Tales of Cadence

[Sir Shrek]

d..>.<..b so... epic.... two thumbs up! Dear god, that was fgjdgktrgag amazing. Why only two chapoters left?! Why?! Please say you'll keep writing! And posting! Please!?

[Swordmaster69]

Why does Raven feel so bad after killing Skylar?? He's one confused character. Awesome 'final battle' Roadie!
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Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[Toku]

For such an important chapter, it must have been such a pain to make sure that everything was just right…Glad to say it worked though.

The battle scene was jarring and fast paced and it was built up to nicely as well. Skylar is a nice believable character; one where you can see that he honestly did what he thought was the only possible route to save the world. I’m actually a little sad to see him go since he was a great antagonist.

I found nothing wrong grammatically so it was a great chapter overall! I’m looking forward to see how this all ends!
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[Roadie]

Thank you all so so much for the comments on the latest chapter. I'm so glad it wasn't as bad as I thought. <3 I really appreciate the feedback and compliments. <3<3<3

Lord Alucard: Thank you! And by compliation, do you mean a list of chapters, or something else? I have links on the first post.

wolfeyes: rofl that's awesome. :')

YZorker: I have a habit of picking out really small things I don't like while I edit a chapter, so that was one of the reasons I didn't like it (I'm probably just overreacting or something). But I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Sir Shrek: I'll keep posting chapters for ToC until it's done, of course. And as for more writing and posting on this forum in general...I may have an announcement after the last chapter of ToC is posted...we'll see. (Not that anyone wants me to stick around ololol)

Toku: Thank you for the great feedback! Whoo, no grammar errors for once either. <3


If Tales of Cadence were a game, you'd have "free reign" at this point -- i.e., you could do all the sidequests and extra stuff (like how you can do pretty much everything in ToS after you get the Derris Emblem or w/e). I don't care what I start with, so I decided to let you, my wonderful readers, choose:

Which sidequest would you like to see first? (I don't have every possible one up now; I'll post more options after the last chapter is posted.)

- A costume one
~ Formal
~ Katz
~ Heroic
~ School Days (Ilia)
~ Dream Come True (Stephen)
~ The Scriptures (Raven and Elsynne)

- A regular one
~ Where's Joseph?
~ A Glimpse Into the Past (Ilia's Backstory)

So let me know what you'd like to see the most. (Notice I haven't added hot springs yet lolol I knew you'd all pick that anyway. )

And yeah sorry no skits/extras today. :') I'm graduating really soon so school's kicking my ass harder than usual.
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[0999Silv]

Ide like to see that formal sidequest first. That should be interesting.

[Sir Shrek]

I'm interested in the Katz and the Scriptures, actually.
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Credit to squidmaster64 for the fanbar.

[Swordmaster69]

I really wanna see Where's Joseph. He hasn't showed up in so long.
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Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[Roadie]

Muchas gracias for the suggestions, everyone.

Also, new crapter. Only one left after this, thank the lord.


Chapter XLVI

“Now that Skylar’s finally out of our way,” Harriette said quietly to her older sister, “how do you feel?”

Elsynne was silent for a long time, her gaze focused on the uniform pattern of the hotel’s generic pastel wallpaper. She could barely see Harriette standing on the other side of the room beside her own bed; the curtains hanging across the windows were drawn back, keeping out most of the afternoon sun’s warm rays.

“I…I’m not sure,” Elsynne finally replied. “All he wanted to do was protect me, but now he’s dead. I fought him. And I helped kill him, even though it was Raven who delivered the final blow…”

Harriette waved a dismissive hand. “It doesn’t matter. He’s gone now, isn’t he? We don’t have to worry about him interrupting us anymore.”

“It still doesn’t feel right.”

“You have a very skewed sense of justice, dear sister. If Skylar were alive, you know he’d go after the Messenger. And he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him, no matter how you feel.”

Elsynne winced. “I know that…”

“How do you feel about the Messenger, anyway?” Harriette asked. “About Raven?”

