tag

Tag Time: Why I Still Love Anime

Posted on October 10, 2018October 9, 2018 by Karandi

I have to thank Raistlin for tagging me in this. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the responses other bloggers have written for it, and then Raistlin’s response made me really happy with what I’ve achieved as a blogger. I think this tag is highlighting something a lot of us already know and that is that the ani-blogging community are amazing. There’s so much positivity and passion for anime out there and a general willingness to share experiences and this tag is yet another way that we can bring that community closer together. So with that out of the way we’ll get on with actually answering the tag.

Rules:

Write a post about why you love anime. It could be your favourite thing about it or one of your favourite things about it, it doesn’t matter which, but just pick one!
You can get as personal or as impersonal as you like. You might want to write about how anime helped you through a tough time or something that it has taught you or you might want to write about just how much fun you’ve had watching it over the years. Your choice.
Nominate three bloggers to do the same.
Link back to this post. I would love to see what you’ve written and I may compile a list of my favourite entries further down the line.

Response:

I’ve said a number of times on my blog that anime isn’t necessarily my passion. My passion is actually for stories. And yet, even I have to admit that my preferred medium for stories these days is definitely anime. I haven’t bought a non-anime DVD in nearly two years (there’s a few small exceptions) and even the few TV shows I’ve watched recently that haven’t been anime focused have struggled to hold my interest. I still devour books but even with those I’m much more focused on light novels and even branching into manga now. It wasn’t a conscious decision and it isn’t as though I believe anime is better than any of those other mediums. But it does make me wonder why at 33 I am so incredibly obsessed with anime.

However, I know the answer to that as well, whether I want to admit it or not. Watching anime reawakens the sense of wonder inside of me. That belief that anything is possible and might happen. The desire to see where things might go and take us even when the end result might not be great. It has been a long time since a movie, TV series or book outside of anime has had that impact (again with some exceptions because there have been a few, but they are few and far between).

When I’m watching anime, or talking about anime with someone, or writing a post for my blog, I feel lighter. Even if I’m tearing something apart because it was terrible, I’m excited because something I’ve watched has made me have such a strong emotional response. Anime makes me smile and laugh and flinch, become tense and cry. It moves me emotionally and it draws me into its world even if for only the twenty minutes of the episode.

And then, because we have such an incredible online community, I get to talk with others and relive those feelings and share them and be apart of a discussion around something I love. It would not be an exaggeration to say that watching anime and my blog have really kept me going over the last few months when things haven’t been going so well for me with health and other issues.

I love anime and I am thankful every day that I am part of such a community.

Nominees:

I have no idea if you’ve already been nominated and you are under no obligation but here we go:

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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The One Liner Challenge

Posted on October 3, 2018October 2, 2018 by Karandi

I’d like to thank Average Joe for throwing this challenge my way. I’ve done this one before (check it out here) but it was really great fun so I decided to try my hand at another round of it.

The Rules:

1. Accept and thank your challenger(s) by linking back to their post.
2. Make a post of one-sentence summaries and/or roasts of at least five anime.
3. No spoilers!
4. Link back to The Awkward Book Blogger so she can see your post.
5. Challenge as many or as little people as you want!
6. Have fun!

The Response:

Princess loses father and control of Kingdom but gains a hot harem of dragon boys (oh and freedom and stuff).

Yuri On Ice Title — Hard working professional ice-skater with no self-confidence gains new coach and love interest and becomes second in the world proving beyond all doubt that falling in love is more fun than training.

title4 — One class lost a classmate and instead of getting therapy just pretended they were still around and thus doomed every following class to pain, misery, and death.

Death Parade Title.png — Cool music masking the fact that underlying this whole story is the message that life and death just aren’t fair and you might as well get used to it.

Bleach Title.png — Kurosaki Ichigo can see ghosts, death gods, and hollows and he’s going to prove he can defeat any and all challengers in the name of saving whoever currently needs saving.

