In Conclusion…

So, tonight’s the night. 2013 is nearly over. But that’s ok; all things end. They have to, or nothing else would ever get started. So I wanna welcome 2014 with open arms. I don’t know what this year might hold, but I am confident that I will be a better, more godly person by the end of it.

This year started with my parents introducing me to Doctor Who. During that time Rose and Ten became my first ship (I still haven’t quite gotten over Doomsday…) and I joined Pinterest. It’s Pinterest that really changed everything. I suddenly got into Legend of Zelda as a fandom, and Doctor Who, and later on Sherlock. I started having lengthy conversations with other fangirls online. Before I knew what was happening I was writing fanfic, and, what d’ya know, I was being praised for it. (Thanks for that, btw. :P)

I’d like to also thank a couple of the people that have made this year so amazing. There are a lot of people that have had a hand in the making of my year, but you guys are the ones I’m going to name.

•Anslie, my friend – I’ve only known you for five months now, but it feels so much longer than that. Who am I to say whether I’ve helped you, but you’ve certainly helped me. We’ve managed to become true friends, despite the entire United States being between us. May this new year—and many years after that—see our friendship grow even stronger. Know that I truly wish the best for you in life. I love you. And above all, remember—Pants. Pants and puns.

•Hannah, my friend – Thanks for being there. You and I definitely have our different obsessions, but we understand each other. I love our conversations, most of which are completely in sarcasm. 😉 May this year strengthen our friendship further. I love you. With any luck, you’ll come to your senses this year and learn to love Doctor Who as much as it deserves. 😛

•Chloe, my sister – You’re two years younger than I and half the time I treat you like a little girl, but you’re not. You’re almost a teenager yourself, and this year especially you’ve been less of my little sister and more of my best friend. Thank you, darling, for putting up with my emotional roller coaster 24/7 and for being my fanfic’s “#1 fan.” I will always love you, and as you enter puberty, know that I’ll always be there for you.

•Joze, my brother – I love playing tabletop games with you, talking about World of Warcraft with you, and even helping you with school. I’ve been caught referring to you as my little boy more than once, even though you’re really a young man, and not even mine. You’ve grown so much in the last few years, and you’re not a baby anymore. Even your role playing game characters have evolved drastically as you get older. I love you, and I look forward to watching you grow into a wonderful eleven year old.

•My parents – You two have, obviously, been the most influential people in my entire life, and I know you will continue to be so into the new year and beyond. Thank you. For everything. For loving me, for trusting me, for always being there to help me with anything and everything, for calling me a right moron when I need it, and for taking painstaking care in shaping me into a responsible adult. I, like all teenagers, can blow up at you and fume at some of your decisions, but you have yet to fail me. Oh, and Dad, thanks for buying me Writing Fiction for Dummies in June 2012. You introduced me to writing and I haven’t looked back since. You’ve continued your support of me and you remain my most severe and trusted critic. I get intimidated by either of you reading anything I write, but that’s only because yours’ is the opinion that matters most to me. I love both of you so much.

I think that’s all. There are so many more of you, but if I tried to list you all I’d miss the New Year’s deadline. 😉

It’s traditional to make resolutions at the start of each year, so I guess I’ll list a couple of the things I want out of 2014. By the end of next year…

•I will have a full first draft of my first novel.

•I will be able to drive.

•I will have completed the daunting SAT.

•I will have learned how to knit.

•I will have completed my first year of AWANA.

So, in conclusion, this year has been probably the best one yet, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the hopes that it can only get better. Happy 2014!

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” -Jeremiah 29:11

 

Goodbye, Sweetie

Raggedy man,

Goodbye.

