I can't lie. I cried over the responses to the A/N. I honestly didn't expect the responses from you all, I just hoped it would reach Guest, and it has. Thank you all for your lovely, lovely words, and thank you, Guest, for reading and responding. Thank you all so much.
It was also pointed out that in the A/N at the top of the last chapter, I was anxious about the story being too long - I've realised that was quite probably the indicator I should have listened to about my anxiety rising and overall mood dropping too low! I've taken a few days to work on making myself a bit less stressed before coming back.
Eclipse, Chapter 20
"Bella's come here twice in three days," Carys said through gritted teeth, "complaining about Charlie and Jacob."
Unable to find her tights in the mass of bedcovers and clothing strewn across the bed, she glared and gave up. She and Carlisle had been arguing for the better part of half an hour, and it felt as if they were going 'round in circles.
It was Monday; Bella, Edward and Alice graduated in the morning, and a party at their house would celebrate the achievement in the evening. While the party was supposedly for the three together, it was, in fact, for Bella.
Bella, who had returned to their house on Sunday, armed with news of another of Charlie's attempts to turn her head towards Jacob. He had claimed it was in terms of the teenagers' friendship, but his words, when related by Bella and Edward, told a different story entirely.
As it was so in keeping with what he had said in the past, Carys, and then Carlisle when he'd returned from his shift hours later, had doubted much embellishment had been made.
"Charlie's gonna lose her earlier than he needs to because he can't see the difference between 'I don't like your boyfriend'," she growled, "and, 'here's a replacement because I don't think you can function alone, and,'" she added, pausing to throw a hand in the air, "'yeah, I want this kid as my son, so if you two get together, I can have him'.
"So he doesn't think she should be with Edward, fine! But why does that mean she needs a big strong man - who's actually a sixteen-year-old boy - to fall back on? Gimme a break. What kind of example is he tryna set?"
Carlisle shrugged himself into his shirt, buttoning it quickly with short, sharp movements.
"I understand that," he argued just as hotly as she had. "I do. I think we can all see the sexism at play, but the fact of the matter is, the only adults close enough to the situation express their opinions at the moment are Bella, Charlie, Renée, and perhaps Billy. You're not Bella's mother, you're not Jacob's mother, and you're-"
He let out a frustrated breath as he flipped up his collar to loop and secure his tie in an intricate knot.
Carys grabbed her dressing gown from where it was laid on the bed and presented him with her back as she yanked it on and angrily tied the belt.
"Say it, Carlisle," she snapped. "I'm not Edward's mum, either. I know that. But Charlie is my friend, and someone needs to make it clear for him if he's not gonna listen to Bella."
Heading for the bathroom, she felt him follow and tried to close the door between them, but he held out a hand to stop it.
"Carys," he seethed. "That is not what I was about to say."
Carys drew a deep breath and forced a smile. "I know," she said quickly. "It's fine. You're right, I shouldn't get involved."
She tried to close the door again, but he held it open with his palm. He could have done so with a single finger, and it felt, as it often did - as if he were considering her humanity at every turn.
"Carlisle, come on," she urged, "we need to stop arguing and get ready."
He didn't move to release the door. "You're not fine," he said quietly as the fight visibly left him, relaxing his tense muscles.
"I am fine," she retorted gently. A moment later, she repeated the words, free of the undercurrent of sharp annoyance.
"So that's that, is it?" Carlisle asked, his dark golden gaze boring into her as he searched her expression. "You're fine, and that's the end of it?"
"When it comes to that part, yes, Carlisle," Carys unconvincingly assured. "It's fine. I'm fine. Are you not fine?"
He frowned, speaking in a tone which matched his increasingly worried expression. "You would be opening a can of worms. Charlie will think you're biased to Edward by association. The best thing we can do is support Bella and give her a place to escape to, just as you did yesterday; just as we did on Friday. I don't agree with what he's doing, but I can't say anything to him, either. I'm sorry for stating my opinion."
His words, which could easily have taken on a passive-aggressive quality, rang of truth instead.
Carys shifted a little, a powerful feeling of remorse coming over her. She wondered if she were making a mountain out of a molehill. Causing problems for them. Provoking needless arguments.
Her gaze dropped down and away.
Having seen her sudden unease, Carlisle refused to allow the feeling to develop. Instead, he called a time out, caught her chin lightly between his finger and thumb, and softly insisted that they were both arguing for a reason, and that if they didn't hash it out, it might fester between them.