The Challenge:

Okay, now for the next round of ~~victims~~ challengers. No obligation I get that some people don’t like tags or have done it before and some people are busy. Still, I’d love to see your responses.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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Nominated for the Unique Blogger Award

Posted on September 5, 2018September 2, 2018 by Karandi

Apparently, I’m unique. A huge thank you to Eumiiboo for the nomination. Now if you haven’t checked out their blog you really should because while I think they are covering one or two seasonal shows, they write some really great posts on manga and just some great discussion pieces. Great blog to follow if you are not.

I’m definitely learning that if I just don’t close the post that I’m nominated in, I’m actually far more likely to remember to post my reply because I’ve got a tab open in the back of everything else I’m doing reminding me to actually do it. Hopefully this system will mean I won’t neglect so many in the future (though, I get that it is far from perfect).

Rules:

Display the award!
Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog. (Try and include a little bit of promotion!)
Answer the questions they’ve written for you!
Nominate bloggers and give them three questions in the spirit of sharing love and solidarity within our blogging family

Questions:

01. If you were to describe your life based on an anime character, who would it be, and of course why?

Probably some sort of cross between Ririchiyo from Inu x Boku with a little bit of Rei from March Comes in Like a Lion and Yuri from Yuri on Ice (yeah, I have some issues I need to sort out with self-confidence). Really though I am drawn to all three characters because I find their struggle reasonably relatable, in a much more low-key manner) and I really respect the work ethic of all of the characters. watching Ririchiyo take an entire night not to finish drafting a letter because she kept restarting was something I could definitely understand.

02. Now let’s try to get personal, what was one of the anime’s you’ve watch that left an impact on your life, or perhaps change your view in a certain point in your life.

I’d have to go with Sailor Moon. It was among the first anime I saw and I watched it when I was younger. But it was more that I finally found a group of female heroines who genuinely fought real danger and not some watered down version of villains, and they actually killed their opponents rather than making friends and playing nice with them (at least some of the time). I think Sailor Moon was my gateway to then falling in love with characters like Buffy, Xena, the cast of Charmed and so on. At the time it was just such a novelty to have that sort of female character in a story, particularly one that, in Australia at least, was being marketed to kids.

03. Imagine, you have been chosen to create a crossover between three anime series, which would it be and why?

Okay, so Syaoran and Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicles happen to travel into the world of Aincrad from SAO during their journey looking for Sakura’s memories. They meet Kirito who can’t ignore the damsel in distress aspect and so he joins them dragging Asuna along for the ride. After they defeat a floor boss and retrieve the feather they jump worlds again, this time ending up in the Black Butler universe where Ciel is holding a bunch of Sakura’s feathers and isn’t planning on handing them over any time soon. Sorry, who doesn’t want to see a fight between Ciel and Sebastian with Kirito and Syaoran? That would be straight up awesome.

I Nominate (but feel free to ignore):

Questions:

01. What story made you incredibly angry and why?

02. If you could rewrite the ending to anyone story which would it be and what would you change?

03. Easy one – favourite opening theme song ever?

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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The Blog Evolution Tag

Posted on September 4, 2018September 2, 2018 by Karandi

Hey everyone. Raistlin and I had this random conversation quite awhile ago about how bloggers evolve and how their writing style changes and from that we kind of decided that it might be fun to actually look back and reflect on those changes. However, as with most things, it is always more fun to do with friends and so Raistlin had this fantastic idea for starting a tag around the concept. Several emails and quite a number of weeks later because we have both been super busy and the Blog Evolution Tag was born. This tag is a little different in that it does require two willing participants to work, but I think there’s a lot of fun to be had with this one. I know I certainly had fun reading Raistlin’s posts and I hope he enjoyed reading mine.

The Rules:

1. Pick a partner with whom you want to this tag (yes, as mentioned this is going to be a collaboration tag!)

2. Select a post from the early days of your blog (preferably the very first post you ever wrote)

3. Select a post from the current days of your blog.

4. Send your selections to your partner and ask him/her the three questions below and also answer them yourself as well.

a. What did you like about each post?

b. What do you think has changed the most?

c. What do you think might change in the future?