 

Winter’s Departure

Jack winced as a cold shock passed through his body. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the din of the kingdom he was passing through. It wasn’t anything new, nothing major. Just another child who didn’t believe.
Sighing softly, Jack drew up a frigid wing current to carry him away. Far away, into the woods. Where he could make another snow man and talk to himself like a lunatic for a while. Jack flew over the entire snow-covered kingdom and in not too long was out in the middle of a forest. There, he stopped abruptly.
There wasn’t anything around here. Except… that tower? Why a tower? With nothing better to do, Jack flew into the small clearing where the tower stood. It didn’t seem abandoned, but how could anyone be living out here by themselves? Especially this winter… Jack shrugged off a sudden feeling of guilt about that blizzard the other day.
May as well go in. It’s not like anyone would see him. Jack created a small, icy tornado to hoist him to the window, leaving a mini snow storm behind him. Once up he abandoned the tornado and stepped onto the ledge, leaving a row of icicles on it.
There was a fire going in the fireplace, and the whole room felt snug and cozy. Jack tentatively stepped onto the stone flooring and slowly spun all around, staring at the walls. Painted. All of it. Even the ceiling was painted, and whoever did it was a really good painter. She—Jack assumed it was a she, given the style and colors—seemed to really like purple backgrounds and yellow suns.
“Who are you, and how did you find me?” rang a shill voice from the shadows. Jack spun the source of the sound to see a girl in a purple dress with long yellow hair. He couldn’t see anything else through the shadows. That must be the girl who painted all this! But, who was she talking to? Not him. That was certain. The girl repeated herself. “Who are you? And how did you find me?”
This time Jack glanced back to the window he’d come through. Nobody there. So, was this girl delusional or something? Even though she couldn’t see or hear him, Jack decided to explain on behalf of the mystery invader. “I’m sorry, miss, I didn’t realize this was your home. I was just inspecting these lovely paintings, see, and I never meant to-” Jack stopped.
She was looking at him. Not behind him, or next to him, or anything like that. Right at him. Hope sparked inside of Jack for the first time in, well, longer than he’d care to remember. Could she actually see him? “Um, miss, can you… Can you see me?”
“What do you mean ‘can I see you?’ Of course I can see you! Who are you? Why are you here? If you came for my hair, rest assured, you will not be leaving with what you came for.”
The girl said it angrily, distrustfully, scornfully. But she said it. To him. That alone was enough to break Jack Frost. He leaned on his staff and tried his best to remain calm, but that was no use. After all this time! A girl actually could see him! Another person! Involuntarily Jack’s lower lip began to quiver. “I-I, I… You can see me? Really, you can see me? You’re sure?”
The girl came ever so slightly out of the shadows and Jack could see more of her. Impossibly long hair that, now that he was looking, was coiled all over the house. It had to be 70 feet at least! But Jack didn’t take the time to notice much else. All that mattered now was that she could see him. The girl relaxed her position. “Yes, I really can see you. Doesn’t everybody?”
“N-no, actually. You’re the first one,” Jack explained absentmindedly. Those eyes. Those huge, green eyes. Eyes that saw, eyes that believed. Those were really some very nice eyes…
The girl stepped closer so that only a few steps separated them. “Well, I can see you. My name’s Rapunzel, by the way. What’s yours? And you didn’t actually come here to steal my hair, did you?”
“Your hair? No, no, I didn’t even know you were here.” The ground started spinning and Jack tried to continue standing. First impressions! She can see you; make a good one! “I- it’s been so long since-” There Jack stopped. He wanted to go on, but a snowball had seemingly stuck itself halfway down his throat and refused to budge. Instead water welled up in his eyes. No, you can’t cry! You only just met her, and now she’s going to think you’re a baby. Great going, Frost.
But it was too late, and the little liquid snowflakes were already raining down his cheeks. Through the tears, Jack could just make out a blurry Rapunzel closing the gap between them and wrapping her arms around him. Warm human skin enveloped him and held him for the first time Jack could remember. Before he realized it he’d returned the hug.
“Hey now, it’ll be ok,” whispered Rapunzel. “I can see you, and as long as you’re not after my hair, I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe here.” Jack hugged Rapunzel tighter and smiled blissfully. Soon, however, he realized what touching a warm human did when Rapunzel began to shiver. Her teeth started to chatter too.
Jack pulled away, put his left hand in his pocket, and stared at the stone flooring. “S-sorry. I can only make you cold.”
Rapunzel stepped forward and closed the gap between them again. This time she laid her right hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok. I don’t mind.” With that, she reattached herself to him, and Jack hesitantly returned it. “I don’t get many visitors up here either. We both need this. You never did tell me your name.”
“Oh, oh yeah, right. I’m Jack. Jack Frost. Have you… Have you heard of me?”
“Heard of Jack Frost? Of course I’ve heard of Jack Frost! He’s—you’re—in that book Mother brought me.”
“Oh. Well, most people think that book’s fake, and I’m not real. And if they don’t believe, they can’t see. Nobody’s ever seen me… until now.” As Rapunzel shivered more, Jack gently loosened his grip again.
“Really? Well, I can see you. Most people don’t know I exist, so I guess we’re kind of alike that way,” Rapunzel continued. Suddenly a third voice called something Jack couldn’t make out from below. Rapunzel’s face immediately went white. “It’s Mother! Jack, you have to go. I can’t let her see you!”
But, Jack thought, the only person who’s ever seen me is Rapunzel here. Not her mother. So… “I could just stay. Most people can’t see me, remember.”
Rapunzel’s eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously. “No, Mother would know. I know she would know. You have to go. I’m sorry!” she said as she practically pushed him out the window. “Just, come back to see me again, ok?”
With a little smirk, Jack nodded. One human on earth who could see him? Yeah, he’d be coming back. With that, Jack created a small blizzard to shoot him away.
Until next time, Punzie, thought Jack. Until next time.