Elsynne bit the corner of her lip and looked down at her carefully folded hands. Her younger sibling smiled at her wordless reply.

“How very interesting,” the girl muttered. “I never imagined I’d live to see a…friendly relationship like this develop between the Messenger and the Heir.”

Elsynne still didn’t respond. She was only thankful that her sister couldn’t see how red her face had become.

“Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about,” Harriette continued, ignoring her silence. “It’s about the ceremony.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The resealing ceremony alone won’t be nearly enough to calm the black magic. As long as the Sanctuary is still standing the seal can still be broken over and over again by future Heirs.”

Elsynne held her breath. “What are you implying…?”

“The Sanctuary needs to be destroyed after you perform the ceremony. You may go alone, if you’d like—we can lie to the others and leave them behind.”

“But that means-”

“Your bloodline—the legacy of the Heirs—needs to end before history has a chance to repeat itself. After you reseal the Sanctuary I want you to destroy it with Rem while you’re still inside,” Harriette continued quickly, her voice lowering to a feverish whisper. “If I were in your position I’d do the same thing, you know that. However, I don’t have the power of the Heir…I’m completely useless, just like Skylar said. Even if I had children—and I doubt I ever will—they would never have the same power as your descendants.”

“What about the Tower? And Raven-“

“Don’t worry about that. We can work something out with the Tower.”

“And what about what Skylar said? Will the resealing ceremony…will it really hurt Raven and the others?”

“Maybe.” Harriette shrugged. “But, then again, he might’ve been lying just to get you to join his side.”

Elsynne’s response was hesitant and shaky. “H-Harriette…”

“I’ll give you time to think about it, but consider this: If we don’t end things now, this will happen again and the entire world will be completely destroyed because of how weak the seals are. Your friends and their descendants will be tormented because of it. Elsynne…you would be saving the world if you destroyed the Sanctuary and yourself…the last Heir.”

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Raven had never been so confused in his entire life.

For so long his entire being seemed to hinge on Skylar’s defeat. He thirsted for that coveted final battle, the time when everything he had done paid off at last.

That time came and went; he emerged victorious and Skylar had fallen. But instead of the triumph he had been expecting, Raven only felt an overwhelming sense of hopeless uncertainty.

And there were still those unanswered questions, too—why had Skylar changed so drastically in the end? What pushed him to do what he did? Had it been the fear of death, the fact that Elsynne was going to perform the ceremony that would kill them?

Raven spent hours mulling it all over and he couldn’t figure it out. Just thinking about Skylar and the ceremony made his stomach churn, but for days he couldn’t get them out of his head.

In the meantime, while the others recovered from the fight and organized their trip back to Eirnome, Raven found that confining himself to his hotel room helped keep him relatively sane. He only wanted to be alone so he could mentally prepare himself for the outcome of Elsynne’s resealing ceremony without the false comfort of his companions.

When the day to return to Eirnome came at last, Raven followed the rest of the group—including Ophelia—out to the train station with a tired, resigned guise. He didn’t feel like anything; he wasn’t normal Raven or possessed Raven now.

The small religious town on the outskirts of the Sanctuary was exactly as Raven remembered it. This was one good thing, he realized; he still had some vague memories of this place.

“My sister and I will take care of the arrangements to get inside the Sanctuary tomorrow afternoon,” Harriette told them when they gathered in the lobby at the local inn. “I know we’ve been taking it easy the past few days, but I have nothing else for the rest of you to do, so…go ahead and do whatever you want for now.”

Raven was dozing off on the cot in his room when he heard a knock at the door the first night they arrived in the town. He figured it was only Stephen or Felix—one of the two he was sharing the inn room with—and he wasn’t in the mood to put up with their antics.

“You can just come in, you know,” he muttered bitterly.

“Raven?”

He was mildly surprised when he heard Elsynne’s voice; she hadn’t spoken to him since the night Skylar died. She opened the door warily and stood at the threshold, her eyes soft.

“Yeah?” Raven asked.