5. Both of you then write a post for the two old/new posts of your own blog, but you include the answers your partner gave you

6. Link back to the original post of the creators of this tag: Karandi & Raistlin

7. Try to publish your tag post around the same time your partner does and include The Blog Evolution Logo

8. Select 3 people to also get tagged (only select the person you want to tag not his/her partner).

Pretty straight forward, right?

Now because this is brand new, Raistlin and I decided to have a go at it. I hope you enjoy this post and you check out Raistlin’s over on his blog.

Question: What did you like about each post?

The Old Post: What would you pay?

Karandi: This is actually harder than expected because I keep thinking about what I would change about the post. Like removing the word ‘obviously’ as it is obviously obnoxious to assume something is obvious when it is an opinion (not that I think I’ve stopped doing that but reading my own work always leads to criticism). Still, what do I actually like… I like the content and that I’m focused in on some of the anime that really made me fall in love with anime as an adult. It was early days on the blog and early days as a seasonal watcher so I had a more limited pool of anime to draw from but this post goes to some of those very near and dear to my heart. I also like that it gets to its point fairly quickly.

Raistlin: The Friday Feature’s posts from Karandi have always been one of my favorites since I started following her. But this was a post that I had not read previously, as I wasn’t yet a member of wordpress at the time this was published. I’m amazed at how high the quality of this early post already his. Karandi’s skill at writing an engaging post, already shines through quite well in this post about the price you are willing to pay for superpowers. It points out the old saying “ All power comes at a price” by providing us with a few well thought out examples, also for series that I myself have never heard of. And not only that, in the end it offers the question to the reader as well, which opens the door for readers of the post to provide their own comments.

The New Post: Appreciating the Transformative Journey of All Might’s Character

Karandi: I really liked writing this post as it was a topic I’d been wanting to write about since the start of season three My Hero Academia and I finally found a good place for it. In terms of the writing, I like the narrowed focus on a single character within an anime allowing for a little more depth. I also like that I’m exploring the topic with the reader, I haven’t gone in to the post with my mind made up about where all of this is leading. That said, reading it once more for this pointed out the unnecessary repetition of words and ideas and the overuse of some linking language and generally made me want to rewrite the post.

Raistlin: This post to me felt almost like a journey. And it’s a funny thing, as it also recounts kind of a journey for a very beloved character on an equally beloved show. I loved the structure of this post, and how it contains quite a lot of heart. I can be a pretty emotional guy, and while I am still playing catch up to My Hero Academia, I can feel the emotion that this character’s exploits has taken fans of the show through. And that’s all because of the way that Karandi structured this post. It points out small scenes that you might even have missed as a viewer, and explains why these have an impact on the anime (and the world of this show). I always love it when a post becomes powerful because it contains a heart, and that’s certainly what this post did very well.

Question: What do you think has changed the most?

Karandi: I think that some of my newer posts, and this one in particular, are far more narrow in their focus but they are striving for a bit more depth rather than skating across the surface of an idea. I think these two posts illustrate that fairly well. I also think I’m more confident in who my audience is and what they are wanting or expecting. I think a lot of my early posts were just kind of random thoughts in my head thrown into text and I wasn’t really sure who, if anyone, was going to read them so I didn’t really have someone in mind when I wrote it or think about how they would respond. Now I have a very clear view of who my main readers are who return again and again and so I feel my writing is more directed toward a specific audience and that makes it a bit easier to choose a tone for the post and makes the questions more targeted rather than just generally throwing them out there and hoping someone responds.

Raistlin: The thing that I think has changed the most is the fact that Karandi’s newer post has an even more powerful writing style. We get a clear structure, pretty much right from the start, and it takes us on a long post. Long posts are difficult to write, as when they are not interesting readers usually switch off. But that doesn’t happen for a single second. More than in the older post, we get a very well thought out piece of writing where we see that clearly a lot of time and effort was spent in creating it. It also contains more of a personal take on it, something that as mentioned I really like a lot when it comes to blog posts.

