Card StatsVignette
My Beloved (Part One)
Cafeteria
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Dear me. What a day this has been. And now the ghosts have vanished without bothering to break down the wedding decorations. How utterly irresponsible. Our students can hardly have lunch in here with things as they are. Freshmen, I'd like you all to take down the decorations before returning to your dorms. |
| WHAT?! |
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Everyone except Team Tux, right? Surely after all that, Epel and I are excused! |
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No, EVERY freshman must participate. A model teacher treats all students equally, and you'll find I'm the most consummate of educators! |
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Aww, man... |
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Can't you cut me some slack?! I've already put in a TON of work. I'm dead on my feet over here! |
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You did perform admirably today, it's true. But that's an entirely separate matter. Many hands make light work, as they say. It won't take long with so many energetic youths pooling their efforts. |
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Psst, [MC]! Don't just stand there! Let's give 'em the slip before the headmage remembers we're here. |
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Ah, and naturally, [MC] and Grim will be expected to contribute as well. |
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Mraugh! |
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So. Many. Ribbons. I've been taking them down forever, but I haven't made a dent! |
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These lace streamers get stuck on my claws when I try to pull them down! |
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How HEAVY can these chairs be? What are they made of, solid rock? ...Wait, they're tombstones! Talk about yikes. |
| This is never gonna end. | I just wanna go home. |
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Cheer up, everyone! I'll pitch in too! |
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Ugh, this is ridiculous! I already worked my tail off, and now I'm stuck doin' this?! Those lousy ghosts are such a pain, no ifs, ands, or buts! They've been around for, what, five centuries? And they've been obsessed with love the whole time? That's nuts, I tell ya. The retainers were bad enough, but their princess? I'll never understand what was going through her head. Sure would've saved ME a whole lotta headache if she'd just let the marriage thing go and enjoyed the afterlife. |
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...... Ace, have you ever had...feelings for someone? |
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Huh? Where'd that come from? |
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You're saying it's "nuts" and talking about how you don't "understand" it. That's a little surprising to me. I thought you'd be an expert on affairs of the heart and all that. |
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What, you think I'm some kind of flirt? |
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I-I didn't mean it like that! |
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Boy, you're barkin' up the wrong tree askin' Ace about romance. He's not gonna know the first thing about that mushy stuff! Nobody with a modicum of sense would touch an unruly meanie like him with a 10-foot pole. |
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I know you're jealous, but you don't gotta be so obvious about it. I'll have you know, I had a girlfriend back in middle school. We'd go out to movies and the amusement park. |
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Seriously?! What kinda magic trick did you pull to make that happen? |
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According to my manual, movie theaters and amusement parks are classic date spots! |
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Y'know, it's real nice swappin' stories like this. Nothin' beats some good ol'-fashioned guy talk! So? What happened? |
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Well... She said the thrill rides were too scary for her, so we just went on the merry-go-round and the Ferris wheel. She gushed about how cute it all was, and took a bunch of pics for Magicam, but I still don't get what was so fun about it. And the only stuff we saw at the theater were romances and animal movies. She vetoed all the action and horror flicks. Hanging out was just plain boring, so I stopped contacting her as time went on. |
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Huh. That's a mite underwhelming. |
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The worst part came later. Can you guess what happened once I distanced myself? One day, a bunch of girls called me completely out of the blue. I didn't even know who they were. "Why aren't you calling?" "Our poor friend!" "She's been crying this whole time!" "You heartless jerk!" They gave me the whole third degree! What's up with THAT? That's when I learned a valuable lesson: romance is way more trouble than it's worth! It's way more fun just chillin' with my buds. |
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I just learned a valuable lesson too: you're a big baby. |
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Whatever, dude. You're the least likely of us to have any kinda romance. And if you wanna talk bein' clueless about love... I'm pretty sure that applies to those guys more than me. |
| Hm? |
My Beloved (Part Two)
Cafeteria
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I'm pretty sure that applies to those guys more than me. |
| Hm? |
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What are you on about, Ace? |
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Ugh... It's past midnight. I'm barely awake as it is. Let's just get the cafeteria cleaned up already. |
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You had plenty of time to sleep when you were lying around on the floor. Think about it, Grim—who's clueless here? Me, or all these guys who botched their one job? |
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Hmm. You do got a point... I'd say Deuce was the lamest, since he froze in front of the bride like that. |
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Right?! I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. |