Elsynne fidgeted for a moment, staring down at her feet. “Do you want to go outside for a while, to get some fresh air? You’ve been by yourself for so long…I thought you might like some company.”

“Oh…” He paused, leaning his head back against his entwined fingers. What else did he have to do besides mope? “Sure.”

Elsynne smiled faintly and moved back into the hallway as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Thank you,” she murmured gently when he passed.

The air outside the inn was cool and balmy, still humid after several days of rain and lightning. Raven stood with his back to the stone wall, bathed in the soft, orange light of the lamps lining the street. The sky overhead was a cold, velvety shade of purple, and the shivering stars seemed even more distant than ever before.

The whole thing—standing outside with Elsynne in the darkness, watching their shadows dance across the streets—seemed so familiar and so unfamiliar at the same time. Raven still had the memory of their last talk like this; it was poignant and sharp in his mind, unlike his other memories of the time before he was possessed. But something was missing…

“Where are the fireflies?” he suddenly asked.

Elsynne frowned weakly, clasping her hands neatly behind her back. “The black magic probably killed or warped them. There’s still a lot of it in the air.”

An unexpected pang of remorse rippled through Raven. “Oh,” was his only reply.

“So…” Elsynne stood beside him, gazing quietly at their shadows. “What do you think of all this? You finally get to go home tomorrow after the ceremony, right? You and Ilia…and me.”

It took all of Raven’s willpower not to wince. I won’t be going home, and neither will Ilia.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he lied.

“You don’t sound happy.”

“I don’t…know how I feel right now.”

Elsynne turned to face him, her eyes wide and sad. “You’ve been so distant since we fought Skylar. Are you feeling all right? Or are you still hurt?”

“No.” He shook his head. “No, I’m all better…physically, anyway. It’s just…I don’t know how to explain it. I’m not really sad that Skylar’s dead, it’s just that…” Raven stopped himself, clenching his fists at his sides. He was bumbling around like an idiot, and Elsynne probably didn’t understand a word he was saying.

But she smiled gently and took his gloved hand. “Don’t worry. I don’t think I feel quite the same way as you, but…maybe I can sort of relate,” she offered. “It didn’t feel right killing Skylar like that. He wasn’t trying to hurt me…he was only trying to protect me. He thought he knew the right way to save the world from the black magic, but he was wrong…” She trailed off sadly, her gaze hardening.

“But that’s the thing. He was trying to hurt me and everyone else—and the world, when you think about it—so I shouldn’t feel the way I feel. I should be happy, right? I’ve been working for this for so long, and now that I’ve finally done what I needed to do…something feels wrong.”

“When the dust settles everything will seem a little better,” Elsynne said thoughtfully. “Or, at least, that’s what my father used to tell me. You’re conflicted now, but we’ll work things out. Skylar wasn’t a completely bad person…he just took the wrong path.”

“But how do we know we’re taking the right one?”

“We don’t know, exactly…but I’m sure we’re doing the right thing. His method meant killing hundreds of people. It meant destroying the world instead of saving it. I think it was all of that responsibility—the need to do what he thought was just—that changed him in the end.”

“That’s…true, I guess.”

She squeezed his hand a little tighter, trying not to touch his exposed fingertips. “Tomorrow I’ll reseal the Sanctuary and Rem will help me close up the fissures. Whatever’s possessed you will be quiet down and you can live a normal life again. You can go home…back to Austror, the plains…back to the way things were.”

Raven looked away from her, tilting his head back to face the muted night sky. She sounded so sure of herself, and he couldn’t bring himself to tell her how wrong she really was.

“I don’t know what kind of life I want anymore,” he said quietly. “Nothing will be the same again after all this. I’m two different people-”

“No,” she interrupted him. “That other presence may be part of you now, but you’re mostly yourself. That’s all that matters to me.”

Raven absently rubbed at the back of his neck and tried to ignore the sudden warmth he felt on his face. “Er, thanks. I think.”

“You know you’ll always be welcome in Lavinia. I’m sure Felix and Harriette would be happy to see you. And I’ll…I’ll be coming with you to Austror, remember? I promised Lukas I would.”

