As We Stumble Along
Chapter 7/?
By Baine
Email: ladybaine at gmail dot com
Written: August 6th, 2007
Posted: December 16th, 2007
This is my favorite chapter to date. It was an absolute joy to write. Please let me know if you enjoy reading it!!!
*—(number) Implies that there is a Japanese cultural note regarding the topic at the end of the story.
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As We Stumble Along
Chapter Seven
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“I’m going to play Sailor Moon?” Naru whispered in shock, hand rising to touch her hair. “I don’t look like her at all, though.”
Shrugging off her disappointment, Usagi grinned at her friend. “Hey, I don’t look like Beryl, but that’s what wigs are for, right?” She gave her friend a speculative look. “You know, it’s funny. If we had each other’s hair, we wouldn’t need to resort to such measures, would we?”
Naru laughed nervously, still fussing with a loose strand that kept dropping out of her short ponytail. “True.” Her worried expression soon faded as it was overtaken by a more playful one. “Guess you can’t be my roommate anymore, Umi. We’re about to be lovers, after all.”
Umino almost spit out the water in his mouth, fingers gripping the small clear bottle so tightly that it began to curve inwards. An image of him and Naru sprung to mind, vivid and tantalizing. Why had she felt the need to bring that up? Now he wouldn’t be able to look at her without thinking about... He snapped to attention and tried to focus on what Naru was saying, but all he could see was the shape of her mouth, petal-pink lips unfurling as they continued to form words that never reached his ears. Suddenly, he felt the urge to reach out and quiet her chatter with a kiss. How would her lips taste? Would they be as sweet as the cherry-flavored gloss she’d loaned him the week before? Would they be dark and sultry as a forbidden kiss must surely feel? Would her breath still smell like the mint she’d consumed at lunchtime? He nearly groaned, struggling to maintain a straight face as he nodded along to whatever Naru was saying.
She could be talking about the wonders of cheese for all he knew. He could hear nothing save for the rush of blood currently pounding in his ears. The hallway suddenly felt warm and he pulled at his sailor collar, trying to bring a little air to his neck.
Glancing over at Usagi in order to rid his thoughts of his roommate, he recalled the blonde mentioning a kissing scene between the two leads. A kiss? His vision blurred anew. He’d have to practice kissing her...then kiss her for real...and would she find out his secret? At the moment, he couldn’t bring himself to care. The scene would be even better than one where he merely watched two random girls kiss because he’d actually be in on the action...and Naru’s mouth was sure to be warm and inviting. He frowned as reality tapped at the edge of his thoughts. Hadn’t Usagi also mentioned faking the kiss? Surely that was unnecessary now since he wasn’t really a girl. Then again, they didn’t know that, did they? He’d hate to cause problems for Naru by having everyone think she was gay. Then again, if she really was gay, perhaps he could pretend to be as well so they could have a real relationship...? The thought brought him crashing back to reality. What had he been thinking about just now? This was Naru, his roommate, his friend. There wouldn’t, couldn’t be anything more between them.
Hearing Naru call his name as she poked his shoulder, Umino let out a dazed, “Hai?”
“Still in shock, huh?” Usagi smirked as she swung an arm around his shoulder from behind, her soft breasts pressing innocently against his back as she leaned in close. He shifted and tried to move forward without setting off any strange vibes. It wouldn’t do to have an incident in the middle of the hallway when he was surrounded by females.
Latching on to the excuse so easily provided him, he fought to keep a steady voice as he replied, “I really thought I’d be playing the part of a villain.”
Naru cast him a speculative look. “You know, perhaps you were cast because of how you look.”
“How I...look?” Umino nervously pushed up his glasses.
“Well, you’re one of the tallest girls in class, after all.”
“Naru, I’m short.”
“No you’re not. You’re pretty tall for a girl. I mean, yeah, if you were really a guy or something, you’d be on the short side, but it won’t matter on stage so long as you’re taller than me.” She grinned and winked.