When he had drawn back to his former position, his palm holding the door in the same place as before, they returned to their argument as if the interlude had never happened.
Carys sighed, "I said it's fine. You're right, I should leave it alone. Can I get ready now before we end up being late?"
"We've an hour before we need to leave."
"My hair's a mess."
Carys released the door, lifting the frizzy mass to further indicate her problem. She sighed again, accepting, this time, that there was no moving him, and so she turned away from the door and padded to the sink to set to work with her mister.
Carlisle caught her attention in the mirror as he slid his cufflinks into place. His own hair free to cascade over his forehead and temples, reaching his collar at the back, he stared at her determinedly.
"Edward views you as a quasi mother-figure," he said firmly after a few moments. "He has, ever since you unleashed a righteous fury on him last year."
Carys laughed - a short, sudden, surprising sound which cut off almost as soon as it began.
"The hell he does," she said, a tad reproachfully and a little self-mockingly, as, happy as to the dampness of her hair, she returned the mister to the sink counter with a thump and reached for her leave-in conditioner. "You don't need to pour sugar on it, Carlisle."
Cufflinks secured, he rested his forearm against the doorframe by his shoulder and pushed off a little, crossing his ankles and sliding his left hand into his trouser pocket. His determination remained throughout.
"I'm not pouring anything," he insisted, a moment before he sighed and briefly closed his eyes.
"For someone who sees so much, you have blind-spots when it comes to yourself," he told her. The strength of his stare was unmuted by the mirror. "You're so busy trying to help people, whether you like them or not, whether they deserve you or not, you don't then stop to see how much they crave your approval, and they continue to let you down."
Carys frowned a little.
After replaying his words in her mind, she found herself just as confused as when he uttered them. "You think I get let down because I don't notice how people secretly respond to me?" she asked, meeting his gaze once again as she began to slick and twirl her hair into a low bun.
"Not at all," he said with a firm shake of his head. "I think... Take this for example." He indicated between them with the hand propped by his shoulder. "You're willing to potentially end a friendship of years with Charlie, on the off chance the man will consider your words.
"Look at the manner in which Bella treats you; you would do this for her, and yet I doubt she would offer the same in return," he continued as they both watched Carys consider his words with a tilt of her head in the mirror. "Sometimes it's not so much 'if you have nothing nice to say', as self-preservation.
"Meddling in this way won't change Charlie's mind, and it won't make Bella's situation any better - that's something only they can do. You've already told him what you think, as have Sarah and Monica, no doubt others as well.
"As of today, she will have graduated high school, and Charlie's power is lost. It might not be in a normal situation, but it is here."
"You really think that's true?"
"I do. Bella's an adult, and she will be a graduate in a matter of hours. As of today, Charlie will be forced to recognise her as an adult. As far as he knows, she'll away to college in a matter of months, and will be free to come and go as she pleases beforehand."
"Is this wishful thinking," Carys asked suspiciously, "or has Alice seen it?"
Carlisle nodded. "Alice has foreseen the paths Charlie and Bella's relationship may take. The only thing I can see achieved here will be to hurt you. I'm trying to save you from your own goodness for once."
Carys dropped her head back, his words having had an adverse reaction after all. And they'd been doing so well.
"I wish you would take me down off that pedestal, Carlisle," she said tiredly, turning around and gesticulating her point. "I get angry, I say things I don't mean or which I wouldn't usually. I can be mean, and horrible, and I can be impulsive and stupid too. I'm not some perfect, selfless person."
"Very few of your angriest moments are on your own behalf. Neither you nor any of us are a sum of our anger." Carlisle lowered his head, and then looked up at her from beneath his lashes. "As for the rest of it, I disagree strongly with stupid and mean," he muttered, then shook himself and raised his voice enough to implore:
"God, how I wish you could see yourself as the rest of the world does, just for one day. You're a good person. Being selfish once in a while will never change that, nor will being angry or defending yourself or others."
"I'm... I'm not...," Carys said dejectedly. How could she argue against that? "You're the good one, Carlisle. I suppose... I suppose that's why I don't understand this. You can see it's not fair what he's doing."
"I doubt I would be risking conceit at this stage, for either of us, by reiterating: we both are," Carlisle countered. "And good person to good person, there's only so much we can say or do at the moment.
