrat of Evil because Four = Death.

The concept of the skull pendant necklace comes from one of the first FFs I’ve ever read. In it, however, it was a skeleton hand pendant necklace and it could only be used to call someone (without talking to them). Unfortunately, the FF was taken down years ago…

The skull necklace and some other objects/artefacts that have already appeared or will appear were based on things from fairy tales, from myths, or some other concepts. (They will come up later!)

The basis for Cloudia’s office in the illustrated Halloween Bonus was OC’s office in the Funtom Music Hall. (It’s, of course, a watered-down version.)

I don’t know if anyone paid attention to the tiny rabbit drawings in the illustrated Halloween Bonus and the Cake mini-comic, but I hope someone did.

(The Business Partners, Jolly) I tried my best to find it out, but I still don’t know if the altar stone thing in St Margaret’s Chapel is movable or not. :( (Are, in general, altars even movable? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

(The Siblings, Partners) Something else I couldn’t find was how deep Brent Reservoir’s deepest area really is. I think I only found the average depth of the reservoir and then, based on it, picked a random number/estimate for its deepest point.

The story about the four brothers who drowned in Brent Reservoir is actually a true story.

The thing those guys tried to steal in The Siblings, Partners already (sort of) appeared.

So far, four characters have been introduced by a name which is not their real one: For two, it’s fairly obvious. For the other two, it’s not that obvious. There is another character whose name is not quite spelled all the time how it should actually be spelled according to their birth certificate.

When I was 12 and picked up writing in earnest, I decided that I wanted to have something recurring in all my works. After thinking of it for a while, I eventually settled on this: the “fruit tea and penguin scale.” (it’s not strictly a scale, though.) It functions like this: the “heroes/heroic and, or mostly sane people, and so on” dislike fruit tea and like penguins, the “wannabe villains, idiots, annoying people, and so on” like fruit tea and dislike penguins. There are also a lot of “in-between” things: Cloudia and Cecelia dislike fruit tea and like penguins. Barrington and Cedric like both fruit tea and penguins. Oscar tolerates penguins and will ignore you if you ask him whether or not he thinks fruit tea is actually tea or whether or not he likes it.

My Lenore was written in case I am unable to complete Watchdog of the Queen. (I really wish I had written it better.)

I’m still waiting for someone to point out the Blatant Typo.

#i'm getting a bit sentimental so...#also i've never been active in a fandom for such a long time before either

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lostmagic · 7 years

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is Ellie old enough to get a fic written about her? bc that'd be cute. maybe a bonding fic with her and one of her siblings or the Minkus kids?

(so I kind of changed the prompt a little and decided to write about Ellie’s relationship with each of the kids, but I like the way it turned out.)

Being the youngest in the family is hard, but being the youngest in a family of five plus and extended family of seven is even harder. When Ellie was first born, the kids were all ecstatic to have a new baby around. A few months of diaper duty and spit up later and they were over it.

**********

Lottie had always been the closest with Ellie because of being Maya’s little helper. Due to the smallest age gap between the two of them along with the shared interests, it was much easier for the two of them to bond over tea parties and dress up games. As the two got older, their bond remained strong. Lottie made sure to watch every episode of that new princess show with Ellie everyday after school and even introduced Ellie to the wonders of Tangled! Their shared love for Rapunzel ensured for many entertaining games and Ellie loved having such a cool big sister to play with.

**********

No one really knew how close Austin and Ellie were but them, to be honest. Growing up with a twin sister had been annoying at times, but it made bonding with a younger one much easier. Austin spent a lot of time teaching Ellie to ride a scooter, but Ellie spent an equal amount of time playing with her makeup on Austin’s face. No one knew about this bond because Austin swore that if Ellie ever told anyone that he let her put makeup on him, the shadow monster would eat her up. Ellie didn’t believe in such silly things like monsters that came out of her closet, but just to be sure she never told a soul. She also made sure her closet was locked at night, but that was obviously so that her clothes didn’t run away.

**********

From the time that Ellie could walk, she was constantly following Ethan around. Every Friday Night Feast she would follow him like a shadow, always trying to mimic what he did. No one understood it, but it was cute so they didn’t ask.

“Hey Elle bell?” Ethan scooped her up one night after she had tried to accompany him to the bathroom. “Why do you always follow me around, huh?”

Ellie giggled in his arms and brushed a stray curl off of her face. “I dunno, Ethie. I always have!”

Maddie laughed from the couch at the innocent response and earned a glare from her baby sister. Ethan bounced her up to regain her attention. “I know you have, but why? Do you remember?”

The six year old wrinkled her nose in thought. “Well maybe it’s because you look like a prince.”

Ethan rose an eyebrow. “I do?”

“Mhm,” Ellie nodded in enthusiasm. “You kinda look like Prince Charming.”

Ethan grinned, his ego inflating massively. “I guess you’re right, Ellie.”