“So I got the role because I’m tall?” Wait until the gang back home heard this one. His eyes glowed at the notion. They’d think twice about saddling him down with short jokes!
“Well, possibly. It’s probably one reason, anyway, even if it’s not the only one. For example, because you were glasses, it will be easy to hide them beneath the domino mask. Also, your shoulders are a bit broader than normal, so you’ll fill out a tuxedo nicely.”
The girls continued to laugh and joke as they dragged Umino to the cafeteria. As much as he wanted the play to be a success, he dreaded having everyone find out he was an imposter. He’d be kicked out of the school for sure and no respectable high school would take him in after such a scandal. Would his new friends still like him when they found out the truth, or would they deem him a pervert and wipe their memories of him from existence?
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The rest of the month passed in a flash. There were times when Umino became frustrated enough to give up and end the charade once and for all. He had thought being a girl was hard, but now he also had to impersonate a girl who was pretending to be a guy. Every day, he feared someone would discover his secret.
“Bring your voice down another octave. You still don’t sound manly enough! Start over from the top of the scene.”
Umino smiled wryly as he apologized to Haruna-sensei once more. They were going into the final week of rehearsals and now that everyone had memorized their lines and stage cues, they were working on voice inflection. It was really hard for him to find a happy medium between the two without giving himself away.
Usagi shot him a sympathetic smile. “If it makes you feel better, I don’t sound evil enough.”
Umino tweaked her nose. “That’s ‘cuz it’s outside your nature to be so. You’re one of the people in this world least-likely to have an evil bone in her body.”
Usagi brought a hand to her face, giving him an odd look, her cheeks a faint shade of pink.
“What?” Why did her look suddenly make him feel uneasy?
“Nothing, really,” she mused, pulling her hand down and turning it toward herself, tilting it toward the light. “Should I get my nails done professionally, or just buy press-ons? I’m afraid they’ll fall off during the show if I buy them from the store, but they need to be really long and I don’t want to get them done professionally and be stuck with them after the show.”
“Um,” Umino furrowed his brow, eyes analyzing Usagi’s facial expression. What game was she playing? Had she discovered something and changed the subject, or had the topic made her uneasy for some reason, or was she just being her flaky, scatterbrained self? If she had been Mina, it would definitely be the latter of the three, but Usagi was smarter than that, despite her pretense of being flighty and carefree. Well, for now, he’d play her game. After all, there was a one in three chance that she really had just randomly changed the subject. For now, he’d assume she hadn’t become suspicious or, worse yet, discovered his secret.
Pretending to seriously ponder the blonde’s question, Umino mused, “Why don’t you just get them done, then trim them down after the show?”
Usagi winced at the idea. “It would be better to just go back and pay even more to have them removed.” She turned her hand again, her eyes narrow and bright. “I could live with long nails for a week if I could get funky detailing done to them. Think Haruna-sensei would let me modify the design a bit?”
“What kind of detail, like making them multi-colored?”
“Mm, or a pattern or something,” she mused as she tapped a finger against her jaw. “You know, do something cool a la Ayumi Hamasaki. That girl always has the most amazing nails. Did you see the pictures in the liner notes of her last album? I swear, she must have used real bits of lace. Her actual nails must be totally destroyed by now. I guess it’s worth it to have such beautiful hands, though, don’t you think?”
“Pain is beauty,” he quipped, mimicking the phrase he always heard females utter when defending the crazy logic explaining why they dressed the way they did.
“Exactly,” she murmured, biting down on her lower lip, her eyes hazy with thoughts. “Maybe I’ll get a pedicure, too. I know this great place that does massages and everything. At least Beryl doesn’t have long toenails. Can you imagine walking around with claws protruding from your feet?”
“Can you even get fake toenails?”
“Of course, why not?”
Umino blinked, taken back by Usagi’s response. “Why would you want to?”
“To show off at the beach or when wearing cute sandals or something? Haven’t you noticed how ugly toenails are if you don’t do anything to them?”
