Monday 26 February 2007, Luna Nova
"I finally got back together with Croix, I was so happy in those days, I didn't imagine anything could go wrong,even more so as I had just discovered the sixth word, I felt closer and closer to discovering the whole ofClaiomh Solais, I felt confident that Meridies would be very much with me and everyone around me alsodisplayed the same confidence in her, all that dedication was making me very excited and happy for what layahead, especially as the summer holidays were about to start, as well as the spring holidays which wereeven closer, I would have to get back into action more, since it had been more than a month without doinganything."
Well, the lessons are over, the weekend was so marvellous, now that Croix is talking to me again we can enjoy the blue team room whenever we want, we can date again, I'm no longer doing nothing, I finally have the chance to do lots of things, well it's time to go to the room, I'll see if I can call Croix so we can play all afternoon, it'll be like old times.
I get to the corridors and outside one of the rooms she's leaning against the wall, she's got her hand on my waist and I'm going to have a chat, but of course I can't even go as far as kissing her so as not to give away too much that Meridies and I are dating.
"Croix, so... Do you want to..." She puts her finger in my mouth.
"Not today Chariot, we have to make up for lost time, remember that the world tour starts in just over four months, we're going to have to rehearse a lot for everything to come out perfect, apart from your game, we're refining everything, today is the day we're going out to do your dubbing, this week at least we're going to work on your lines to fit everything into the game, okay?" Well, I think so, I've missed working on something.
"So I'm going to work today?" I ask her and she nods.
"Did you really think you were going to relax just because we're back? We have a lot to do, the spring holidays are coming up and we have to get the ground ready, your game will be released these days and your dubbing will be essential for the immersion of the game" I get really excited and wave to my friends.
With that I'm off with Croix, we go through the corridors crossing the Ley line and I'm happy that we can work together again, especially on things related to my career, she's going to help me a lot with all this.
We grabbed brooms and set off along the Ley line, taking the shortcut that had been made to get close to home. We arrived on time and it was as quiet as ever, with the usual chilly wind blowing, so we landed at my house, as we entered the living room and I waved to my mum who was looking after the little girls.
"Look who's turned up" said Granny.
"It was Croix who wanted to take me here" I tell her, giving her a hug.
"So what did you two come here for? We've been needing Chariot for a while to make the final touches to the Shiny Chariot game" said my mum.
"That's exactly why, Mrs McLaren, we came to do the dubbing" said my girlfriend.
"Okay, so go on, I'll take care of the girls, April should be at her house now giving the final touches to the game so as not to have any bugs or to avoid as many as possible, the game is getting very polished, I trust that the launch of this is going to be revolutionary, I leave the responsibility of dubbing to you Croix, I know you can manage everything" I'm sure you can, I trust her.
And we nod our heads, heading through the corridors, to the part where that acoustic room is where we did the adverts for the Shiny Chariot cards, now it's going to be dubbing, the good thing is that I don't have to film my face just to record my audio, my voice, I'll just have to read what has to be said.
I go in, but before I get to the camera I'm handed the script, reading that there's a lot to say straight away, which I can already tell is just for the start screen.
"Why do I have to say so much on the start screen?" I ask my girlfriend.
"We've programmed different lines as soon as you start the game for each time someone switches on the video game, so there'll be a dozen variations of what you'll say as soon as they press start, not to mention the lines you'll say if you take a while before opening the demo again" it makes perfect sense now.
"Well let's hope this doesn't take up too much space, I've already realised that I'm going to have to say the classic phrase your magic is believing in yourself here" I'll have a good look at the script.
"We're going to focus on a few things today, perfecting those lines on the start screen, since it's the beginning of the script and I'm still going to tinker with the mix, so it's well synchronised with the effects that will play when you press the button, everything has to be very beautiful and eye-catching, so the children who buy the game will really want to play more" I'm seeing it just from the way they're talking and I haven't even touched the game, I haven't even seen a photo of how it looks, that alone makes me very curious.
Well, I'm going to read a bit, just to get the idea of how to speak with each intensity and then Grandma gets here and she brings us some food, which I needed a bit too, as well as some juice, and she leaves it on the table, which I take advantage of to fill my throat, I've been starving since before school without eating, it can cheer me up to start dubbing.