"People do not... People tend not to be as good as you or I would like them to be. Charlie is not infallible, and he will be losing his daughter in a matter of months. You and I know this, but no one can tell him.
"It will be a thankless task to confront him now. A task, I might add, which hinges on putting Bella above yourself, which is a trait of inequality you look down on in others." He flashed her a brief, all too knowing, smile and continued after she had felt the heat of her blush. "And you say you can be selfish, my love? You wouldn't know if it reared up and bit you on the nose."
He was teasing, she was sure, but there was an intense earnestness to his voice that threw her a little. She chuckled in case she'd mistaken the undertone. It evidently wasn't the reaction he was hoping for.
He sighed. "Have you ever been thanked, Carys? Bella knows you defended her last year without knowing her; you have considered her time and again when she has not once thought to offer you the same courtesy.
He spun on his heel and walked out into the bedroom to retrieve his waistcoat, shrugging it on as he spoke.
"This is one battle she needs to fight herself. I feel for Bella, I do. I simply... I think helping in this instance may mean putting down the sword and offering a safety net in its stead."
"I'm not picking up swords, Carlisle," Carys said slowly. "And I wouldn't risk it with a human."
Carys flattened her palms against the marble to catch herself as she slumped over her arms. That was exactly what she had been suggesting, though, wasn't it? If she told Charlie he could lose Bella before he needed to, he might ask questions or wonder once they were gone. There was no such thing as too careful.
"You said it yourself," she said sadly. "We both have. Charlie's gonna lose her soon anyway. I hear what you're saying, but the transformation will purge her of most, if not all, of her human memories. Is it really so wrong to want the last full memories they have of each other to be good ones? To hope he might finally realise that what he's saying and doing is wrong?"
Carlisle placed his hands on Carys' shoulders and drew her up, massaging her flesh. "No, love, but Bella is a woman; no matter how immaturely she acts at times, she shouldn't be treated as a child. She knows her mind. She's strong, courageous - often to a degree of recklessness, and, yes, selfishness."
They shared a humourless smile with their reflections.
"She thinks she's being noble," Carys whispered.
Why was she defending her? She wasn't sure.
"A noble brother-in-arms would see that to sacrifice themselves in such a manner would be folly," Carlisle said softly. "Nobility is all well and good, but her brand more often than not jeopardises the safety of those around her.
"Carys. If Alice can forsee Bella stumbling about in the forest in an attempt to find the battleground, she can handle this. If Bella can ask Edward to sit out the battle when it comes, leaving us without a strong fighter - one who wishes to do what I do not, she can handle this."
"And if she can't?" Carys asked, turning to face him as she ignored his final point, fearing it would cause her anger to rise again, just as it had when she'd heard of Bella's request. She wasn't entirely sure she wasn't angry at herself as much as Bella, for not having considered it an option when they needed all hands on deck. "If she can't deal with it on her own?"
"Then she will ask, or Edward will," Carlisle said gently. "But it is not your decision to make for her."
He was right.
Of course, he was right.
But as Carys sat waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin, she looked behind her and wished he wasn't.
From where she sat, near the front of the space reserved in the large hall-cum-cafeteria-cum-gym for families and friends of the graduands, near the end of the row, she had a bird's eye view of Charlie as he entered the hall.
Jacob walked alongside him.
As many had arrived around the same time as Carys and Carlisle, Billy Black, Charlie and Jacob were forced to find places towards the back. Even with his head bent as he removed a chair to make space for Billy's wheelchair, Jacob was taller than anyone in the immediate vicinity.
Carys adjusted herself in her seat and looked at Carlisle. "D'you see that?" she whispered.
"Yes." Carlisle bent his head, seemingly to better examine his program. Just as softly, he added, "I see it."
"D'you think Bella knows?" Carys asked, her gaze flitting over his profile as he looked up. A lock of silky golden-blond hair had fallen over his forehead, and so she reached up to stroke it back into place.
"From what she said yesterday, I doubt it."
Carys was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder before she could respond.
Karen Newton leaned forward in her chair, armed with a smile. "Can you believe we're here already?" she asked excitedly.
Carys couldn't help but smile as she took in Karen's ever impeccable appearance. Her hair, done up in an elegant twist at her nape as usual, was teased to allow for two thick sections to fall in highlighted blonde waves, bouncing lightly over her shoulders, highlighting her features just as well as the make up she'd no doubt spent more than an hour applying.