“Not really, no.” He could never decide if he was relieved or annoyed by the fact that Usagi was the quintessential girly-girl. On the one hand, it made it easier to slip into his role while around other females because the topic wasn’t new to him, but on the other, he must seem completely abnormal to her, though she was sweet enough never to mention the fact. He turned back to the stage, noticing Naru was about to cue him on.
“Hey, Umi?”
“Yeah?”
She lowered her voice a couple of octaves and grinned. “Break a leg out there, okay? You can do it!”
“Thanks, Usa.” He offered her a weak smile as he stepped forward and headed toward center stage, suddenly envious of the way Usagi had been able to lower her voice with ease. In life, being a guy had its sucky moments. Unfortunately, this was one of those times.
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The morning of the cultural festival dawned bright and clear, a good omen of the day to come. Nervous excitement loomed in the air, hovering around corners as girls skittishly raced from one room to the next, making sure nothing would be forgotten at the last minute.
After making sure they’d left nothing of their own behind, Naru and Umino headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. The tension in the room was palpable to such an extent that Umino found himself able to do little more than push his food around on his plate, afraid he’d further upset his already-turbulent stomach.
“—your parents coming to visit today too, right Umi?”
Umino looked over at Usagi, who he’d inadvertently tuned out while worry about the afternoon to come. “Hmm?”
Usagi repeated her question and Umino quickly shook his head in response. He hadn’t even mentioned today to his parents, not wanting them to find out he’d enrolled at an all-girl’s school. The information would do nothing but worry them. They’d probably send him off to a therapist or something to find out what had gone wrong.
Putting down his fork and swallowing a mouthful of rubbery egg, he verbalized his response. “They couldn’t make it today. Some friends of mine are coming, though.”
Usagi crinkled her nose at the prospect. “That jerk isn’t coming, is he?”
“You mean Mamoru? Unfortunately for you, yes. He isn’t coming alone, though. My friends Minako and Motoki will be with them. Nobody else could, uh, get away. Everyone’s studying for the upcoming exams. Motoki’s a bit of a jokester, so don’t take him too seriously. Minako is—well, she’s Minako.” He laughed, unsure how to explain his friend’s spastic personality.
“Well, so long as they’re not like him, I’m sure I’ll love them.” Usagi shot him a toothy smile as she shoveled the last of her meal into her mouth, causing Umino to revel once more at her metabolism.
“I still don’t get your deal with Mamoru. He’s really not a bad guy.”
“Eh, just a vibe, y’know?”
Women and their vibes. Umino restrained himself from rolling his eyes. How could they be so wishy-washy when it came to feelings and emotions, yet so spot-on with everything else in life?
“When are they meeting you?”
“Soon, actually; they’ll call when they get here.”
“Didn’t you turn off your cell when we left the room earlier?” Naru piped up from across the table, no longer engrossed in conversation with Kokoro and Kaneko Fumi.
Umino’s eyes widened. “Er...” He dug his phone from the overstuffed bag at his feet and grimaced. Shit. Rapidly turning it on, he checked for new messages and sighed in relief. “Nothing yet.” As he spoke the words, the phone in his hand began to vibrate as it played EXILE’s latest Oricon hit. *—1
He flipped his phone open and brought it to his right ear with a startled, “Moshi-moshi?”
Ignoring the chatter around him, he attempted to focus on Minako’s fast-paced chatter. Covering his left ear to drown out the extraneous noise, he uttered, “Wait, what? You’re where?”
Minako’s laughter bubbled through the receiver and Umino was suddenly struck with a pang of homesickness. “We’ll be at the quad in a few minutes. Is that okay? It’s the only place Mamoru can remember the route to without getting us all lost.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s fine.”
“See you in a few, then! I have a surprise for you, too.”
“A sur—” Umino frowned as the dial tone sounded in his ear. He could still remember the last time Minako decided to `surprise’ him, and the results hadn’t been pretty. Her latest proclamation had just caused the butterflies warming up in his stomach to begin an elaborate dance.