 

In Another Life

“May we meet again in another life.” Those were my last words. As I said those words, I felt an emotion. You told me that it was happiness.
As my consciousness faded, I saw you one last time. You had tears in your eyes. My data suggests that you were sad.
But, at the same time, you were happy. My data is conflicted here, but I believe you must have been experiencing several emotions at once. I do not have the capacity to understand such things, but I can reach no other conclusion.
I can no longer connect to the world, although I can sense the things around me. You came back now and again. You would sit in front of me and stay silent. Sometimes you would shed tears.
One time, I knew that this time was the last time. I could sense age creeping over your body. Alone in the temple, you whispered something to me. “Goodbye, friend.” And after that day, you never returned.
Where I am, it is timeless. I do not know how long I lay dormant, but eventually, my last wish came true. A child came into my presence. He had your spirit and I could sense the Triforce of Courage within him. But he was too young. For seven years he slept, and when that time was over, he claimed me.
He did not know of my existence, and I had no way of reaching him. Together with him and the mortal reincarnation of Her Grace, I defeated the reincarnation of Demise’s hatred. His curse has indeed come true.
I was put back in my place and there lay dormant of eons. The Temple of Time disintegrated around me. Master, you would not be proud of your descendants’ treatment of this sacred place. You would have kept the vines from entangling me and the stones from crumbling around me.
Once again, I felt your presence. This time, he was not too young. He was, in fact, the closest to you, my true master, than any other incarnation has ever been. You would have been proud of him, Master.
During his journey, we traveled beyond the clouds. Master, if I was capable of feelings, I would have felt sad, hurt, or possibly angry at what we found there. It was your beloved Skyloft, Master. In ruins. I am glad that you were not forced to look on it yourself. The only inhabitants were monsters and a strange race of bird-people. I calculate a 75% chance that these are the descendants of your loftwings.
Eventually, we defeated this incarnation of Demise alongside this incarnation of Her Grace, Hylia. I was returned to my pedestal as I have been countless times.
And here I wait, for there will be another. There will be another Link and another Zelda who will require my aid. But Master, whatever may happen to me, I would wish you to know that you are my true master. You were the first.
Master, there are four kinds of love. I was given the capacity to understand none of them, but, despite the impossibility, I feel one for you. Agape. And I will never feel this way toward anyone save you. My true master. My Link.

 

Well Excuuuuuse me!

“It took you far too long to get here. Looking at you, I fear the goddess is mistaken in her choice of agents. If this failure is any indication, you have no hope of defending Her Grace from those who seek to assail her. Do my words anger you, boy? Do my words sting? Let them. If I had not come when I did, your Zelda would have already fallen into the hands of the enemy. The truth of it is you were late. You were late, and you failed to protect her. I sent Zelda ahead to learn more of the fate in which she is destined to play a part. Listen well, chosen one. If you wish to be of help to Her Grace, you must summon a shred of courage and face the trials laid out before you. Only when you’ve conquered the trials will you be of use to Zelda. No sooner. Am I understood?”

