- Lav
She knew he watched her as she read, so she tried to keep her expressions blank, so she didn’t worry him. Still, sometimes she would forget to do this, and either a large smile or frown would slip through. As she handed the pad back to him, he didn’t smile, was he trying to mask his emotions too? Or was he just tired of smiling? Probably the latter. As he read, he chuckled, and Tatiana’s face turned hot with embarrassment. Did he think little of her after reading what she’d wrote? Or had she been incorrect in what she had wrote? Tatiana pouted. Was it that funny? He was smiling now, he didn’t seem upset at her for what she had said. That was a good sign. Tatiana dipped another fry in ketchup. He was taking a while to write, but she didn’t mind. She did notice he didn’t try any of the burger after he passed the book back to her.
“That’s not what I meant. And mentioning strengths didn’t only apply to physical strength but all kinds of strengths. I meant to say both genders are prejudiced to have certain strengths. Like most men are stronger than most women, but there’s a woman’s intuition. What I meant to say is having strengths that don’t sound like they are more feminine or masculine. For instance humor or social intelligence or perspective. Now if somebody asks you if women are more socially intelligent than men you’d say they’re even, right? Well that’s what I’m saying. I think. It was a thought in my head that was long gone, but I assure you I didn’t mean something that would so easily be taken as offensive.”
Tatiana smiled at this, hoping she hadn’t overreacted before. She knew Lav couldn’t be sexist, he was too considerate. It’s okay, I wasn’t offended. I was just trying to make you feel better, but I took it the wrong way Tatiana began writing. I really like how you worded that. I agree. Still, I think you’re perfect just the way you are!
Jarilivich is a last name and it’s the type of last names your get from your father. I heard it’s still going on in Denmark. But since my father’s first name was Jarilo I’m named Jarilivich and it means son of Jarilo. I’m not sure if you read “The Overcoat” but it plays on the silliness of a situation where your mother can’t find a suitable first name for you so she picks your father’s name and you end up with a silly name like Akaky Akakievich.
This was interesting. Tatiana had taken her last name from her mother, her father never really being in the picture. Oh, I see, that makes sense. I haven’t read ‘The Overcoat’, but it sounds funny, at least that part! That is a rather silly name…
It’s too bad I haven’t heard this story in so long I don’t remember it. Since she is your mother you could explain me the story in short someday, and then let us judge if she’s an antagonist in it.
It’s okay! I’d love to tell you it someday so you can decide. Most people wouldn’t think Tinker Bell as an antagonist, however, she was pretty jealous and had even tried to kill Wendy. Not that Tatiana thought of her mother as an antagonist, but in the story… She didn’t look too good. I’d like to hear your story sometime, too.
She was nice, but I only did have her until I was still very young. My father didn’t think he should let his duty as a parent be half-assed and that we should connect more as father and son. He knew then, that if I don’t see him as a father I would never even consider him and his duties when on Earth and he feared I would never love him enough to understand why he’s forbidden me this.
It’s a shame you never did read those books. They’re quite fun if you imagine it all in your head. At first I thought reading was boring but when I was a bit younger I asked myself why the authors bored themselves with describing the room or the smells, and only then realized the magic that is imagining the book like it’s written. It’s a whole different experience. You should read them, I’m sure you’d love them. They’re in fact not that different form modern books. But maybe what’s enticing me to read classics and old novels is the fact I’m intrigued by the differences in everything from the and to now.
Saying this I much prefer those books than the ones of Kafka and such. I enjoy reading about adventures I myself couldn’t have and would rather do so than read a novel that’s secretly a judgement of political themes and social themes. I just don’t like political talk and such nonsense.
I’m sorry for babbling too much about it, but once I start talking about book I can not be stopped.
Tatiana smiled to herself. She didn’t read often-she was horrible at reading and usually only did so for school assignments. However, the way Lav spoke about books, they seemed like such fantastic objects, each one a different adventure. She figured she’d try to pick up a “Classic” when she had the time, and try to change her negative thoughts about them. I’m sorry. I’m sure his heart was in the right place, though. Tatiana offered sympathetically. I’ll try to check one out sometime, the ones you described sound super interesting! Which book is your favorite? I’m not too good at reading, and I try not to think about politics too much, but I still think it’s important I learn about them.
I don’t know what my voice sound like. This might be a weird concept to you, but the way a person hears themselves speak is different from what others hear. And when you think you sound suave and charming and on a tape recorder you realize you sound like a chipmunk on crack. But that’s how it is, and I’m not really sure how my voice sounds, but in my head it sounds like a raspy but still sweet voice. Thanks for offering but I’m really sattisfied with my fish and chips. Maybe it has something to do with the fact of my fondest memeory on Eart, up until now, involving me eating the traditional fish and chips.
Tatiana giggled at “chipmunk on crack”. She had heard most people didn’t like recording their own voice, but this saying was pretty funny-especially coming from proper Lav. I’ve heard that before, it makes sense. That’s really interesting though, I think raspy but sweet fits you! More for me… She thought, looking at the other two burgers. She was getting full. No problem. What happened with the fish and chips? She asked, wondering what that was about. Then, she took a bite of her burger.