“—they on the way?”
“Huh?” He looked over at Naru, a dazed look on his face until her question penetrated his brain. “Oh, yeah.”
She shot him a probing look. “Is everything okay? You look strange.”
“Stranger than usual, you mean?” he laughed, watching his roommate’s face slowly relax, though a wary look still lingered in her eyes. “Everything’s fine, really. That was my friend Minako on the phone. They’ll be at the quad soon.”
“Want some company? I’m done eating.”
“Me too,” Usagi mumbled, cramming one last biscuit into her already-full mouth.
Rei flinched and crinkled her nose as she brushed a stray crumb from her uniform. “That’s so nasty, Usa. Can’t you at least chew with your mouth closed? I swear, you must have been raised in a barn.”
Umino rolled his eyes and stood, bringing his tray to the drop-off area to be cleaned before a food fight broke out. As he placed his tray onto a revolving cylinder, he was joined by his friends, Usagi and Rei still squabbling in the background.
“I swear,” he murmured to Naru, “I don’t know how there hasn’t been a report of homicide yet.”
Naru cracked a smile. “They must have nine lives or something.” She cast a cursory glance over her shoulder. “Then again, perhaps Rei’s already done the deed and now Usagi’s haunting her. It would explain her bottomless appetite.”
Umino smothered a laugh as they headed outside, the tension slowly slipping from his shoulders. He felt incredibly lucky to have Naru as his roommate. Not only was she one of the nicest people he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting, she also had this uncanny tendency to act as a sedative. It was easier to calm down and relax when Naru was around.
The small group cut behind another dorm and emerged at the back of their own building. Umino pulled his ID card from a keychain in his purse and held the door open so the others could enter before him. They walked past the elevators toward the lobby and out the front entrance. Umino scanned the sprawling quad stretched before him, but didn’t see his friends.
Usagi turned to face Umino, cheeks still flushed from her latest quarrel with Rei. “You said you had three friends coming, right? Two guys and a girl?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Is the guy I haven’t met cute?”
“Er, well, he’ll be here soon, so you can see for yourself.” He wasn’t about to take part in a conversation that revolved around rating one of his best friends. Besides, he was a guy, so he couldn’t accurately judge Motoki’s `cute factor.’ If he got it wrong, he could blow his cover, yet if he got it right, he’d never be able to look his friend in the eye again.
“But can’t—”
“Hey, there they are!” he let out a sigh of relief, glad to detract Usagi from her current line of thought.
Noticing Umino as she walked closer, Minako began to wave wildly, coming close to clipping Mamoru in the nose.
“That’s them?” A curious expression spread across Usagi’s face as she eyed the newcomers as they approached.
“Yep.”
“Hm, he is cute. You’re so lucky, Umino. I wish we had guys enrolled here.” Usagi pursed her lips, eyes focused on the trio almost upon them. Her cheeks appeared to be pinker than they had been a moment ago, but Umino was too focused on his friends to pay too much attention to the every nuance of the girl beside him.
He grinned at his friends as they approached, unsure how to react. He couldn’t greet the boys the way he normally would, and as for Minako, well, how were girls supposed to treat each other after a long absence? Minako inadvertently solved the problem for him as she launched herself into his arms and nearly bowled him over.
“Hey, Minako,” he laughed, awkwardly patting her on the back and pulling away. “How’ve you been?”
“Oh, great, especially now that we’re here. I thought we’d never get off that train.”
“What was wrong?”
“Nothing really, just Motoki poking fun at me again.”
Umino caught the eye of his sandy-haired friend, who grinned and rolled his eyes at Minako’s comment. “What were you doing to warrant his teasing?”
“Me? Nothing! He was totally picking on me just because, I dunno, he was bored or something.”