“All right.” He took his hand from hers and straightened up, brushing the dust from his clothing. “After all this is done, I’ll go back to Austror for a while,” he said. “After that…I don’t know what I’ll do. Maybe I’ll give traveling a try.”

It was all a smooth lie, of course—he still didn’t want to tell Elsynne that the ceremony would destroy all the black magic in his body and now he wasn’t sure if he ever would tell her—but part of him wished desperately it wasn’t.

Elsynne’s faint smile only brightened, and she didn’t seem to catch on. “Good for you.”

“And what will you do after the ceremony? After the trial in Itona and everything, I mean.”

Her grin faded. “I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it yet. Maybe I’ll go home for a while, too…” she trailed off, a note of sadness lingering in her tone.

“Oh, well. Sounds good,” Raven finally managed after a brief, awkward silence. He put his hand on the doorknob, glanced once over his shoulder, and hesitated. It was a habitual gesture, he quickly realized; he was looking out for Skylar again.

‘One person I don’t have to worry about anymore…’

“Wait.” Elsynne grabbed his arm to stop him from going back inside and reached into her small pack. Raven heard a muffled mew as Reo poked her head out, her golden eyes shining in the lamplight.

“The rest of your payment,” Elsynne said, dropping a heavy bag of Penna gald in the palm of his outstretched hand. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me. I really appreciate it. If it weren’t for you, I doubt I would’ve made it this far.”

“Elsynne…” He weighed the bag in his hands, some kind of unfamiliar emotion catching in the back of his throat. “I don’t need this.”

“Just take it. Please?”

He held it tighter, relishing the faint jingle of coins—old habits died hard. “All right,” he said as he opened the inn door. “Thanks.”

The others—his friends and former companions—were gathered around a small table in the lobby. It dawned on Raven that this would be the last time he saw them all together.

“Sounds like something big happened at the Sanctuary,” Felix was telling the rest of the group.

“A new black magic crack opened sometime after the last ceremony my sister attempted,” Harriette added, sighing. “All because the ceremony broke the original seal… Speaking of which, Raven, you can’t come with us when we go tomorrow.”

Raven scowled. “Why not?”

“Do you remember how painful it was for you last time? It’ll be even worse tomorrow when my sister tries to reseal everything. This time, it could really kill you.”

A dead weight settled in Raven’s stomach. He was silent for a few moments before he responded, “Oh…okay, I guess.”

“Are you ready for the ceremony, Elsynne?” Stephen asked politely, smiling when he turned around and saw them standing beside the door. “Only one more day and we’ll be all done, huh?”

“Y-Yes,” she stammered after a pause. Raven barely noticed the uncertainty that laced her delicate tone when she replied. “We’ll be all done.”

Ilia shifted quietly. “We’ve all been together for so long…it’s going to be weird.”

“Yes…”

The idle chatter died off as they stared down at their folded hands, a bleak atmosphere settling over the lobby.

“I think I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day,” Elsynne said coyly. As she turned, she came to a stop beside Raven and drew closer, standing on the tips of her toes until her face was only inches away from his ear. Raven drew away, suddenly fearful, until she spoke.

“I’m so sorry, Raven. Goodbye,” she whispered, low enough so that only he could hear her. She pulled back, smiled sympathetically, and retreated down the hall to her room, leaving Raven even more perplexed than he had been before.

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It was well past midnight when everyone else finally went to bed. Elsynne could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she forced open the door of Raven’s small inn room. She paused at the threshold, breathing a mute sigh of relief when she saw the Messenger fast asleep on his cot. Stephen was the only one who hadn’t come back yet and Felix was sprawled out on the sofa in the corner. Luckily, the boy was sleeping too deeply to hear her walk inside.

Elsynne paused for a moment, silently watching Raven’s still form; he looked even more relaxed and peaceful in his sleep than he did when he was awake. She swallowed past a painful lump in her throat when she realized that this would be the last time she ever saw his face.