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@LunaticLeviTheSecond ~ Ohhh, that makes sense! Thanks for letting me know! I see now the chips do look very similar to fries!
Sorry for replying so late Yesterday I had a video chat for nine hours and I couldn’t reply without being rude X(((
- Aidene
She shook her head with disbelief at his comment. “That’s a very deep nightmare.” Ivan laughed at this. He wondered whether or not he would wear the uniform again tomorrow. His agency had told him that it was up to him whether he followed the school rules or not, as long as he didn’t get expelled. Dressing in the uniform would earn him trust from the goody-goodies, but other students might be inclined not to trust him. Ivan let out a small sigh. His uniform was wrinkled anyways, and by the time he got to his dorm, he wouldn’t feel like ironing it. “It’s not so bad,” Ivan reasoned playfully. “Look, I’m wearing it, and I’m surviving.” “Ahh, the saving grace, food, no?” Ivan pumped his fist into the air triumphantly. “Exactly. And it’s all free, too.” At galas, the first thing Ivan would do was shove as many petit cakes and cookies (wrapped in napkins) into the pockets of his coat. He planned to find a hiding place later and devour them all, maybe even save a few for his agency friends if they were lucky. Sweets were rare at the agency, but plentiful on missions. I’ll make sure to clear my schedule for the entire week then,” Aidene said with a small smile. The more Ivan went on about it, the more he envied the real son of Beauty. He imagined what it would be like to take Aidene back to his kingdom. They’d dance together in town square, share nibble on the most excellent of meals… But without this fake identity, Ivan was nobody. If Aidene knew he was lying, what would she think? He’d probably lose any chance he had with her. Ivan smiled back at her, a bit lost in his thoughts.
“How enjoyable, you must get front row seats to the complete mess that is the aristocracy.” Ivan smirked. “I do indeed.” He murmured. When it came to getting to know the aristocracy, he had the best seats in the house-if you could call them “best” anyways. “Their drama was the only good entertainment at those parties.” She looked surprised at first, but then she shook her head, her face flushing a deep crimson. Ivan tilted his head at this, unsure what to think. It had just been an overdramatic joke although he wished it hadn’t been. “You’re quite dramatic.” Aidene said, still blushing. She soon joined in his wild laughter. Ivan eventually stopped when his sides started to hurt. Smiling, he took a mock-bow in his seat. “Thank you.” He had to bite his cheek to stop himself from laughing again.
She paused for a moment and Ivan leaned forwards, interested in what she had to say. “My mother is rather interesting,” Aidene began. “She’s kind and always looks out for others, even if it’s not the best choice for herself. She’s silly and knows how to have fun, and she’s just an all-around amazing person, so, yeah. I love my mom.” She then went absolutely silent, staring at the counter. Ivan frowned. He wanted to tell her he knew what it was like. To have his two, loving, kind parents and funny brother dissappear from his life, never to return. He patted her lightly on the hand, giving her an empathetic look. “I’m sure she was a great person,” He told her quietly. He didn’t want to bring up any painful memories for her, even though his agency would eat it up.
“You mean your lack of masculinity?” Aidene joked. Ivan laughed. Although, he wasn’t hurt at all by this. He identified as male, but didn’t believe acting a certain way or doing certain things verified this. “Sureeee, keep telling yourself that.” She glanced over at the boy. “My friend has a question he wants to ask you,” She said to him. In return, he just grunted at Ivan. Trying to keep himself together, Ivan gave the boy a casual smile. “H-Hello.” D-mn. Only his first word and he was already stammering. “I was just wondering who you find more attractive. Me? Or her?” The boy grunted once more, then his head moved ever so slightly. He looked Aidene up and down for a moment before turning to Ivan and doing the same. Ivan stood perfectly still, waiting for this man to snap his neck. Finally, the boy spoke, still looking in Ivan’s direction, “You’re a skeleton, and she’s a girl… You’re both pretty ugly to be honest.” “Hey!” Ivan protested, offended at being judged so harshly, but quickly shut up when the boy sent a death-stare in his direction. After a moment of silence, he made a small noise. “I guess I’d choose the boy. But you could definitely use some more meat on your bones,” He decided. Ivan was unsure how to feel about that, but he looked at Aidene with triumph. "You heard him. I just won our little challenge…again," he gloated to her. He felt a bit bad she had lost again-but not too bad since he never lost.
“Oh, really?” He watched her face light up. “Will you show me there, later?” She asked almost as if she were agreeing to a date. “S-sure,” He said, smiling. They’d probably have to start heading back towards the school later in the evening, so he supposed they could cut through the Hummingbird Garden on the way there.
She clutched her chest dramatically. "How rude. Excuse me, but my confidence is a natural result of my intelligence, I apologize if you can’t say the same.” Ivan snorted. “I could say more than you. Not only does my confidence stem from intelligence, I also have my good looks.” Although in his opinion, so did Aidene. He ran his fingers through his hair and winked. With Aidene, he felt so comfortable. He didn’t normally banter with people this way, but she didn’t seem to mind.