**********

Maddie and Ellie’s relationship consisted of Ellie being completely spoiled by her older sister. Maddie had always been rather generous, but with a baby sister to splurge on she had gone from generous to ridiculous.

“Ellie!” Maddie called as soon as she entered the house returning from a shoot in New York City. “I’m home!”

Ellie came bounding in from the living room and ran immediately to her oldest sister’s arms. Lucas laughed, carrying Maddie’s two suitcases in his hands behind her. “Nice to see you too sweetheart.”

“I missed you so much!” Ellie bounced up and down on her toes, the excitement too much for her small body to handle. “You were gone forever!”

“It was only four days,” Maddie laughed. “I have a surprise for you.”

This caused an actual high pitched shriek of excitement to leave Ellie’s throat. “I wanna see! What is it?”

“Dad, can I have the bag?”

Lucas scoffed, dropping the two suitcases onto the floor. “Sure honey, here you go.”

Maddie ignored his sarcasm and turned back to her baby sister. “Alright, now you need to close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

Ellie giggled, following the instructions. “I can’t wait!”

Maddie reached into the bag and pulled out a pink teddy bear. She had gotten the bear at FOA Shwartz where she had seen it and known that Ellie would love it. She placed the bear in Ellie’s hands carefully. “Okay, now open!”

Ellie opened her eyes and they immediately lit up. “She is so cute! Thank you so so so much Maddie!” Ellie hugged her sister and then the bear. “She is so soft!”

“That’s exactly what I thought! I knew you would love her.”

“I’m going to name her Peaches because that’s what Andy always calls you! And Aunty Riley calls mommy Peaches too!” Ellie smoothed the bear’s fur down around the ears and smiled brightly at it. “I love her so much!”

**********

Although Ellie only had two biological sisters, Andy still definitely counted. Because Andy was over their house so much, Ellie used to think that she really was her sister.

“Andy, why do you leave so much?” a three year old Ellie asked curiously.

Andy turned away from the dollhouse that they were playing with and looked at the toddler. “What do you mean, sweetie?”

Ellie played with a long piece of her hair shyly. “Why don’t you sleep here with us?”

“Well because I have to sleep at my house silly,” Andy explained, still confused.

“But isn’t this your house?”

Andy looked at her big blue eyes and smiled softly at her. “No silly goose, I live with my parents. And Ethan, too.”

“Oh,” Ellie made it sound like everything had clicked into place. “So Uncle Farkie and Auntie Riley are your parents?”

This made Andy laugh. “Yep. And my Auntie Maya and Uncle Lucas are your parents!”

Ellie nodded and rolled her eyes. “Well I know that. But does that mean you aren’t really my sissy?”

“Well,” Andy tried to think of a way to explain it so that the toddler would understand. “We aren’t actually related, but because our families are so close we like to call each other sisters. Lottie and Maddie are your actual sisters, but you can think of me like a bonus sister!”

“Okay!” Ellie smiled brightly. “I like having a bonus sister.”

**********

Most people might think that the oldest of the family and the youngest of the family might have a hard time relating to each other, but Noah and Ellie didn’t have that problem. Much like Lottie, Noah was a big helper when Ellie was a baby. Many times she would only fall asleep if he were holding her. Maya and Lucas didn’t understand it, but Noah didn’t mind. He would rock her in his arms until her small eyes closed and he put her back into the crib.

As Ellie got older, the other three siblings took her over, but Noah and her always had a close bond. He took her to the park many times and even taught her how to cross the monkey bars. Unfortunately, that had resulted in him becoming a jungle gym himself.

“Woah,” he huffed out as a small body plopped onto his. He opened his eyes to see a small blonde head of hair and a toothy grin. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

Ellie shrieked when he threw his covers off and chased her from his room all the way down the stairs to the living room. When he finally caught her, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “Lemme down! Lemme down!”

“Oh you want to get down?” Noah taunted, shifting her so that she was in the air above his head like Simba. He quickly released her and caught her again before she could hit the ground. “Are you sure?”

Ellie howled with laughter as he dropped her a few more times before finally throwing her carefully onto the couch. Once he had turned to leave, she pounced onto his back and climbed up onto his shoulders all by herself.

“Woah there monkey girl,” he laughed, holding onto her knees to steady her. “I see those gymnastics lessons are coming in handy.”

“You bet,” she laughed, leaning forward and blowing air in his face.

“Why I oughta,” Noah said in a funny cartoon voice as he leaned forward himself, reaching up to hold her shoulders this time.

“Noah!” Maya scolded, taking in the scene in front of her. “Be careful with your sister!”

“She started it!” he defended. After another stern look from his mother, Noah reached up and set Ellie on her feet before retreating back to his room.

When Noah was gone and out of ear shot, Maya turned back to her youngest child and held up her hand for a high five. “That’s my little monkey!”

#cfkau #cfkau fic #prompts #my writing #cfkau writing

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