Elsynne opened her pack and Reo jumped out, landing softly on the mattress with a gentle mewl. She bent down and stroked the small cat’s head.

“I’m going to have to leave you here, Reo,” Elsynne said in the quietest tone possible. “Please keep them from coming to the Sanctuary if they wakes before I’ve...”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

With one last longing glance at Raven and Felix’s motionless forms, Elsynne reluctantly turned her back on them and left.

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The streets were quiet, empty, and awash in the fluttering glow of the candlelit lamps. Stephen stood beneath one of the streetlights, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. Ophelia was across from him, her figure hidden in the shadows of a nearby alley. Her eyes were cold, half-lidded with shame and another emotion Stephen couldn’t quite place.

“I’m sorry, Stephen,” she said wearily, lowering her head. “This is the last time we’ll ever see each other.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“But it is. I already told you, I’m sorry. I have to go, for good this time.”

“Why are you telling me this? Why not the others as well?”

Ophelia hesitated for a long time, her gaze drifting to the swirling black magic overhead. Her expression slowly went from shameful to pensive.

“Just because. You should understand…or, you maybe don’t. I don’t know. It’s just…you were the only one I wanted to tell.”

“Ophelia…”

Ophelia turned toward Stephen. She could see the hurt reflected plainly in his blue eyes, and she knew that if she wasn’t careful, that same pain would be just as visible in hers.

His gaze suddenly flickered away from her. Ophelia spun around and saw someone run from the nearby inn to the entrance of the town.

“Who was that?” Stephen asked, following her stare.

“That was Elsynne, if I’m not mistaken. What’s she doing out so late?”

“She’s probably having trouble sleeping. Tomorrow’s the big ceremony. I don’t blame her for being nervous.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Ophelia chewed the corner of her lip and looked down. “I can’t stay around much longer. I have to go. Goodbye, Stephen.”

“Wait.” Stephen desperately extended his hand and reached for her shoulder, but Ophelia had already turned away and was racing down the cobblestone road. She didn’t care where she was going—she just knew that she had to get as far away from him as she possibly could.

This was the last time she could see him before most of the black magic disappeared from their world with the resealing ceremony. Without it, her body, which was almost completely dependent on the miasma now because of everything she had done to it in the past seven years, would begin the slow, painful process of falling apart. She needed black magic, her life-sustaining drug, but the world itself couldn’t survive with so much of it anymore. Only sacrificing a few lives—hers, Raven’s, Ilia’s, and the few other people who had been infected with black magic—for the sake of thousands of others; that was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? If she ran away, she wouldn’t be tempted to stop Elsynne from resealing the fissures.

But it wasn’t just the temptation to stop Elsynne that kept her running.

Stephen was the last person she wanted to see her dying all over again.
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[0999Silv]

Tsk Tsk. Elsynne, Raven, you two shouldn't be lying to each other. I so hope everything turns out okay in the end.

Nice chapter as usual Roadie. Just one more chapter left. I wonder who the Final Boss is going to be.

I do want to ask, will you include an Abyssion like character and a Sword Dancer sidequests?

[Sir Shrek]

I'm feeling really sad, actually. You are such a brilliant artist in the medium of words, and your tale is so close to the curtian. I do hope that Cadence will continue on after the finale? Please?
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Credit to squidmaster64 for the fanbar.

[Swordmaster69]

OMFGGG!!! One more chapter!!! I'm so excited, but melancholy at the same time. I hope everything turns out good. I don't Raven to go away, and I don't want Elsynne to sacrafice herself either. It would be to heartbreaking.
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Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[KK Twain]

Is this going to be another tale of star crossed lovers? Ooh, that could make a good tales of title. Tales of the Star Crossed Lovers; TotSCL. Hmm, a bit long.

I've been so busy lately it's hard keeping up. I hope everything turns out okay in the end. The Bane ending was a bit sad, but since Seraphine got her diary in the end she can read about what she forgot. (I still wonder what the others lost. Especially Kraza, 'cause he already lost Eve.)