Her dress was one of the more expensive in the hall, a dark green wrap-dress with the illusion of a functional tie at the waist. If Carys looked down, she knew she would find a matching bag and heels by the woman's feet.
Co-owner of Newton's Olympic Outfitters, Karen Newton wasn't a woman to do anything by half, especially when it came to her appearance or business.
Carys had once or twice had the fleeting thought that Karen was who she wanted to be when she grew up, but had then quickly remembered she didn't have the discipline or time management of the other woman.
They had met properly for the first time a year before, running into each other in the bathroom during a town fundraiser, and had exchanged compliments. That may have been the end of things - they might well have continued on as acquaintances to nod at - but they had then bumped into each other at the supermarket a few weeks later.
Their relationship wasn't one Carys would call friendship, but it was built and maintained upon compliments and affirmations given honestly and freely, and accepted with varying degrees of belief or disbelief. And, Carys appreciated just as much, a complete lack of the subtle judgement she sometimes felt levelled at her as Carlisle's other half.
Carys leaned in. "I can't," she said. "Feels like they only came into my life a year or two ago, and look at them now - all grown up!"
Karen's chuckle deepened to a low, happy laugh. "I feel the same way about Mike sometimes," she laughed, "but the years have most definitely passed."
It was Carys' turn to laugh.
When she recovered, she asked, "How's he doing?"
"He's been nervous all weekend," Karen whispered conspiratorially. "He was pacing back and forth yesterday, practising his walk."
"Aw!" Carys enthused. "I know he's all grown up, but that's so sweet!"
"Don't let him hear you say that," Karen admonished with a smile and a toss of her head. Her waves bounced and settled into place. "He wanted to go to Seattle as a graduation trip! Seattle! Can you believe it?"
Carys couldn't. "I can't," she said, matching Karen's low tone. "With everything going on!?"
"That is exactly what I said!" Karen insisted. "'You're not going anywhere near Seattle until the police deal with the homicide rate,' I told him. Naturally, he tried to argue-"
"Naturally," Carys accepted with a nod.
"-to which I said I was putting my foot down."
"Good!"
"You should have heard him. He tried to make me the bad guy. He'll find something else to do, and that's the end of that. I'm not the only one. Don't get me started on the arguments Beth Crowley had with Tyler."
"Really?"
"Yes! She chained him to the news for two hours in the end."
"She didn't?" Carys gasped.
"Oh, but she did!" Karen chuckled. "Boys. What can you do?" Her tone changed dramatically. "I love your dress by the way."
"I love yours!" said Carys. "Where'd you get it?"
"This old thing?" Karen paused dramatically, then leaned in and whispered, as proudly as laughingly, "Portland, last weekend!" Carys grinned. "Business has tripled since the wolf sightings began. And yours?"
"London," Carys said, drawing away to give her a better view of the black dress she wore. "Debenhams; got it in the sale, half off if you'd believe it. And, my god. It's the first time I've fit into it for ages. I'm talking ages. Shoehorned myself in with Spanx and a prayer!"
Karen threw her head back, all but collapsing in her chair as she gave herself over to her amusement. Carys glanced at Carlisle when she sensed him move. He had crossed one leg over the other and turned his face away, covering his profile with his hand. She thought she heard him wheeze.
Karen recovered first. "Well, you look-" She sat up, clutching a camera to her chest in the work of a moment. "It's starting!"
Carys whipped back to the front just as Esme dropped into the seat beside her. Grabbing Carlisle's hand when he offered it, she wrapped it in both of hers.
Neither he nor Esme, though they were both proud and enthusiastic, appeared able to match Carys' level of excited anticipation. They had been to countless graduations over the years.
In contrast, Carys had never graduated high school. Not in this manner. Instead, she had waited for months with everyone else for their results and then celebrated with her parents. In England, for most people, graduation was reserved for university or similar; it wasn't the case for America.
She hadn't gone to Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie's graduation, and so this would be her first. She'd been interested in how it worked, and how quickly they graduated after finals, but the year before she was Carlisle's girlfriend - of only a few months. It would have been strange for all involved.
After half an hour, Carys began to wonder when the graduating would begin. After an hour she was crossing her legs, trying not to think of how badly she needed the loo.
Carlisle leaned in, causing her to shiver as his breath washed over her skin.
