Reviews :
Burgie : CONGRATS! You're my 100th reviewer for OOTB! Thank you! :D And yes, Berri definitely would've had that meeting go entirely differently... Though Wren definitely eats it up haha
Jay Sketchin : Hey, friend! No prob, I'm here to help. So, in my last chapter, when she was riding on Chester's back, I (tried) to skillfully do a time transition, and in those paragraphs I wrote - Now only a week away from her first birthday, and starting Academy, Berri's matured voice huffed through Chester's deep, quick, raspy inhales and exhales, she saddled herself tighter to Chester's spine and readied herself the second they flew past Ace's and Libby's tower, near the edge of the flyer's jungle enclosure. - In the first half of that chapter, she was about 8 months old (about thirteen Earth years) and now she's almost entirely an adult, ranging anywhere from 18-22 in maturity and only going up, in maturity, over the years, even though she has physically stopped growing. Hope this helps, sorry for the confusion! I guess that's what I get for trying something new lol.
Nikki Firesong : Hey friend! Long time no see, I hope you've been well! And yes, I'm SO glad you guys are enjoying the trend :D Good things come in threes! ;]
CHICKENM4N : No problem at all, I just want everything to be as clear as I possibly can afford. I don't want any confusion for my readers! Thank you, friend.
Snake557 : Too true xD
Song Listened To :
Gold in a Brass Age by David Gray
*Chapter 27*
"For User's sake, for User's sake, for User's SAKE!" Berri suddenly shouted inside the security of her soundproof music studio; white walls that had white foam-padded walls with two separate rooms, one for playing music into mics and the other for recording and mixing it all together. She scrunched her larger hands into her bangs, furrowed her eyebrows in a tight grimace and shook her head through tight, squinted eyes, "Could I BE anymore clumsy? For User's sake, I just... BARRELED right into him!"
Berri huffed a long, noisy sigh, puffed her blue bangs out of her eyes, slumped down to one of the four comfortable studio chairs, near the massive mixing board of their recording studio. She sagged in whole entirety, looked up to the lower ceiling and continued to shake her head in embarrassment that only seemed to get worse with every passing second.
"I might as well have gotten down on one knee and asked him to marry me! What the hell is my problem!" Berri scolded herself, she white-knuckled her fist and lightly knocked it against her forehead in further punishment, "He's probably going to go tell my dad what a turd Sugar Rush's princess is...! UHG!"
"For User's sake, I can hear you all the way down the corridor, are you good?" Wren barked with a hard chuckle as he eased into the studio, though with his noiseless entrance, Berri jolted with a fright and bugged her eyes, now realizing that she hadn't shut the door all the way.
"WAS THE DOOR HANGING OPEN THE WHOLE TIME?!" Berri shrieked just as Wren shut it behind Chester's moseying, bumbling paws.
"Yes, you freak, you were shouting about marrying someone?" Wren beamed her a sassy smile and shook his head in dire curiosity, "I bumped into Turbo, on the way down here, by the way."
"You bumped into him too?!" Berri was on pins and needles as Wren slowly eased into the recording side of the studio, he skillfully twirled the chair around and fixed the cushion so he could sit down, though he slowed his roll and cocked an eyebrow in his niece's direction.
"...No? Theoretically, my presence bumped into his... Meaning, we crossed paths? I said hi, as did he, and we moved along," Wren's curious smile couldn't get any wider, "What, did you ACTUALLY bump into him?"
"Bumping into him would be a MASSIVE understatement!" Berri hollered, her face was still shroud in a hot red blush, all over her cheeks and nose. Wren sagged in the comfortable, white studio chair, crossed his left ankle over his right knee, crossed his arms and gave Berri an entirely delighted, anticipatory grin of continued eagerness, "I practically rocked him off the face of Arcade!"
"Couldn't have been that bad," Wren choked, though Berri gawked. Wren held his hands up and was now lost in delighted laughter, "What, couldn't have been much more than just a tumble into him, you're acting like you steamrolled over him!"
"WREN," Berri sharply groaned as she side-eyed him, though she couldn't help but smile amidst all of Wren's contagious laughing, "I was in the process of glitch-hopping... I mean we exterior swapped and EVERYTHING."
"Ohhh, now it's interesting," Wren genuinely looked surprise as he sat up a little, "You... You're really not kidding, are you."
Berri wildly gestured her arms, grunted a few incoherent obscenities and lazily twirled around in her studio chair. Once she came back to correction, Chester sauntered up to her, sat on his hindquarters and began to happily pant; his turquoise tongue hung out of his mouth in soft breaths as Berri finally sagged and looked off in mortified defeat.