Question: What do you think might change in the future?

Karandi: Honestly, I’d like to work on making more of my posts focused and aim for a little more depth of analysis than a lot of my earlier work. I’d also like to continue trying develop my own voice through my blog. I feel I’ve come along way in being able to express myself through my writing in a way that feels genuine to me, though I think I can go a bit further with this and try to be a little more open with readers. That’s still a bit of a scary thought but I think given I want to make this blog more than a hobby, that’s what I need to do to make it very much my blog and not just another anime site. I really do need to work on my editing though and cutting out unnecessary words. But, as Raistlin said, its a bit of a journey and after two and a half years, I’m still loving it so hopefully I’ll continue on and continue to improve. Though most important is that my readers enjoy my work.

Raistlin: The style of writing that Karandi has is the thing that I think is only going to evolve even more. It will become even more professional than it already is. And I would not be surprised at all if Karandi’s blog will eventually turn into a professional platform for anime, meaning that I think she is eventually going to be able to earn a living from this. With a new book being published by her in 2019, only more people will take notice. The future for Karandi’s blog is a bright one as far as I am concerned!

Conclusion:

Karandi: I’m really happy Raistlin enjoyed these posts and it was a great experience getting a reader’s view on my writing. Things I focus in on aren’t necessarily what my readers are paying attention to so creating this tag has really given me some valuable insight into my blog and I’d love to do something similar with other readers at some point.

Tagging:

This tag isn’t an easy one to do and it does take a bit of organisation and time so please feel free to pass if you are too busy. Still, I found this experience really valuable and gained a lot from it so hopefully some of you will take up the challenge and pass the tag on.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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Another Harem? For Me?

Posted on August 21, 2018August 19, 2018 by Karandi

Ya Boy Jack over on the Aniwriter nominated me for this quite awhile ago and I’ve been meaning to respond but just never quite got there. In case you wanted to see my original harem, check out the post here.

Like last time I’m slightly modifying the tag. Instead of different types, I’ve decided this time to go with an all yokai harem just because.

The Rules:

1. Link back to the original post on Anime Q and A so they can check out everyone’s picks!

2. Use the ‘Build A Harem’ logo somewhere in the post.

3. Make sure to mention the person who nominated you too!

4. Pick 5 Anime Characters (any show & any gender) that would be in your ideal harem if you were the main character of a harem anime, explain a little bit as to why they are your picks (if you want).

5. Make sure each character you pick falls into some of the following harem character types: Childhood friend, tom boy/girl, genki girl/boy, loli/shota, trap, tsundere, yandere, kuudere, dandere, etc. (If there’s a character you’ve picked that doesn’t specifically fall into one of these types or falls into multiple types that’s fine too!)

6. Nominate 5 people to participate in this tag!

Who is in Karandi’s harem?

01. Nidaime (The Eccentric Family 2)

You have to admit, for a tengu, he has style. Also arrogance and a tendency to look down on others. As well as a slightly explosive temper when pushed too far. Still, Nidaime was a large part of the reason I really loved season 2 of The Eccentric Family as his was a character I just had so much fum watching. Now, as to him being in my harem I’m pretty sure I know what he would say to such a suggestion.

02. Byakuya (Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi)

I know Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi isn’t finished and it is also decidedly average as an anime, but I really like Byakuya as a character. The one who keeps the accounts in order he comes across as harsh, but it is hard not to love a guy who feeds the adorable fox spirits. Not to mention, he’s far more level headed and focused than a lot of the cast so he brings an element of sense to things even if his words are harsh. Wish he was on screen more often. I’m thinking Byakuya can keep the rest of the harem in check for me.