"Two minutes and then it will be over in twenty-five," he whispered.
Carys stiffened. "How could you tell?" she breathed.
Carlisle smiled against her ear. "I noticed your unease, and Edward informs me you're shouting at your bladder. Alice says you'll make it." He pulled away to face the front, smirking as he did so.
Sure enough, names were soon called; graduands became graduates in alphabetical order. Carys clapped gently for each, increasing her praise and adding whoops for Alice and Edward when they passed, trying to ignore the uncomfortable sting of embarrassment as she did so.
Few of the families had the same reservations. Carys doubted Tyler Crowley's parents could be matched until "Lauren Mallory" was called, when a group cheered riotously until she'd posed and left the stage.
That was a note Carys found interesting - they each paused on stage to adjust their tassel. She didn't think they'd done that at hers. Or had they?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Karen and her husband Brian, who stood up and cheered for Mike so loudly that it made Carys' ears ring.
Not to be outdone, Jessica Stanley's parents, sitting next to the Newtons, exceeded their friends.
By the time it came to her turn, Bella was the only one who appeared surprised when, in addition to an increase in clapping by Carys, Carlisle and Esme, Billy, Jacob and Charlie shouted and whooped from the back.
After Angela Webber's family had won the unspoken cheering competition, putting the rest to shame, and the Principal had had one last word, it was all over.
Wrapping an arm around Carys' waist, Carlisle all but launched her out of her seat, towards the end of the row. "Go," he said quickly. "I believe in you!"
Carys whimpered and glared back at him as she tried to quell her giggles and hurried away as inconspicuously as she could.
"To the right," a voice urged behind her as she reached the hallway.
Carys looked behind to see a heavily pregnant Sally Mallory-Jenkins had had the same thought as her. They emerged at the same time, making awkward small talk over the sinks. Well, Carys thought it was awkward, at the very least.
It became more so as Sally checked her hair one last time in one of the mirrors in the tiled room, and said, "It only gets worse."
"What does?" Carys asked, adjusting the sleeve of her dress.
Sally smiled warmly and curved her hands around her bump. "The peeing." Grabbing her bag, she rubbed at her side. "I didn't think it could get worse, but when this little one started pushing on my bladder? Forget it."
Carys was confused. What did that have to do with-
Willing a hole to open in the ground and swallow her up, Carys said, "Oh no, I'm not pregnant."
Sally blanched. Two spots of pink rose and deepened in her pale cheeks. "I'm sorry, I thought because-" She looked this way and that, hurrying, a little cumbersome at eight and a half months' pregnant, for the door.
Carys wanted to call after her, but by the time she found her tongue again, she was alone.
Examining her side in the mirror, she twisted this way and that. Embarrassment stung her nose and eyes. She bit her lip. There was nothing there, not really. She was a little thicker around the waist than she used to be still, but it was balanced out by the rest of her body.
The door banged open.
A group of women entered, chatting happily as they headed straight for the mirrors or cubicles, all but ignoring Carys, save for a passing glance. Out of towners, she thought, not recognising them.
She surreptitiously swiped at her eyes under the guise of checking her mascara, resolving to buy a new little black dress and a better fitting bra. It was that specific area to which Sally's eyes had strayed.
Carys didn't have a problem with her figure changing there, but it was different when pointed out in such a way. It was her waist she was still insecure about, but there was no bloating now. The only real bump was the slight rounding she'd learned most women had, at the base of her belly.
When she felt better after a few minutes, she returned to Carlisle and Esme, having ducked, weaved, and all but elbowed her way through the crowd. The small group had grown to include Edward and Alice, dressed in their caps and gowns. No one could quite meet her eye. Edward, specifically, looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else in the world at that moment.
"You heard, didn't you?" Carys moaned, looking between them all.
Carlisle hooked an arm around her waist, cutting her off. "We're worried you're upset."
"I'll be fine; I'm not embarrassed anymore, at least," Carys mumbled truthfully. "Wait." Lifting her head, she narrowed her eyes at Edward. "How long were you listening!?"
Edward grimaced. "I caught a bit of her," he said with suitable crypticness.
"So no to the rest?" she checked aloud. "To me, I mean?"
"I thought you might like some privacy," he said quickly. A little too quickly. One corner of his lips tipped up momentarily, flattened in the blink of an eye.
"Thanks," Carys whispered.