Well, they seemed like a lot, but they're not, I just need to get it right and it'll be easier later, with my girlfriend's help it'll certainly be much better, I can see that I'm going to have to react in a very varied way, but keeping the tone lively, gee if I were a Chariot fan I'd enjoy every part of this game.
[...]
I managed to dub most of the lines, I'm leaving the dubbing chamber and I'm taking a look at Croix who's been tweaking the audio, I've been listening to myself a few times, while she's tweaking, she also puts on her headphones and asks me to listen, wow the voice on the first one was marvellously well mixed, I can hear my voice well isolated, without any background noise.
"I'm trying to get the audio as good as possible, as it's difficult to get these things right, but with a lot of practice I've been able to perfect how to get the audio well edited, thanks to your presentation videos too, they're being a great help" I've realised.
"Well then, I'm going to take a break before I talk about the next ones, we're going to be working on this all week, aren't we?" I ask her and she nods.
"It's only going to be this week, five days is enough for us to take down your entire script of lines, you're managing to do everything in sync with the lips of the model that's in the game and that's already something very advanced, we didn't even imagine that it would be something so well done and finished, we were even thinking of leaving the mouth closed without moving it, but it was my idea to keep you" That's very curious.
I'm getting some more food, I'm looking at my beautiful girlfriend, she's so cute with these things in her ears and her glasses, she's concentrating, she's playing the audio, well I can't hear it, but I can see that she's mixing it and making it better, it's going to be studio quality.
Well, now I just have to wait a bit and soon it will be time for me to do some more dubbing. I'm going to take the opportunity to eat a bit and well, it's going to be a lot of takes, but I don't mind, I'm going to improve little by little, modelling myself in the best way so that I can get everything just right
[...]
I've said everything, I'm finally free to rest, I leave the dubbing chamber and there's my girlfriend adjusting everything again, she gives me a headset and I hear another line of mine, it impresses me, she even shows me on video how it's coming out and well everything is great, every time the start screen appears and the button is pressed the line comes out and it's marvellous.
After listening, I go to the table to get some more cookies and eat them while I watch Croix working, she's adjusting a few things that I don't understand, but it must all be connected to the audio.
"Well Chariot, that's all for today, when I'm finished here I'll let you know, you don't have to wait here, I'll let you know when I'm ready" I say smiling at her.
"I know, love, it's really good, because you're the best" I say, watching her blush.
"You don't have to praise me so much, I'll see you when it's done, I'll be alone here for a while, I'll work better this way, then I'll send it to my mum and we'll go back to Luna Nova, take the opportunity to go and play with your mum or play with your little sisters" I wave to her leaving the room, well anything else I'll come back to adjust some audio.
It's been two hours here to get just a few lines right, menu and start screen stuff, but it still needs a good mix, good that at least it won't be long, I get to the living room and there I see that the little ones are playing with each other and my mum is watching them going to switch on the video game, which I've already sat down next to.
"Have you finished?" She asks.
"Croix is retouching the audio, so she asked to be left alone, so I came here" I say to her.
"So grab the controller, let's play for a while, the girls won't do anything, it's good that Ree doesn't have a wire so it's safe for us to play" Oh yes, to play against the one who plays the most unfairly and brokenly.
"Playing with you is like trying to take on a boss without any weapons, I don't stand a chance" I say, puffing out my cheeks.
"That's loser talk, girl, it's not like that, it's your lack of skill, you can easily beat me, just train, if you face the best you'll be good enough to beat people as good or even better than me" She always says that, but well let's play, I still have fun, even though I get slaughtered while I play.
I'm going to get a controller and of course she's going to put on Ronaldo Kart, just the game she plays the most in a way that I think is impossible, there's not even a blue hoof that can catch my mum, she's even embarrassed at how hard it is to get through a game, but well, it's my mum isn't it. Let's try what I can.
[...]
"It was quite different from what I expected my time with Croix to be, despite everything I enjoyed it, it wasn'tspending the afternoon playing, but working with her on the Shiny Chariot project and seeing things movealong was marvellous, especially as that week I managed to do all the dubbing for the game and it came outperfect, I'd even memorised a lot of the lines, so you can see that the game has at least a certain affectionattached to it, but anyway, it wasn't just game production that this time was spent on, there were some good,relaxed moments with Croix, and since we'd finished the dubbing, the next thing we were going to devoteourselves to was rehearsing."