03. Kubinashi (Nurarihyon no Mago)

For a yokai who usually seems pretty laid back and aloof, Kubinashi has a pretty dark past and is prone to rage and losing himself. That said, when he flips the switch he becomes pretty unstoppable. However even his normal self remains relatively detached. Though he is part of the Nura clan and one of several yokai who regular guard Rikuo, Kubinashi only really has ties with a handful of the clan members and barely tolerates the others. As such, I see Kubinashi being the guy in the harem who just drops by every now and then when I was alone and otherwise wouldn’t be seen. The few times he interacts with the other members of the harem would usually be tense, and I’m betting no one else likes him at all.

04. Soushi Miketsukami (Inu X Boku SS)

Every harem needs a stalker like character in it. Miketsukami is the mostly harmless kind (mostly) who will simply collect a million pictures of you as well as save and preserve any text or note you send his way. Also, his child form is totally adorable. That said, his over protective nature would probably drive me crazy fairly soon, but he makes a great cup of tea and given he’s incredibly socially awkward I think we’d get along. Then again, I can also see him getting into some conflict with anyone else who was a part of the harem.

05. Tomoe (Kamisama Kiss)

Okay, I might have a thing for foxes (or at least good looking guys with ears), but Tomoe was someone I kind of developed a crush on from the minute I met him. Hot tempered, he hates humans, and he’s stubborn, but he does his work with care and pride and he’s really powerful. That and, those he does consider worth his time he’s incredibly considerate of. Besides, I always felt bad for Tomoe being abandoned at the shrine for so long by himself, so it kind of makes sense he doesn’t exactly welcome Nanami with open arms. I do think throwing Tomoe into my harem though is going to be a fairly explosive addition and I’m just waiting to see what happens when Tomoe and Miketsukami go toe to toe with who can be more stubborn about anything.

Nominations:

I am pretty sure everyone has done this tag already but here we go:

And anyone else who hasn’t been tagged who would like to have a go.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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My 13 Reasons Why

Posted on August 15, 2018August 15, 2018 by Karandi

Matt in the Hat tagged me nearly two weeks ago and I know I’ve been tagged for this one before and just never got around to responding. Part of that is my busy schedule and the other part of that is thinking of 13 things that keep me going is actually kind of hard when I kind of sum it all up into one simple answer (which I will make my number 13 on this list). Still, I’m thankful for the tag this time and for those who tagged me before that I didn’t respond to (sorry).

Rules:

Mention the person who nominated you
List 13 reasons why you keep going/living
Nominate 10 or more people to give their reasons why.
Use the picture that I created in your post.

My Reasons:

I did mention finding 13 was actually quite hard. Some of these are a little silly as I desperately tried to fill the numbers. Really, number 13 is the only one that is actually important and it is enough.

01. Too many books still to be read and still to be published.

02. Too many movies still to be seen and still to be created.

03. Too many anime I have never watched and that haven’t been made yet.

Okay, the first three are all very similar but very important. I have watch lists and read lists filled with titles and these grow every single day. If I had a hundred life-times it wouldn’t be enough to get through everything that I wanted to read and watch so that’s a pretty compelling reason to stick around.

04. My current cat needs me to feed her and any future pets I acquire would be equally dependent.

05. Certain family members would need to find someone else to play scrabble against online if I suddenly went silent online.

06. I’m almost certain that my work would pile up even if I was no longer here and that is a depressing thought.

These three are all very much about the impact my not being here would have on others. While I’m being flippant about it, whether I realise it or not most days, my presence actually does have some kind of impact on others and that’s certainly something I should try to remember.

07. I’m still growing my blog and I’m sure it would miss me if I stopped logging in.

08. I still don’t know what’s in Eren’s basement.

09. I won’t get to see season 3 of Snow White With the Red Hair or Noragami (should they ever get made).

10. I haven’t learned all the kanji (forget all, I haven’t learned 500 of them yet).

11. I still haven’t managed to max out every stat on Skyrim (and given I’m not playing it at the moment I’m unlikely to every complete that goal, but it seems wrong to leave it unfinished).