"... He smelled really good," Berri finally muttered in annoyance as she furrowed her eyebrows and peered to Wren out of her peripheral, as if to be further shy of her now collected findings.
"How romantic," Wren teased, though Berri rolled her eyes and held her forehead, once more, "What would you describe his scent as, then?"
"Oh, hi Turbo, haven't seen you since I was a child, let me just body slam you with my glitching powers," Berri rushed as she wildly gestured her arm again, Wren shook his head amidst all their laughter and was quite enjoying this show, "Got to know me REAL quick... Cinnamon pipe tobacco and a fresh shower, by the way."
"How much can you tell about someone amidst three seconds of an unprepared exterior swap?" Wren shrugged, he knew not to write off the incredible ability of the glitching powers of Vanellope's brood, though he still remained salty that he was a minority of royalty, the hard fact that he didn't have any official gaming powers.
"I got a read of his mood, a quick blip of his thoughts, I was able to tell his gender, his name, his heart rate, his current emotion, the state of his energy levels, how old he is," Berri quickly listed on her fingers, she cocked an eyebrow in Wren's direction and sharply shook her head, "And, unfortunately, vice-versa."
"Yeah, but he's not familiar with glitching abilities or anything like that," Wren sneered, "Certainly he was just lofted a wad of your coding and he had no clue what to do with it... You're well trained by the Queen herself, glitching master."
"...Y'ever think he's even had something like that happen to him?" Berri wrinkled her nose and narrowed her gaze into Wren's beautiful, dark blue eyes.
"Doubt it... Only Nox has proper glitching abilities, and I don't think I've ever seen Turbo come over and properly hang out with all of us," Wren lofted his gaze into the windows of their studio, in which looked into the recording room, "Pretty sure he's just been running Orion City since the beginning of time, no? All alone in that perch of his?"
"Guess so," Berri sighed, she shook her head and allowed a small, grateful smile to sprawl her face, "His emotion and mood read, well... Confusion at first, but, it was really sweet how quickly it switched to protection."
"He IS Sugar Rush's second Knight," Wren reminded, he smiled fondly of his own father and shrugged, "Turbo and my dad took an oath, I'm sure he maybe thought you were in danger. You ARE Sugar Rush's heir, y'know. He probably kicked it into high gear and was prepared to defend a royal at all costs."
"I definitely sensed that," Berri bobbed a gentle nod and looked off, it was clear she was riding on the dregs of true, horrified embarrassment that would take User knows how long to finally get over.
"Y'guys are terrible at this game, gotcha both," Rancis suddenly blurt in a cheeky tone as he only poked his head in, firmly pointed his finger and waggled it about in a playful manner, "Losers get to finish cleaning the hearth while I look for everyone else."
"C'mon, I cleaned the hearth last week, uncle Rancis," Berri groaned with a hard, sagging sigh as she finally slumped to get out of her studio chair; upon standing, it loosely swiveled, cueing Chester to get to his feet and softly sniffle his wolf-like snout into the back of Berri's side. She lovingly swiped his snout and began to head for the door, in which Rancis was hovering in, in anticipation, "I have to get Chester's saddle and gear off of him, anyways... Brush him, feed him, all that fun stuff."
"Oh the joys of having a blind companion," Rancis grumbled to his great niece, upon her nearing him, he lovingly snuck her into a side hug and smooched the side of her head, "Fine, Wren, you're the lucky duckling. I already finished half of the work, anyhow."
"That's fine," Wren stated in tender defeat though as Berri and Chester filed out of the studio, Rancis nonchalantly propped the door open, peered his attention in the direction that Berri and Chester were slowly moseying in, and in the gap of time Rancis was prepared for Wren to come catch the door and press into the garage alongside him, he furrowed his brow and quickly peered his attention back into the studio. Wren hadn't moved from his chair, he looked stiffly sorrowful, his nervous blue eyes merely glossed in his father's direction. Rancis peered to his second born with a prodding smile and tilted his head towards the garage, in which the studio exited into, "Y'comin' bud?"
Wren frowned and softly glossed his eyes across the studio in calm and collected acceptance, one of sorrow and the continuing of sweeping his issues under the rug, though like clockwork, Rancis softened, noticed the switch up and understood that Wren likely needed some tender loving care; Rancis carefully came back into the studio, closing the door behind him, so to securely seal him and Wren inside said private, cozy abode.
"C'mon, Wren, I was just teasing," Rancis chuckled, his loving, fatherly approach was beyond palpable, something Wren was wanting to cling to, and although Rancis knew that Wren was clearly upset about something way beyond their game of hide and seek, he knew soaking into the issue was easier than diving in head first.