Saturday 3 March 2007, Luna Nova
I've just woken up here, next to Croix, she's even got the blue team room for me and her, I didn't realise we were going to get this close again, even Anne Finnelan is trying to get on our backs, but she can't, I look at my girlfriend lying on the bed and she puts her hand on my cheek and smiles.
"Good morning my cherry" I get all embarrassed when she calls me that.
"Good morning Croix" I smile back at her.
"Are you ready for today?" I keep wondering what she's going to bring me.
"The girls haven't even woken up yet, what good are we going to do so early?" I say, stretching.
"Shiny Chariot needs to rehearse, did you think I was forgetting that detail? How many months has it been since you last rehearsed?" I even get a little embarrassed and scratch the back of my head when I remember how long it's been.
"I don't think I've rehearsed since my last presentation, but I've had a lot of good ideas about how to present it, I've scripted a lot of things, but I haven't put them down on paper yet, I've been so insecure these days that I don't even know if they're going to be good enough?" She runs her hand over my face and even cheers me up a little.
"We can see it now, let's do it like this every day, rehearse for at least an hour, when summer comes you'll be perfect, the training has already helped your body to gain some flexibility, so everything is on your side to improve, come on?" I'm a bit tired, still sleepy, but I think it's good.
"What if I eat first?" I ask her and she nods.
"The food is later, so you'll end up putting everything out while you rehearse, plus when you eat it will all be tastier, so shall we go outside?" She's showing me how to look after me like never before, I didn't realise things could get this good.
Well there's no denying it, she's trying to get the best of me now, before I admit to being much more relaxed, but now I think I have to do it more carefully, after all I'm going to appear to the whole world, there's this very important detail, I'm getting out of bed, taking off my pyjamas and changing into Luna Nova's winter uniform. I even notice the marks on my girlfriend's body, apparently the night was very intense for us, I love leaving her like this, just to show her how mine she is, I've taken a few pieces of Croix, this is marvellous, now that
I've changed it's time to go, I wash my face, brush my teeth and climb out of the bedroom window, using the broom to cushion my fall.
"All right, now come on Chariot, did you bring any of your ideas? We have to put them into practice" We haven't even been to the bedroom, that's where my folder with the ideas I've thought of is.
"They're in the bedroom" I say, wiping my hand across my face.
"So just take it, your room is over there, the window is closed, but just use magic and you can get in" Well, Croix is right.
I go flying with the broom to the window of my room, I use magic to open the window from the inside, which when I open the window I lift the folder to my hand closing the window and leaving, going back to my girlfriend taking the folder and taking a look, she's already getting some expressions.
I hope she likes what she sees of my ideas, I've thought carefully about each one, I'm thinking carefully about adding to each of the words, but unfortunately I don't know the last one, but I think it can deliver a good message.
"That's marvellous, there are so many ideas and you've drawn them out with the steps, so let's rehearse that first one, come on Chariot, do this number here" she hands me a sheet of paper with just the number version of the first word.
"Well, all that's left is the dragon, I've kind of destroyed its cubes" I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
"The cubes don't matter, I can still use magic to create an illusion, I'm already thinking of something much bigger for the effectors, you'll even be impressed when I show you what I can do, my technology can still go a long way" I'm really going to be curious to know all this.
Time to get ready here, I take a look at the script, so this is what I've planned, the various points I've drawn where I'm going to move, this is really interesting, I just want to see what I can improvise here, I'm even adjusting my hands, it's time to get down to business.
I look at Croix and signal, it's time to start, which means I'm already doing the part of performing on stage, starting the rehearsal, I admit I've never put so much effort into it before, this way I'll be perfect on stage, I only used to do a lot of improvisation when Alan would push me to perform a lot and tire me
[...]
I'm panting, the winter uniform is already a little warm, that's the good thing, I'm not so cold anymore, from the way Croix reacted, she really liked this number, I'm glad I'm doing better like this, I take a deep breath and even hug my girlfriend who hugs me back, which gives me a little extra warmth, that's what I needed.
"Well Chariot, this first rehearsal already shows that you're not rusty, you already have a knack for these things, did you know that you could be a great actress too?" I heard that a lot when I did theatre as a child.