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Wha... LOOK. What do you want from me?! I'm not used to talking to girls. I started to worry I'd say the wrong thing and hurt her feelings. Then I lost track of what I was saying at all. |
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Didn't you go to co-ed schools before? I'm surprised you weren't a girl magnet, actually. I thought the ladies went wild for bad boys. |
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Wild? No, they didn't really talk to me. Any girls other than my mom—any guys too, really— would take off the moment I made eye contact with 'em. |
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Ah, I get it. You were just that intimidating. Considering Jack got rejected right away too, I guess the scary-guy look doesn't draw that much romantic attention after all. |
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Leave me out of this. I'm perfectly fine not getting much romantic attention. |
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Oh, is that a fact? Sour grapes much? |
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It's not about ego. Wolf beastmen only have one special someone, ever. That's how it was for my parents and grandparents. They're never apart, from when they wake up to when they go to bed. They walk together, eat together...you name it. I'm sure I'll be the same. When I fall in love with someone, I'll want to be with them for life. So I don't need lots of attention. |
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Dude, are you gonna start talking about mortgages next?! You're still in school and you're already talking about "for life" and stuff? You take romance WAY too seriously! |
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You're also assuming you'll get married. You don't even know what you're gonna do for a living. |
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Geez Louise! I'd never wanna date Jack. |
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It's none of your business anyway! |
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I guess Epel's the most likely girl magnet out of all of us then. He's the opposite of intimidating, and he's a pretty guy with a bright future. |
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You're talking about me?! |
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We told you about us, now it's your turn to share. Were you into anyone back home? |
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Well, um... |
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C'mon, you can't hold out on your tux-pal! |
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Don't try to act all buddy-buddy with him. Why are you so hung up on our love lives, anyway? |
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Probably a stalling tactic. He wants us to finish the work while he chats. |
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Just the kind of cheap trick Ace would pull. |
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You guys are just as curious as me, and you know it! |
| Well... |
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Has anyone ever said they like you? Have you ever had a crush? Did you ever date anyone?! |
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...... |
| ...! |
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I hate to dash your hopes, but... There aren't many people where I'm from. Everyone was either way older or younger than me. I didn't really talk with many people my age until I came to Night Raven College. I spent most of my time doin' farm work— ah, I mean, assisting with my family's business. So I don't have any exciting stories to share. |
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Man, nothing from you either, huh? |
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Sorry to disappoint. |
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You four are greatly lacking in formative adolescent experiences compared to data from other boys your age. |
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Shaddup! |
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Hey, humans! You've been lollygagging for the past several minutes. Cease your frivolous chatter and move more of these chairs! |
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Here he is, folks. Our number-one worst contender. |
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Yeah, he disappointed me too. |
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Hmph. All you've been talking about is sentimental drivel. We're students. We should be studying, not wasting our time with such unacademic pursuits! |
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I don't gotta take that from you, bub! You were shot down right out the gate! |
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I was NOT. It was I who did the shooting down! My schedule is already packed with training so I can protect Malleus. There's no room for romance. |
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Sure, but what if you happen to meet someone you totally gel with? Are you gonna yammer on about Malleus nonstop again? |
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I have a plan for that. Lilia has taught me a suitable course of action if someone commands my attentions. FIRST, I SHALL PEN THEM A MISSIVE! |
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Pen a missive? You mean write a letter? Okay grandpa, you gonna take her for a buggy ride next? |
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Couldn't you send them a Magicam DM or text like a normal person? |
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Why would I do that? Lilia says a fountain pen and stationery are the true weapons in matters of love. I shall pen my feelings, slip a photo of my smiling visage into every third missive, and repeat this until the twenty-fifth full moon. Once we have exchanged a sufficient amount of correspondence... I shall then sit next to them on a bench in Briar Valley Central Park, with a person's worth of space between us! |
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Lilia's definitely been messing with you. |
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WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU QUESTION LILIA'S INTEGRITY, HUMAN! |
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Ugh, you're making my ears ring. We're gonna be here all night if we get into that, so let's just drop it. Whew... Y'know, I think Sebek had a point about one thing. |