That’s what Impa says to Link in the Earth Temple. In game, Link’s response is to glance at the portal sadly, scrunch his eyebrows determinedly, and move on with his mission. I’m not at all satisfied with that. I understand that a lot of people like Impa, but she never lived this speech down in my opinion. So here’s what Link COULD have said to that before Impa left.

Link: What? Do you have any idea what this past week has been like for me? Do you? The answers is no. No, you don’t! Choice of agents?! I came of my own free will! And SHRED OF COURAGE?! I WAS LATE!?! I’m sorry, not ALL of us have a freaking TELEPORATION DEVICE to get around! I don’t have a nice golden, shiny light beam. Do you know what I have? *pulls out sword* I have THIS and legs. That’s what I’ve got! And you know, since APPARNTLY this whole plan has been in order since before I was born, let’s really talk about this right now. You, the headmaster, and apparently Zelda have all known about this forever, and not once did any of you think ‘Hey, maybe we should let Link—our CHOSEN HERO—in the loop. Maybe he’d like to know that we’ve planned out his whole life for him.’ No instead you all decided to play the keep-Link-in-the-dark game! You also evidently decided that invading my dreams with your freak-azoid digital girl was ok, WITHOUT ASKING ME! And then you have me scramble all over the sky chasing this lady, which leads me to a secret room, where I have this whole ‘chosen hero’ RUBBISH thrown on me and I pick up this sword. By the way, the goddess couldn’t even have thought to make this thing a LITTLE longer than this? I’ve had practice swords that are better! I’m told to jump to my probable doom below a barrier we’ve always feared in order to get to a land I didn’t believe in. So, I naturally trust this wacko lady, who for all I know is a HALLUCINATION, above everything I’ve ever known, just to hopefully be reunited with a girl I have no real connection too. And what d’ya know, this place exists! And as it turns out, I’m not just saving Zelda. No, I’ve got to save the WHOLE WORLD from a giant, purple pickle with giant jelly toes and teeth. I race over here as fast as I possibly can, and get stopped by these MARSHMALLOW creatures who coerce me into helping them find each other. So now I’m like this international good guy. I continue on, only to get held up by an INSANE DEMON LORD!  Seriously, I will never look at a tongue the same way again. I fight that guy and almost die, then CONTIUE ON to this hell on earth lava death trap, where I run into that same tongue guy who then conjures a giant lava monster to kill me. I DEFEAT IT and come rushing in here. And look now! I APPARNTLY am ‘too late’ to even talk to this girl I’ve defied death countless times for, and am now being told by some random creep that I was TOO LATE! TOO LATE?! You know, I do have to sleep. And I still have to earn money to pay for all the HEART POTION I’ve had to buy lately. Seriously, she’s the headmaster’s daughter, and I don’t even get monetary support?! So, lady, you may want to consider taking back that comment about a SHRED OF COURAGE! And what are these trials supposed to be? I have done more than any SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD should EVER have to do in his LIFE, and it’s still not good enough for you?! So, in the end lady, you have NO argument and NO right. What, I’m not good enough? Well, exuuuuse me! So tell me, what do you have to say for yourself now, oh perfect servant who, by the way, ALSO failed in keeping Zelda from imprisonment! What do you have to say now?!? HUH?!?!?

*silence*

*crickets*

*silence*

Impa: I must go now.

So that’s how I kinda think this scene should have gone. No offense to Impa-lovers, but I’m sure we can all agree that she was a little less than kind in this scene. I’ll be coming back to this topic later I think, to see Zelda and Impa’s side of the story. Till then, I hope you enjoyed my rant!And I really hope I didn’t offend anybody, because that wasn’t my intention. I wrote this mainly to be silly, and I hope y’all understand that. Thanks again for reading!