"It's not that," Wren muttered, and as Rancis neared, he passed by Wren, grabbed the back of the studio chair that Berri was previously sitting in and grunted a deep, relaxed groan as he sat down, making clear to Wren that he had his father's whole, undivided attention, the act of sitting and staying, showing commitment.
"Well, I'm all ears," Rancis sighed as he relaxed. Rancis, although Sugar Rush's first Knight, was enjoying a lazy day of a dark grey t-shirt, nearly too big for him, bare feet and casual black jeans that had the makings of holes in the knees. He previously was wearing a faded yellow hoodie, all clad in his logos and racing numbers, though he had taken it off to do the manual labor of cleaning the palace's hearth.
"It's... Nothing important, I guess I'm just... Struggling with feeling like I belong, really," Wren tenderly admitted, he side stepped this conversation, for he knew his mother and father, Taffyta and Rancis, had really no gamer skills passed to him, excluding sword training and every single last ounce of racing knowledge they possessed. Although still skills and gamer tools in their own right, Wren sighed and wished he was blessed with something more flashy. With his running thoughts, he heaved a hot sigh and looked down to his hands in tender sorrow, "Dad, it's... Really nothing, I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, I just-"
"Wish you were a glitch?" Rancis mumbled with a cheeky smile, as if to state that this was entirely old news, as well as likely being something that him and Taffyta had already struggled with. Approving all of Rancis's inquiries, Wren rolled his eyes, sagged and looked off, as if to feel annoyed that Rancis was, indeed, correct, "Ohhh, believe me... I've been thinking the same thing since day one, son."
"It's so hard being the only one, in my group of cousins and nieces and nephews... I'm the only normal one," Wren frowned, his becoming-glassy, dark blue eyes hooked to Rancis's in a rise of dire need, he had previously taken off his nice grey coat to reveal a very clean, pressed, tidy, conservative v-neck of a t-shirt, one that complimented his nearly white hair. Wren shook his head and looked off in confusion, "They just... Rush off, glitch-hop, share exterior swaps when comforting the other... I just feel as if I'm missing something, there's a piece of me that longs for that connectivity."
"I agree," Rancis bobbed a nod, and instead of rushing to aid in all of Wren's sorrows, he knew relating to Wren, here, was likely going to go a lot farther.
"You ever just... Hang out with all the glitches of the palace and feel... Like..." Wren dragged, it was here that his eyes finally began to become glassy with the promise of tears.
"Incomplete?" Rancis finished, to which Wren bobbed a nod and urgently peered his sorrowful eyes into his father's.
"I mean... Berri was upset about something, the other day, and Theo gave her a hug amidst a light exterior swap, and she immediately felt better," Wren rushed, he waggled his hands, "He didn't even say words to her, he just... Sat there in silence, like they were secretly communicating through their coding. I just feel so left out, like... What do I have to offer?"
Rancis furrowed his brow and peered to his stunning second born, a creature of tidiness, his white hair was shaved down on the sides of his head, only to starkly spike into a proper, handsome faux-hawk. His broad, masculine shoulders were strong and muscular, though his lithe figure easily mocked Penny's and Taffyta's. All those sword fighting lessons really built his upper body to a show of that of a reserved, apex predator, a strong young man built for anything. Rancis felt his heart ache with the sheer fact that this incredible being felt so inadequate, when in all reality, he was the entire opposite. Rancis choked a small laugh, shook his head, and gave his son a cheeky look, as if to warn Wren that he was about to overload him with compliments.
"Wren, what do you offer to yours, Berri's and Theo's garage band, here?" Rancis prod, Wren softly glanced his teary eyes through the glass and into the recording side of the studio, to Berri's favorite lime green electric guitar, Theo's gorgeous drum set, Wren's splay of keyboards and mix-boards alike.
"I-I... I play the keyboard, I also mix and do back up vocals," Wren's adorable, handsome, deep voice crackled with the impending onslaught of further emotion coming his way.
"Sure, Berri and Theo could carry on with strictly her singing voice, her guitar and his drums, but what's a song without the melody?" Rancis tenderly listed, he was glad he had Wren's attention, "What's an album without the backup vocals, the harmony and the tunes that melt everything together? Cool synths or something? You mix it all together and make it awesome, don't you?"
Wren stayed quiet and soaked up all of his father's compliments, though he grew bashful and avoided eye contact as a few tears escaped.