“If you say so...” Umino had known Minako long enough to realize she wasn’t always as innocent as she claimed to be. “Anyway, come meet my friends,” he stated, turning as he went through the rigmarole of introductions.
Minako peered over Umino’s shoulder, analyzing the girls standing before her in a way that made Umino wonder if she was staking out the competition. The thought quickly fled his mind as she zoomed in on Usagi, exclaiming, “Wow, you look like me!”
“Um...” Usagi blinked in surprise.
“Let me guess, you’re playing Sailor Moon, right? You look great. I’ve tried styling my hair like that, but it just never looks right.”
Cheeks flushing, Usagi lowered her head and murmured, “No, I’m playing the role of Queen Beryl, actually. Umi’s roommate Naru got cast as Sailor Moon.”
“Wow, really? So you, like, wear your hair like that just for fun?”
“Um, I guess so?” Usagi nervously pet her head, feeling to make sure nothing was wrong with it.
“Cool.”
Stepping backwards slightly so that his foot came down upon Minako’s, Umino smiled and discretely bumped her aside. “Don’t mind her, Usagi. Minako doesn’t know the meaning of the word tact.”
“Sure I do. It’s that glue you use for crafts and stuff. I’m not the dullest crayon in the box, you know.”
“The dullest...” Umino closed his eyes to prevent a groan from escaping. “That’s not how you use that saying at all, Mins.”
Minako shrugged, her blunder already forgotten as she continued prattling on.
“So,” Mamoru proclaimed, dropping a hand onto Minako’s shoulder and tightening his grip in an attempt to silence her, “What time is your performance?”
“The show starts at 4 p.m. in the Shimiki Auditorium.”
“Okay, where’s that?”
“Across campus in a wing of the main building. We have to go there early, so I won’t be able to take you.”
“Sure you will, Umi. Well, you can take me, at least. Can’t have the boys in your fitting room, now, can we?” Minako tossed Umino a saucy wink.
“What makes you think I want you there when I’m trying to concentrate?”
“Because I’m your makeup artist, of course!”
“My—”
“Surprise! Aren’t you just thrilled? I came so close to telling you over the phone, but I really wanted to surprise you, and—”
Umino waved a hand in front of Minako’s face, watching as her eyes compulsively followed the movement. “Mins, breathe.”
Mina let out a huffy breath of air with a scowl. “I’m not a child, you know. Besides, look at you—you’re absolutely hopeless. I can make you look more masculine.”
Umino shot her a quelling look. “I don’t want—”
“Nonsense, Minako-mama knows what’s best for you, so let her do her job.” She grinned and latched onto Umino’s arm. “Anyway, you can’t leave me alone with these two. I don’t want to watch their so-called `moves’ as they attempt to pick up chicks.”
Motoki scowled indignantly. “Hey, those so-called moves work really well, thankyouverymuch.”
Great, Umino thought with an internal groan, Now I have another pair of feuding friends on campus to deal with.
“So, will you guys be going back right after the performance, or will you stick around for a bit? We’re allowed off-campus this evening, so we could go out to dinner or something.”
Mamoru thoughtfully ran a finger along his jaw. “Sure, that sounds good.”
“Well, uh,” Umino glanced at his watch again. “Do you guys wanna go see what some of the other classes are doing before it’s time to get ready?”
Naru nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s. Class 3-2 has been hyping up their haunted house all week. If it’s as good as they say it is, they might take first place instead of us!”
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“Minako, I look like a boy.” Umino frowned as he stared into the mirror of a nearby bathroom that they’d managed to secure.
“Got news for you, sugar,” Minako drawled, “you’re not really a girl. Your parents have been lying to you for years.”
“Cute, really cute.” He turned to face her. “Mins, if I go out there like this, they’ll know.”
“No they won’t. That’s why I’ve been making such a big production out of the fact I’m doing your makeup. They don’t have to know that, aside from cold-cream, everything else is natural.”
“Can’t I at least wear my glasses? I mean—”
“Why would you want to? I mean, they’re so ugly!”