"Not a problem," Edward told her. Glancing around he said, "I'd better find Bella to say goodbye for now. I'll meet you by the cars before I follow to keep an eye out for her." A step away, he stopped to smile at Carys, forcing a graduate to navigate their way around him. "The cheering was a new experience for me. I'm not entirely sure I liked it, but I can't say I hated it, exactly." He paused for a long moment, and then said, "Thank you."
Carys' reaction was instantaneous. She beamed from the inside out, a grin splitting her face and lifting her higher onto her toes as she stretched up with giddy pride, drawing and maintaining the stunned gazes of her family.
"Thank you too," Alice trilled quickly, not to be outdone as she watched Carys' intensifying expression with an air of wide-eyed wonder.
"I'm just happy you didn't hate it," Carys said. Spinning out of Carlisle's hold, she grabbed her bag from him and retrieved her camera. After months of disuse, it was heavier than she remembered. "Did I miss the pictures? Or are we doing that now?"
A/N: Carys got a thank you!? What!? From Edward!? Poor Carys really does run on the crumbs of affection she can wrangle from some people, doesn't she? Like she forgot Carlisle pointed out she never got a thank you earlier, and they must all have heard it.
I was going to have the chapter include the party and stuff, but it took me days to write this, so I kind of gave up for the moment.
Chapter 95 and before: Thanks to: animexchick, BubblyYork, GuestMG, KEZZ 1, Anita Simons, chellekathrynnn, jhaenox, derniermom, finediviner (Thank you so much! I love her, but I get quite worried sometimes!), PsychoMutt, BMBMDooDoo-Doo-Doo-Doo, eeeaud, souverian, Momochan77, ladymoonscar, Guest (Thank you!), OneWhoReadsTooMuch, vancabreuniter, seconddragon (x loads! Thank you!), Shelley J88, ReadLikeHermione, MemeSoldier, MiharuTousaka, Guest (Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it so much. Carys' rants are so fun to write. Sometimes I just write a really long rant and then shorten it for clarity!) and PrimRose (thank you! I hope you keep enjoying it just as much!) for your reviews.
A/N responses: I didn't expect the loveliness at all. I'm not sure if it's weird to thank you all for your kindness by name? Gah. I'm going to. You don't know what your responses mean to me, or what reading them did for me. I can't thank you enough. I was honestly hoping "The Guest" would read it, and I'm glad they have, but I'm so very thankful to all of you - so thankful I can't express it, so I'm rambling in a chapter instead.
Thank you: Ashies, Jar-of-puzzles, A Better Guest, DarkQueenForever (thank you so much! I'm definitely going to try to - and hopefully feel less guilt about it now!), Ella (Thank you. It means so much to read! Thank you!), Anita Simons, RizzlesFan, Goldielover, Jane (Thank you, thank you!), KortneyBreAnne, Guest (Thank you - it means a lot to hear you think that!), hellocherryblossoms, chellekathrynnn, DiamondHeart02, mockyurtlesoup, GuestMG, derniermom, ICan'tThinkOfACleverUsername, LunaWulfe, Indiana Jones 1935, JosieNightOwl, awkward-orchids, Bean (that's what I thought! It was definitely harassing me. It's the way they were done that got to me, as you mentioned. They were rude and really got to me. I honestly did think about taking down the story a couple of times, but I'm glad I didn't because usually, this story brings me so much happiness to write. I didn't want to lose that, to be honest. As for your second review - you're right - Monica and Sarah will outlive them all! I love them so much. They're two of my absolute favourite characters, and they deserve every bit of happiness! I'm thinking of writing a sequel at some point with Leah or Seth, and they're the first people who'll definitely be in it. I hate the bury your gays trope so much. Just when I get super happy and teary-eyed over how happy a couple is, something happens to one of them. You're right - I'm not there for that at all!), Shelley J88, inkyvlaudy, NikkiNie, Jacqueline. ace, jhaenox, 0oKitteno0, mariananininha, Coonchitaa, PsychoMutt, LarissaValenti2613, Of Little Sheep Wolves, KEZZ 1, Delilah-JS, lea. hawk, Kyoki no Megami, Anonymous (Thank you so much!), ladymoonscar, pervychan1, Nistereal, 8shadesofmadness, and Guest (Thank you!).
(I'm going to come back and reply in chapter to non-PM'able reviews tomorrow)