12. Chocolate (I don’t think that one needs an explanation).

13. My story isn’t finished yet.

Outside of all of the other reasons, this is the most important. My story may not be all that fascinating to others, but it isn’t finished yet and that means there are still endless possibilities for where my story will go and where it might eventually end. And everybody knows there is nothing worse than a protagonist that gives up mid-adventure so while my story is still going, I’m going to keep trying my best to do whatever it is I’m doing at the time. I’m well aware that eventually I’ll run out of pages and that perhaps my book will be thinner than I would have liked, but I’m determined to make every page read the way I wanted to live my life (I may not succeed but at least I’ll try).

Nominees:

I have no idea who has been tagged at this point so feel free to ignore.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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Create a Story Tag – Or Create A Week of Writer’s Block Tag

Posted on August 4, 2018August 4, 2018 by Karandi

I guess I should thank Arthifis for this given it did get me writing at least in a small way. And yet I don’t think I’ve been that frustrated sitting at my keyboard since I tried to write a series review of Yuri on Ice and scrapped it so many times before I finally just went with a plus/minus post so that I could finish it. Anyway, with all tags there are some acknowledgements and rules that need to go with it, so I’ll get on with those.

This tag was created by Leap, Keiko, and The Pantless Anime BloggerYou can check out the Create-A-Story Tag Announcement here!

– The Rules –

You pick your first word, your setting, and your story genre from the list below. As individuals, your brand of creativity is unique to yours, so we want to highlight that by letting you choose from a bunch of words and creating something beautiful out of it.

I picked “Fall”, “Mountain”, “Romance/Comedy/Tragedy – though the tragic part is probably the attempt at comedy”.

The short story will have a limit of 1000 words. You do not need to write a story with 1000 words exactly. It could be 300, or 500 as long as it doesn’t surpass a thousand.
YOU HAVE TWO WEEKS TO ANSWER THE TAG.
You must tag three people to participate. The victims: The Lost Voice, Kawaii Paper Pandas, and Cain S Latrani (no obligation and I’m sorry if you’ve already been tagged).
Don’t forget to link back to Keiko (use her post ) so she can collect all the stories. You can’t just link back to her WordPress, since she won’t be alerted of the pingback. You need to link back to a post or a page, because WordPress works like this.
Use the Create-A-Story picture in the post.
Copy and paste the rules in your tag post as well, so others can be clued in to the Create-A-Story rules.

Just so we’re clear my story:

Is incomplete.
Is incredibly dialogue heavy due to the majority of description getting cut to bring it in under 1000 words.
Has an asinine set of characters.
And any attempts at humour should probably be taken as a sign that I need more sleep.

With that disclaimer, I hope you enjoy.

You Can Carry Me Home

“You should just fall in love with me already,” James said confidently as he clutched Andrea’s hands tightly. “I mean, you must have already, given the circumstances.”

“Exactly how long are you going to keep the bad puns going?” Andrea asked as she expertly pulled James closer to her and rolled them over so that she was on top.

“I love a woman who takes charge,” James chuckled and then he peered down. “I’m thinking I’ve got about another 600 words left in me for bad puns and movie references.”

Andrea laughed. “That and fourth wall breaking.”

“That too,” James admitted. “Want to tell me why you did it?”

“Did what?”

“Jumped after me? I mean, he throws me off the cliff, you kill him. Nice and easy. I’ll admit it made the whole thought of going splat at the bottom a little better knowing that bastard would have been dead. And yet, instead of finishing him off, here you are, plummeting down the side of this bloody mountain. I’m not sure if I’m thrilled or pissed off with you right now.”

“That goes for you and me both.” Andrea hugged him tighter as she leaned to the right to try to see how far the tree-line was. “I get there to rescue you and you tell me to let him throw you off the cliff. Really? As if that was ever going to happen.”

“Again, he’d be dead.”