“Yes, but—”
“No, no, we’re sticking to the plan. You’re wearing `contacts’ at the moment because it’ll be easier to wear the mask later.” She teased his hair into place and murmured, “Besides, people never look for the unexpected. If they think you’re a girl, that’s what they’ll see, even if you’re blatantly parading around as a guy. It’s human nature to be easily deceived.”
“Wow, Mins, that’s deep.”
“Isn’t it? I heard it on TV recently and immediately thought of you!”
Umino mentally groaned, but outwardly held his tongue. As flaky as his friend could be, he wouldn’t change her for the world. It was nice to see that some things hadn’t changed during his absence.
Minako hummed as she reached up to knot the necktie of his `uniform,’ a costume that, when paired with a suit coat, top-hat and mask, doubled as his `hero get-up.’ It was a blessing in disguise because he wouldn’t need to change in the wings with the other girls. He also hadn’t needed to have his inseam measured by the costume designer since he was able to bring in his own black pants and white shirt. The class had tried to scrounge up as many props as possible so the class budget could be saved for things that weren’t easily obtainable. In the end, he’d only needed to be measured for a jacket and hat.
Suddenly, Minako stuck something dark near Umino’s eye, causing it to water. “Ow! Damn it, Minako, what the hell did you just do?”
“I’m just applying the eyeliner. Stop wriggling and—No, don’t touch it!”
“My eye burns; that stuff hurts!”
“Stop being such a baby and hold still.” She finished with a flourish, a smirk hovering at the edge of her lips as she continued to abuse Umino’s face.
“So,” she breathed as she finished and re-capped the applicator, “How are you really adjusting to life as a girl?”
“It’s harder than I thought it’d be, honestly. Even with your tutoring, there are still so many things I have no clue about. I don’t know how you girls do it.”
“Ah, well, I’m sure I’d be saying the same thing if I decided to disguise myself as a guy. We always talk about the mysteries of the opposite sex, and we think we’ve figured things out, but in the end, everything is still just a big mystery, you know?”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Minako pulled back with a grin and nodded as she analyzed Umino for the last time. “Okay, Prince Charming, let’s get this show on the road.”
_.-"-._ _.-"-._ _.-"-._
The performance began without a hitch and time seemed to fly by. At first, the girls had marveled over his stunning `transformation,’ but Minako had been right—in their eyes, he was still a female. The girls had raved so much over Minako’s `skills’ that she’d promised to come back and open shop for the school’s end-of-year dance.
Before the curtains had risen for the first time, his classmates had smothered their giggles from the wings as they swayed to the orchestrations booming from the sound system. Usagi had attempted to drag Naru into a dance, but kept tripping over the hem of her long gown and finally gave up.
When the performance finally began, Umino found himself swept away by the magic of the stage. He stepped outside himself, no longer Umino Gurio, no longer `Umi,’ but the most famous caped hero in all of Tokyo. The make-believe world from the script sprung to life and, fueled by the energy of the audience, Umino tapped into a well of adrenaline he never knew he had. It was a high like no other and he had to wonder if this was the reason Usagi had joined the drama club. As the last of his nerves slid away, the fear of exposing himself never even crossed his mind.
It wasn’t until the play’s final scene that reality came crashing down around him as he reenacted the story’s final battle. This was the one scene they had blocked, but never practiced, and suddenly, Umino found himself scarcely able to breathe as he felt his roommate lying beneath him. He reached out and rolled the two of them away from the enemy. Hearing Usagi loudly create her death scene behind him, he slowly sat up, pulling himself away from Naru’s crushed form beneath him. Still kneeling, he offered her his hand, drawing her up alongside him.
Naru sat slowly, her blonde wig slipping forward slightly as the fake bangs made their way toward her eyes. Swinging into a kneeling position herself, she came closer to him, giving him a beseeching look as she silently raised a perfectly-manicured hand and placed it against Umino’s cheek. The action caused his heart to beat crazily against his chest, hammering out a rhythm that left his palms sweating while his lungs gasped for air.