"Yes, but I don't know if I'd do something like that, if it came down to acting and kissing men I'd rather just be a stage entertainer, but well I've only ever had that, everyone talks about it like it's a gift, but it's just that I really wanted to act, I used to pretend to play characters from a very young age and my mums encouraged my imagination" I say rubbing the back of my neck.
"Girl, if you put your mind to it, you'll be perfect on stage, there's no-one who can come close, so let's rehearse a lot, even those who don't like Shiny Chariot will respect you" I'm really quite taken with that.
"Croix!" I tell her, nudging her with my elbow.
"I'm not lying, well that's it for your essay, tomorrow we'll try some others that you'll show me your folder" I'm very excited.
"Ah, I'd love to try it too, I want to see how they turn out, you've given me confidence Croix, I was really afraid of doing it on my own" I say to my girlfriend.
"I'm here for that, we're going to test and see which ones are good, I also analyse a lot what's going to go with my great machine for your shows" Woah, she's going to bring something more impressive than cubes.
"Will it be better than the cubes?" I say curiously.
"Forget the things that look like cubes, now my technology is going to bring a real dragon, which will shock everyone when it goes on stage, as well as other things in your presentations, I'm sparing no effort to do little things, it will all be of great help for the big event" She talks all inspired like that, it makes me happy and proud.
We're walking back to the room from rehearsal, and when we reach the window, we see the girls awake and going to eat something for breakfast, which I'm already grabbing, as this whole rehearsal has made me hungry, and I'm grabbing things and they're waving at us.
"Did they wake up too?" They ask.
"It's actually been an hour since we woke up, we just came round for breakfast" said my girlfriend.
"Do you really never stop in the morning? There's only so much gas you can take" said Parker, and we both blushed immediately.
"It's none of your business, Daniella!" I say embarrassed.
"We went outside to rehearse for Chariot's future performances, she rarely rehearses and dedicates herself and yet she does well, we have to take advantage of this to feel better, I want to be able to bring out the best in her" said Croix.
"Ah it makes sense, she doesn't really rehearse much, this will be good for Chariot, even without much rehearsal she still does well and that's bizarre" I'm just someone who has an easy time of it.
"That's why we have to perfect what's already good, she already has a much larger repertoire in her head of how to do it more correctly and also keep it improvised, everything in the Chariot way of doing it, this comeback of hers is going to be so great that it's going to be worldwide, everyone is dying to see her appear" Meridies said.
"I'm really looking forward to summer, I'm going to make such a mess of things that everyone will be shocked at how Shiny Chariot is doing, Mum really made a point of spending too much for this tour, I'm not going to do badly, I want to show the world the beauty of our magic and maybe help future generations" I say proudly.
"Apparently your motivation didn't die for nothing, now that I understand it better I'm even glad you've kept it up" We even smile at seeing Parker more on our side.
Well, I'll eat here, since I don't want to talk with my mouth full, I'll listen to the girls, today's rehearsal brought me good feelings, the time with Croix is also bringing good things, I never thought I'd feel this good when I got back with her, I'm really happy, I don't even feel the shakes anymore, nor the urge to put nicotine patches on, I'm just well and happy.
[...]
The day has passed and it's evening, I've had a great time with my friends and I go to one of the windows, to reflect for a while, it feels like a dream, as if everything is coming true, my life is on the rise again, I really hope this isn't like a rollercoaster and I end up falling in a way I've never forgotten before, I don't know if I could get over it.
I feel Croix coming towards me, she hugs me from behind and we stand together looking at the background, that Arcturus forest in the background, it's brought so much, this place here of Luna Nova, I've experienced so much, I'm really not going to be ready when the worst happens, so I'm really hoping that things just work out.
"So you still don't believe in everything, do you?" I nod my head in agreement.
"I never thought we'd get back together and get on really well, things were at their worst, but you came along and took my hand back, even after we'd had a nasty fight? We got back together and look at this, I'm back and confident" I say looking into the background.
"We're at the last word now, there's not much we can do apart from hope that one day she'll reveal herself to you, apart from that we're also getting everything in place for the world to change, just look at how big Shiny Chariot is getting, we're making a game of yours that will have everything of yours and more, we're on a world tour, when I told you that next year you'd be in Japan in 2006 I wasn't wrong, I knew we could get there and there wouldn't be a fight to stop us going far" I'm glad to hear that.