"You know full well that any single person on this lot, excluding your sister, wouldn't know the first thing to do if they picked up one of our swords," Rancis choked a laugh as he recalled a fond memory, "Even the big bad Ralph... He used the damn thing as a toothpick."
Rancis felt his heart surge the second Wren choked a laugh he desperately tried to stifle, and with meticulous hands that cleanly tidied his bangs, Wren bat his eyes and continued to look off in a desperate attempt to keep his warm and happy side from showing through; he wanted to continue on the moping train as long as he could.
"'Don't have anything to offer'," Rancis repeated Wren's words with a lilt of tender detest, he narrowed his loving, fatherly gaze and shook his head as he gently leaned forward to rest his elbows on his upper thighs and knees, he eased further into Wren's fragile bubble, "You know full well this palace lot would be a lot duller, without you, here... You make up the spice of this family. You and Penny can thank your mother, for it."
Wren finally blurt a confident chuckle and inhaled a shaky breath, he tried his hardest to compose himself though the smiles eased through the tears that streamed his cheeks.
"You're my son," Rancis stated with warm determination, "You have a whole world to offer, just through your personality... The glitcher's and wreckers, of this lot, aren't who they are strictly because of their powers, Wren. Their characters and personalities make them who they are. Sure, they have added flare, but... So do you, in your own right."
"I'm practically Berri's stylist," Wren muttered in a rising confident show of sassy cheekiness, though he wiped his cheeks of tears and still peered to his father in tender, boyish question, "I-I guess I just wish I could enjoy those exterior swaps and be included, y'know... I-It's not like I have a fantastic glitching boyfriend, or anything."
Rancis held still in Wren's tender insinuation, and although everyone guessed that Wren potentially swung a different way, Rancis refrained from exhaling and was thrilled it was finally, and legitimately, unfolding before him. Rancis knew to tread lightly, so not to scare Wren off, the only thing he could deem as least threatening as possible was a loving head-nod.
"That doesn't matter, though, Berri's a head-turner... Hard to compete with, I guess," Wren muttered, and although it was clear he wasn't bitter towards his niece, he still looked as if he maybe wasn't dealt a good hand.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Wren, you're still young," Rancis choked a small laugh and shook his head, "There are PLENTY of guys at Academy, I'm sure you'll be just fine. Just enough for you and Berri. Pretty sure you two have different tastes in guys, anyways, so I wouldn't be so worried about it, y'know?"
Wren gently peeled his eyes from the gorgeous splay of buttons and knobs, on their sound board's counter and straight into his father's eyes. Wren felt his heart thud with the fragile bubbles him and his father were finally able to pop, uncertainty that always hung over everyone in the baited anticipation to rush Wren with love and acceptance, Wren was certain this little show of warmth, from his own father, was the only amount of support he needed to fully carry on feeling confident in himself. Wren gently smiled a teary smile, once more, and looked down to his hands in his lap.
"Thanks, papa," Wren staggered through a gentle clearing of his throat, and with such, Wren raised an eyebrow and was thrilled to see Rancis softly get to his feet.
"Just doin' my job, bud," Rancis grumbled with a loving smile as he neared Wren, and although Wren had previously acted walled off and unapproachable to love, Wren immediately stood out of his chair and welcomed his father's impending embrace. Rancis heaved a grumbly sigh, wrapped his arms tight about Wren's strong shoulders and firmly tucked his scruffly chin atop Wren's head. With a firm squeeze, and a gentle sway, Rancis lulled his eyes closed and allowed the two a tender moment of understanding, of acceptance and warmth. He firmly rubbed Wren's upper back and was thrilled to feel Wren's gentle arms squeeze tight about Rancis's middle.
"Just know that any guy you bring home will definitely be getting the same treatment that your big brother Orph went through," Rancis grumbled into the side of Wren's head, and before Wren could protest, he pushed a firm smooch into the side of Wren's head, on the shaved part of his hair.
"User, then I'm not going to bring a guy home, Orph told me he hardly survived the event," Wren choked a laugh as both men pulled apart, and with one last doting touch of love, Rancis tenderly wiped the rest of the tears off of Wren's cheeks and jaws.
"He's not Penny's husband just yet," Rancis grumbled, a teasing air he always kept about his future son in law, though Wren shot him a look and shrugged.
"Y'got one month left, to chase Orph away, dad," Wren blurt a laugh as Rancis rolled his eyes, amidst a smile, and ran his hand through his golden, curled hair, "The second they state their vows and say 'I do', it's all over for you."
"Yeah, yeah," Rancis rolled his eyes, the front he gave off was that of cold annoyance, though everyone knew Rancis deeply cared for Orph, "I guess he's alright."