He could feel Naru’s fingers tremble against his skin as she slowly unhooked the mask and began to lower it. Why did this time feel so different from all the rehearsals? Was it because Minako had used makeup to make him look like a man? Was it because he was finally seeing Naru through eyes no longer veiled by glasses? She was so close he could see the silver flecks in her eyes. Her irises seemed almost cobalt, no longer the lighter shade of azure he’d grown accustomed to.
Umino was near enough to hear her mic pick up the quick breath she drew in. Her pulse fluttered at the base of her throat and her eyes scanned his in wonder, large and uncertain. He could feel a warm puff of air against his cheek as his mouth lingered a fraction of an inch from her own.
His blood singing and his ears ringing, he desperately wanted to close the distance and fuse their lips together, but he turned his head and faked it at the last possible second, body screaming at the injustice of it all.
_.-"-._ _.-"-._ _.-"-._
Cultural Note #1: The Oricon Music Chart is the Japanese equivalent of the Billboard Music Chart in the USA. EXILE is a Japanese band that has been around for a long time and manages to retain its popularity. I tried to pick an artist with a wide range of songs so Umino would be more likely to use a song for a ring tone. You can choose what song he listens to, though—I didn’t want to date the piece by putting in something specific. (That’s another reason that I chose EXILE, too. The music is more “timeless.”)
Sneak Peek: This is the last chapter for 2007 because I’m going on vacation at the end of the week and won’t be back until 2008. And since you’ve been loyal readers and had to endure a long wait [sorry about that; a resolution for the new year is to have speedier updates, if possible!], here’s a sneak peak at what’s to come:
For part of my trip, I’ll be going back to Tokyo, and I’ll also be going to Tokyo Disney Sea for the second time. I have an upcoming chapter of AWSA that’ll take part at TDS, and so I want to memorize the features of the park so that I can work them more seamlessly into the story. I might even write at the end of the day or the following day when I hop onto the Shinkansen. But, that’s a tidbit of what’s to come-and I can’t wait, because this chapter is going to be *so* much fun. It’ll take place somewhere in the (I think early) teens (I’ve finished through…either 10 or 11 atm), so please be on the lookout! I think the chapter will be a pretty big turning point!
In fact—and this is pure coincidence, because I’ve had this story arc in the bun for months—I’ll be going to TDS on Christmas Day, and the chapter will also take place on Christmas Day, so I’ll get to do some extra research that I never even anticipated, just because of how our plans lined up for the holidays. How cool is that?? (That also shows you that the chapter isn’t TOO far off, because the chapter you’ve just finished reading is set in November…)
THANK YOU: I never would have had the idea if it wasn’t for a review from Ellen Kuhfeld. She wanted to see Tuxedo Melvin. Well, this is the next best thing. What do you think about what I’ve done with the idea? I think this was my favorite chapter so far. So, see? Sometimes, reviews really do matter! Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas, please. If I use them or get inspired, I’ll be sure to credit you the same as I did the fabulous Ellen Kuhfeld! I really want to make this story the best I can, and the good stuff is starting to come. Please let me know what you’d like to see, and I’ll try to incorporate it into the story!
And, as always, thank you to my lovely betas, especially Nephthys Moon, since she’s really busy and still manages to squeeze time in for me. *loves her Squishy*
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, everyone!!!! “Omedetou gozaimasu!”
Like it? Hate it? I’m the one to talk to! Hit the little review button or e-mail ladybaine at gmail dot com today! (As a holiday/new year’s present, please send me a review! So many people are adding this story to alert/fave/etc, and there aren’t so many people reviewing it. Please send this story—and me—a little love if you’re enjoying it!!! Onegaishimasu!
«•´`•.(*•.¸(`•.¸ ¸.•´)¸.•*).•´`•»
«•´¨*•.¸¸. *Baine*.¸¸.•*¨`•»
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