She looked confused, which Ivan supposed was for the best. You’re welcome to show me anytime you’re ready then,” She replied. “But that may take a while since it there is no place.” “I’ll let you find it on your own,” Ivan said. C’mon, bunny, you know you happen to love my talking. You’d be bored without it.” That wasn’t a lie.Her voice sounded friendly, like she was prodding him to chin up. “Just like you adore everything about me, Kitten?” His nose, cheeks, and the bottoms of his ears were still pink as he tried to comprehend what was happening. He just wanted to relax in this moment with Aidene.
As the roller coaster started to move, she lifted her head from his shoulder leaving a part of his heart strangely empty. “It’s pretty,” Aidene said, watching the jungle animals running around them. Some of the water got on Aidene as well, and she yelped before wiping her face. He glanced at her with surprise-her skin began to sizzle. For the rest of the ocean section, Ivan hovered over her, shielding her from any more water spurts to protect her so that annoying noise wouldn’t happen again. That was it. As they traveled back into the sunlight, Aidene glanced back up at him. “Look at your hair!” Ivan scowled, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Your hair is a complete mess,” Aidene said, laughing with amusement. Ivan wanted to jump off the roller coaster. “I-I still look good.” He finally said, as if trying to convince himself of this.
When the roller coaster soared into the air, Aidene screamed. Ivan would have taken this opportunity to tease her, but he was too busy holding her hand for dear life. He noticed Aidene looking down at his hand. She didn’t let go-but that could’ve been because he was holding it so tightly, it would have been near impossible. During a more peaceful moment, he noticed one of the hummingbirds landed on her shoulder before flying away. Ivan smiled shyly at this.
When they landed, Aidene gave him a smirk, still holding his hand. “So that was rather fun, wasn’t it?” Ivan nodded, still breathless. “Yeah…” Aidene pointed at his hair. “Although your hair took a hit,” She reminded him. Ivan used his hands to try and get his hair back in shape, but it was no use. Embarrassed, he looked away. “Still looks better than yours,” He tried making a smug remark, but he was too embarrassed to use a confident tone. The bar lifted and his seatbelt unsnapped. Ivan watched as people started leaving the coaster to go explore the rest of the carnival. “C’mon, let’s go,” Aidene stood up and tugged him out of the cart. He followed, still a bit wobbly from the ride. As they left, she smiled. “So, our first ride on a roller coaster, what’d you think?” Ivan took a deep breath. “It was fun,” he said. It had been even more fun with Aidene Embarrassed he had freaked out so much, he straightened his posture. “I was only acting scared so you’d feel less alone, Kitten.” He said, his cocky tone making a reappearence.
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@katabasis ~ REVERSE CARD BACCCC
NO IT WAS TRASH X(((( BUT YOURS WAS AMAZING AS USUAL!!!
AHSHSJFJKFIOEG
I have another idea for something they can do at the carnival, but it might be best at the end XD
Sorry for replying so late Yesterday I had a video chat for nine hours and I couldn’t reply without being rude X(((
- Maximilian
Maximilian’s face lit up with awe as he watched his phone screen light up from Kaden’s text. He unlocked his device as fast as he could to see the full photo. Kaden wondered if he should teach Maximilian to add his fingerprint to his phone, so then he could unlock it faster. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to come to a whole new world, not really knowing how anything worked.
He could tell Maximilian was going to enjoy the camera use of his phone. Especially since he could also save and screenshot photos from the internet, and access them at any time in the gallery. He and Maximilian sure had a lot of things scheduled. They’d have to hang out often, but Kaden was okay with that. Especially if it meant more charring and artwork.
Maximilian carefully listened to how phones worked, but didn’t reply. Kaden didn’t mind, the explanation was a lot more boring than using the actual phone. Still, he found it almost magical how the whole thing worked.
“It might not be something you are quite used to,” Maximilian said. “but I promise, I will fix it.” Kaden bounced on his toes excitedly. He swung the door open, and Kaden eagerly peered inside. The furniture had appeared in his room, as promised, and they were even in fitting places. His wallpapers were a mixture of maroon and magenta, and covered with roses and vines. Each piece seemed to be from a different era, but they all fit together quite nicely. His desk was covered in papers, with ships in bottles as paperweights. Kaden wondered if the myth was true-they used to be pirate ships that were shrunken in a bottle. Brushing his shoes on the carpet outside, Kaden entered the room, still looking about excitedly. “I love your wallpaper! And your carpet. And your books!” Kaden bubbled, looking around with wide eyes. He sat on the purple couch before heading over to the desk to examine the ships in bottles.
“The interesting part is that I could technically broker most of everything here for plenty of cash, but it’s also just memories,” Maximilian explained. Kaden shook his head quickly. No amount of money would be enough to purchase these decorations-full of memories and mystery. “So again, apologies for the sudden arrival and the general aesthetic of this place.” “Don’t apologize!” Kaden exclaimed, running one finger along the side of the bottle. “Amazing…” He muttered to himself. The room was generally clean except the papers. “Want me to organize your papers?” Kaden asked, then instantly regretting it. “Are these real pirate ships?” He asked instead.
@FuzilladeBlue