“So would you! Idiot!” Andrea hugged him so hard that James thought his ribs would break. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

“I can more or less guarantee that.”

Far below James could now make out the shapes of the trees of the forest, a winding road in the distance. When the wind wasn’t rushing past his ears he thought he heard the faint sound of machinery. Possibly someone tree clearing or doing some road work.

It wasn’t such a bad place to die. A nice view at least.

“So, you had a plan right?” James asked trying to turn his head to see Andrea without moving his body. He knew she was up to something and he didn’t want to disrupt her.

“Excuse me?”

“A plan. You know, a scheme, an idea, a strategy… You know something other than a fairly lengthy drop before a sudden stop.”

“Did you just miss-appropriate a line from Pirates of the Caribbean?”

“Duh.”

“We’re dying here.”

“Unlikely.” James coughed. “So, the plan?”

“No plan,” Andrea said.

“You’re kidding. That’s just terrible. I mean, I’m average height with average brown hair and average looks and intelligence. By default that should make me the protagonist. Where is my plot armour?”

“James,” Andrea said.

“What?”

“I love you.” She rolled him over and kissed him. “Now don’t even think about moving.”

Shoving him back roughly she wrapped her arms tightly around him, locking her grip in place, hand to wrist. As the tree-line became richly detailed and the branches began to poke up toward James at an alarmingly fast rate, he suddenly felt a massive jolt as he was jerked abruptly backward and Andrea’s bony hands seemed to drive into his chest. A small cry of pain escaped his lips before he bit down on his own lip and the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.

Legs dangling and Andrea’s grip pushing roughly against his underarms, James once again twisted his head expecting to see a parachute, even though such a thing should be possible.

Instead he saw something even more improbable.

“Wings. You have wings,” he murmured.

“Sometimes.” Andrea let out a groan of pain and they began to rapidly descend between the branches of the trees. Her face was pale, she was sweating horribly, and it looked kind of like she was going to throw up.

“I don’t have wings,” James continued to prattle.

“I swear if you make a Dark Crystal reference right now I will let you drop,” Andrea muttered through clenched teeth.

“Any chance we could fly back up to the top of the mountain?” James asked mockingly.

“Are you crazy?” Andrea asked as the ground looked like it was about to rise toward them. She bit down on her lower lip and forced one single flap from her wings to decelerate and then they folded and the two of them fell, tumbling to the ground with a thud and groans of pain. When Andrea caught her breath she tilted her head toward James, heedless of the leaves and twigs catching in her hair. “Why would you want to go back to the top of the mountain that you were just nearly killed on?”

“Well, as we fluttered past that moron we could yell out, ‘Can you fly, you sucker, can you fly?’ totally Kevin Bacon style.”

Andrea let her eyes close. Part of her couldn’t believe what she’d just done to save the idiot laughing in sheer relief beside her. The other part of her couldn’t believe she’d come so close to losing him. Tears of pain and frustration leaked out of her eyes and she covered her face with a sweaty, dirty hand.

“By the way, aren’t I supposed to rescue you?”

“Why?”

“Well, I’m the guy. And every good 80’s action movie kind of made me believe that in situations like this I should like rappel in before leaping out and clutching your hand and then someone managing to cling back to the rock-surface Spider-Man style.”

“Well, Mr Hero,” Andrea said, “given I’ve severely injured myself by over straining my wings, if you want to be all chivalrous you could carry me home.”

James pulled himself to his feet. “It’s a long walk.”

“Complaining already, Hero-San?”

“I guess it gives you time to tell me why my child-hood friend has wings.” He scooped her up before she could protest and started walking.

‘Do you even know which way you are going?”

“Home, James!”

I’m going to be honest, it’s pretty dreadful and rushed, but I finally wrote something and didn’t delete it. I also actually had a lot of fun writing it in the end, though possibly that was just me enjoying writing the references in. I kind of figure if you are falling off a mountain you need something to take your mind off of it.

Anyway, let me know what you think and thanks Arthifis for tagging me.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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