 

Goodbye

“Woah! Toothless, what’s wrong?” The nightfury had suddenly lost balance in the sky and dropped several yards before righting himself. Now, Hiccup noticed, he still shook as he flew. “What’s wrong, Toothless?”
In response, the aged dragon began to manically cough up phlegm. Hiccup patted Toothless’s head. “Aim for that cliff, Toothless. You need a break.” Still coughing and becoming more shaky by the second, Toothless landed on the high cliff not too far away from Berk, where they’d started. Hiccup dismounted and walked around to Toothless’s head.
He didn’t look good. Even though they’d landed, Toothless’s body still shook and the coughing fit hadn’t subsided. Hiccup knelt and rubbed him behind the ear. He smiled at Toothless, but inside he was biting his lips and worrying. For months now Toothless had been shedding scales. He’d been getting more sickly all the time. And he was the only nightfury the Vikings had ever found. Who knew… Who knew how long a nightfury’s lifespan was?
“You’re going to be ok Toothless,” Hiccup said. Even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. Toothless just stared at him with sad, knowing eyes. He knew what was happening. At this point the great Viking chief was fighting tears. “You’ll be ok. Toothless, you’ll be fine.” He was denying the obvious now, and they both knew it.
Toothless’s eyes were were large, but tired. They were knowing, but also trusting. Hiccup gave a small, cynical chuckle as he remembered how exactly like these Toothless’s eyes had been that day they became friends. The best day of his life. Of their lives.
His time had come, and they both knew it. Toothless would not be returning to Berk. Hiccup bent his head to stare at the grass and closed his eyes. He turned away and stretched out his palm, just like he had on that first day. A moment later Toothless’s nose lay nuzzled in it.
They stayed silent and motionless for a few seconds, and then Hiccup whispered one word. Out of all he wanted to say before his best friend left forever, all he could manage was one word. “Goodbye.” Not a moment after he said it, Toothless’s nose slipped from his palm and landed with a gentle thud on the grass. Gone.
Hiccup squeezed his eyes closed to keep the tears from coming. He dropped his arm and forced himself to look back. Toothless had died with his eyes closed, and even in death he looked content. Hiccup gave Toothless one final scratch behind the ear before walking alone back to Berk.
The villagers saw him walk all through the town and to his house at the top of the hill. No one approached him, but he heard them whispering softly to each other. They saw what, or rather who, was missing. Astrid stood in the doorway, and when she saw Hiccup, she rose a hand to her mouth, shut her eyes, and wept silently. Hiccup put his arms around her and together they walked inside. Even their children knew enough to run away to their rooms and stay quiet.
After a long afternoon, Hiccup organized a grave to be dug by the hidden lake, where that friendship had first begun. When Toothless’s body had been lowered into the hole, Hiccup stood in front of it and gave his last testimony.
“Toothless. He was, as far as we know, the only nightfury ever to grace our skies. We used to think of him as the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself, but we could not have been more wrong. Toothless was the most lively, joyful, perfect friend anyone could ever ask for. I am credited with being the first Viking to befriend a dragon, but that’s only half true. I was the first Viking to befriend a dragon, but Toothless was the first dragon to befriend a Viking. I refused to kill him, but after I freed him and he could have killed me, he refused to do so. He deserves as much, or more, credit and fame than I do. Toothless was—is—the best friend I have ever known, and one of the best things in my life.” With that, he knelt down and placed Toothless’s red tail extension into the grave with him.
One by one, each Viking silently shoveled dirt on top of Toothless, hiding him from view forever. Hiccup looked on, completely devoid of any emotion, as Astrid clung to him, choking back sobs. And one by one, all the other Vikings left. Hiccup had quickly carved a headstone that afternoon, and he drove it into its place now. Together, Astrid and Hiccup left.
But that night, after Astrid had fallen asleep, Hiccup quietly left his home and traveled alone to the grave. He knelt before it and stared at the inscription.

Here lies Toothless the Nightfury, may he rest in peace.

“I’ll see you again soon bud. Don’t have too much fun before I get there.”

Hiccup stared at the inscription, and pounded his right fist on the ground. He lowered his head, and the legendary Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe and first tamer of dragons, cried.
At dawn, he heard a light ruffling of grass and even lighter footfalls. He noticed, but didn’t acknowledge, his wife as she knelt beside him and placed a small heap of Dragon Nip by the headstone. Astrid placed an arm around him, and didn’t say anything. There was nothing to be said.
But then Hiccup said something. His voice was thick from crying and it came out in a quiet rasp, but he muttered, “By Odin, I swear I will never fly again.”
And he never did.