"Thank you for trusting me again Croix, thank you for coming back to me, thank you for really valuing me, I thought I'd lost you completely" I say emotionally.
"I was a jerk to you and I should make amends for my mistakes, I want to do my best to be the girlfriend you deserve to have, you deserve love, you deserve everything, you deserve the world, but anyway? Claiomh Solais isn't that important to me and I realise that despite everything I have what I need without needing to be the chosen one, I can still change the world without him when I realised a lot of things I was missing and how I could bring that change to the world I was never the same again, but I needed to touch myself a bit and get it all out, I unfortunately saw it as a way of getting all my hate out in that fight we had, you finding the sixth word was what made me touch a lot of these things" She's being more genuine about things, that's wonderful to see.
"I'm glad you've realised a lot of this Croix, I'm glad you've changed, it really makes me proud, we're trying our best, I've also realised a lot, as they say, it's good to forgive, above all, living with bitterness and resentment doesn't lead to anything, people deserve a second chance" She grabs my chin and we face each other once more.
Our faces got closer and closer, and then we kissed again, with the moonlight coming out through the clouds in the background, and the girls eating the dinner we'd made, another marvellous night we're having, looking back at Croix's last year at Luna Nova, we're having a lot of wonderful moments.
I sit on the sofa with my girlfriend, and we start to play together, getting very close, that's all I wanted, after eating so well and thinking about it, I deserve a moment like this.
"Don't play without us putting a Ronaldo Party in there" said Becca.
"You really want to end friendships" said Croix, and I laughed.
"Oh, you lost to Chariot last time, to someone who said she'd beat everyone" said Leyland teasingly.
"Of course, she stole my star, I lost for a star and coins and also some minigames, but that doesn't make any difference, Chariot got lucky and she's going to lose this match, you'll see, a game of luck is easy, I just want to see in Ronaldo Kart if you can hold your own" Said the confident girlfriend and she who has no idea how I was cooked by my mum.
"Ah then put it on Ronaldo Kart, let's see if you're full of pomposity, but it has to be Ree's, I want to see everyone against it" said Becca.
"Oh you guys, I don't know how you can fight over a little game" she's the one who gets angry the most after losing a few.
"You're the one who loses it the most" said Meridies teasingly.
The two of them finish eating and sit down next to us, we pick up the various steering wheels that serve only as a mould for the control, which doesn't even make much difference, but it's nice to play holding the wheel, which I know I'm going to beat everyone, I played this so much trying to keep up with my mum and I was lucky to win a few races when she missed a few jumps that I'm now getting much better at.
"And now Croix, what's your excuse if you lose?" I'm getting a little giggly here.
"I'm not going, I know I'm the best at games of skill" said the confident Meridies.
"You get a blue hoof and then you cry" said Parker teasingly.
"Are you going to bet with Chariot? Or are you scared too?" said Becca, also teasing.
"Don't tease her Becca, not like this either, let's have a normal night at least once in our lives, these two take hours to fulfil their bet and go straight to sleep, let's play normally" We laugh a lot.
"Look, I'll take the bet" I say laughing.
"Is she betting the same as last time, or is she afraid that this time it won't be until after midnight, or will she be yellow Du Nord?" She's even trying to be confident.
"All right, there's no way I'm going to lose anyway, I'm only going to win, even if I lose, and that's a good thing" I say, choosing my kart.
She has no idea, I've been cooking with my mum all week and she's trained me in a way that I don't even know how I played any other way before, I've memorised every track and every shortcut, how to scrape through every hole, this is going to be fun to watch, she's going to be really chuffed when she sees that I'm way beyond what she thought I was, this is going to be fun to see if I'm really beyond what I was, since I've managed to stick it to my mum a few times.
"And I went back to dedicating myself as Shiny Chariot, in a few months I was already that way thateveryone was impressed by on stage, enchanting a huge audience, but even so what I appreciated most inthose days was really having a very healthy relationship with Croix, even if I had no idea what was coming, Iwas very confident, very much in love again, this time with much greater feelings than I used to feel, thatcould be the last time and it really seems to be, since Croix today doesn't seem like the type I would trust justyet."
See you, working witches...