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You're into writing letters too? |
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Oh, sure. I get my unicorn-and-rainbow stationery, and scrawl "my beloved" in fancy cursive—yeah, no. Not that part! At the end of the day, Housewarden Riddle and Rook bailed out me 'n Epel, right? |
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For sure. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere if they hadn't shown up when they did. |
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When I saw our housewarden taking down all those ghosts single-handed, I thought to myself... "MAN, what a cool guy." It makes me wanna get better at using magic. Maybe right now I can't hold a candle to our housewarden or the older students... But one of these days, I'm gonna show 'em something spectacular and be all like, "In your FACE!" Gives me a rush just thinking about how they'll look when they see my sick spellcasting. But if I wanna get there, I'm gonna have to buckle down and take my studies seriously. I can't let romance distract me. |
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I know just what you mean! |
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Hmph. You're more sensible than I'd imagined. |
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Yeah, I should probably get serious about my studies too. |
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When even a student as bad as Deuce is saying it, you know we're on to something. |
| True that. |
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How come you two only agree when you're dumping on me?! |
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Aw, crud. We've been so busy talking, we haven't made any progress cleaning up. Those ghosts made us look like a joke, and now we're stuck working late after school... We're kinda lame, aren't we? We didn't have a single cool moment today. |
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That's not true at all! |
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Huh? |
My Beloved (Part Three)
Cafeteria
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I was monitoring the video feed with the headmage when you entered the wedding hall, Ace Trappola. It was just like a movie when you burst in with your bouquet and shouted, "STOP THE WEDDING!" You were truly invested in saving my brother... And it was SOOO COOL! |
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Well, I wasn't exactly invested. I was more caught up in the moment after escaping all those ghosts. |
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I disagree. You looked very intent when you rushed into the wedding hall. And when you spoke to the bride and her retainers, that was from the heart, wasn't it? |
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There ain't no way Ace is some shining white knight at heart. He was prolly just doin' what he usually does— spoutin' off a buncha stuff he doesn't believe. |
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Y... Yeah! You get me, Grim! |
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Judging by the elevated body heat my IR sensor detected, as well as his voice level and pupil dilation… Every possible data metric points to Ace having been sincere. You don't have to hide it, you know! You're so modest. |
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So that means... |
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All those things he said to the Ghost Bride about the perfect partner... |
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He actually believed them?! |
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Yup. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's so cool how you have such a clear vision of your perfect partner. |
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What?! No I don't! I don't got a romantic bone in my body! That was pure improv! I just said whatever I thought the ghost lady would buy. |
| REALLY now. |
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Protestin' an awful lot, ain't ya? |
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Even the headmage said you were positively endearing! Based on my statistical analysis and a review of literature in this field, I conclude that if you declare your love as ardently as you did today... You'd unquestionably win anyone's heart! |
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I'm not ardent, okay? And I don't do declarations of love! Would you guys quit it with those smug grins?! |
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Wow, I didn't know how heartfelt you were... It sounds like you were really cool. I wish I could've seen it. |
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Don't worry! I made a full recording. I'll send you the video later. |
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Stop recordin' us like that! |
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Ooh, good thinking. Let's watch it together once we're done. Ramshackle Dorm work for you all? |
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A group watch sounds fun, actually. I'm already feeling more awake. |
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I shall join them in taking your measure! You called me the number one worst contender. I hope you're prepared for a rigorous assessment. |
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I don't wanna star in movie night! |
| No need to be modest. | I want to show them how cool you were. |
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Yeah! Ace Trappola, you've seriously considered what the perfect marriage means to you. You're the most eligible bachelor of all! |
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You gotta be kiddin' me... None of that was the slightest bit sincere. Honest! |
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Whoa. Ace's blushin' so hard, his ears are turnin' red. |
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Ha ha, you're right. Don't see that every day. |
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Hey, Ortho. You should record this too. |
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And you should get a shot of it with your ghost camera, [MC]! |
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Why's everyone gotta mess with me like this! Seriously, can't we move on already?! |
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