I'm hoping for a bit more of a cheerful ending this time. I think I've seen too many sad endings lately. When was the last time I even read a happy ending? I can't remember anymore.

Elsynne and Raven should be more honest, and then maybe they could work things out and find a way where they wouldn't have to die. Oh yeah, Stephen and Ophelia parting each other was sad too. They were a cute pairing.

Is the next chapter really the last? Do we get an epilogue after that or no? Well, I'm reluctantly looking forward to the next chapter, since I don't really want ToC to end.

[squidmaster64]

Wow... there's just... so much emotion in these last three chapters, especially the most recent. It's evil how torn I am, both eager to see my favorites to their untimely ends but how fierce my inward scream of "No!" was when Skylar died... and Arngon (:( :( :( ) ... Ugh there are very few people that can do this to me. :(

I'm really concerned about Ilia... She's... I dunno, she just doesn't deserve to suffer for everything that's going on.

On the subject of the Raven/Elsynne scene, I was pleasantly surprised. :) Their relationship, to me, is merely close friendship, not exactly romantic--but their feelings played out just evident enough to follow their characters but at the same time enough to fit the bill of Tales trademark. Only you could pull that off imo. <3

Now, a couple of comments...

[Roadie]

Thank you all for the lovely comments on the chapter, everyone. And the (very varied) votes on the extras.

The next chapter might be a little late... I've been working around a ton of final exams and final projects for the last week, so I haven't had a lot of time to get editing done (plus the final chapter's just really ****ing long). Keep your fingers crossed/bribe me/whatever and hopefully I can get the finale done before Monday without killing myself.

Silv: There is an Abyssion-type character (who has actually already been introduced in the story; useless Roadie Points to whoever guesses who it is), but I'm not sure about a Sword Dancer one.

Sir Shrek: Thank you so much! I doubt there will be any continuation to ToC after the epilogue of the story, though...but I've got other things up my sleeve. hint hint

KK Twain: Yes, the next chapter is really the last, and there will be an epilogue after the last chapter.

Master: Thanks so much for the comments and the feedback! I'm glad I managed to pull those scenes off well, too. And thank you for the awesome art. <3

And now a skit to totally destroy the mood I've been building for the last few chapters.


Skit: Old Habits Die Hard

Felix: Raven, is it all right if I get a gel from your bag? I’m all out.

Raven: Sure, go ahead. Just don’t go digging through my other stuff.

Felix: Heheh, okay. Why, are you trying to hide something bad?

Raven: No, I just don’t want you getting everything all messed up. Geez…

Felix: Got it. Let’s see…

*ca-chink*

Felix: Wh-Whoa, what’s in this bag?

Raven: What bag?

Felix: I-It’s full of Penna gald! There’s so much…! Raven, where’d you get this?

Raven: Oh, it’s just the pay Elsynne gave me for-

Felix: You took it from her? Raven, how could you?!

Raven: I didn’t steal it! She gave it to me! She contracted me for this job a long time ago, remember?

Felix: B-But still…! Raven, I thought you changed!

Raven: Hey, it’s not my fault if I need money…and besides, she gave it to me. GAVE it to me, Felix. I didn’t just snatch it up.

Felix: You should’ve protected her because she’s your friend! Or out of the goodness of your heart!

Raven: Goodness of my heart…? Are you still going on about this hero crap? Or are you sick?

Felix: No! I just thought…y’know, real heroes turn nice at the end of their big journey. I thought you would, too…

Raven: …

Felix: I-I’m not saying you’re not nice! I still think you’re a good person deep down, Raven!

Raven: I’m…going to bed. Maybe everyone will be back to normal when I wake up. And put that gald down, I’m still keeping it!

Felix: Ooh, Raven…
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[squidmaster64]

Tsk, tsk, Felix, I thought you knew your boyfriend better than that.

And lol summer boredom is setting in already! 8) 8) 8)








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Primary Avatar Excellence Theorem: if one has an amazing icon, then it was made by Roadie.
(Clearly, my current is not amazing. :( )