A/n- This is the long awaited, maybe, sequel to 'Learning Something New' with Joshua and Marisa. I've actually wanted to do this one for a while so I hope it's good. I do also have plans for a few more parts, so if you like this storyline then look forward to that.
The Commission Files- File #a1434 Learning a Bit More
Characters: Joshua, Marisa
Based on: a commission by LewdShock on Twitter
It was another fine and normal day in the Kingdom of Askr and Joshua was about to run himself a bath. He was just about to draw the water when he heard a knock at his door and a familiar voice.
"Joshua! It's Marisa! Are you busy?" Marisa called in her usual monotone and disinterested sounding tone. But Joshua knew better than to think she was bored or anything, that's just how she was. He looked down and wondered if she would mind if he answered the door with just a towel and his hat on, but he dismissed the thought. She'd seen him naked before casually and didn't mind so he wouldn't worry.
"Just a moment!" Joshua called back before putting the soap and rags he had in his hands down and then walking over to the door. He opened it wide enough so Marisa could see him fully, but not wide enough that anyone else could. If Marisa was surprised to see him in this state of undress it didn't show on her face. In fact her first comment led Joshua to think she preferred it this way.
"Oh, you're already almost naked, good." Marisa commented before stating why she was at Joshua's door. "Are you busy with anything? I was wondering if you had time for some more sex lessons." When she made that statement it made more sense to Joshua as to why she was at his door wearing a simple purple bikini.
"No, I'm not that busy." Joshua noted as he smiled a bit, looking Marisa over. "I was just about to take a bath, but I can push that back a bit if you're in the mood. Come on in."
"Wonderful." Marisa replied in her usual tone, but Joshua could tell she was happy to be invited in. Once she was past the door Joshua closed and locked it so no one would come in and bother them.
"I take it you came over in a bikini so you could undress more quickly." Joshua asked after he closed the door and turned back towards the rest of his room.
"Correct." Marisa confirmed. "I figured since a lot of the other heroes walk around in their swimsuits that no one would question it."
"Pretty clever solution." Joshua noted. "And it looks really good on you. Where did you get it?"
"One of the Anna's sold it to me." Marisa noted. "She wanted to get me to wear a more fancy looking one, but I liked this one."
"It suits you." Joshua commented as they both made it over to his bed and sat down. "Do you want to start off naked like last time or do you want me to play around with your bikini some?"
"Naked, like last time." Marisa replied before swiftly slipping out of her bikini and folding it neatly on Joshua's nightstand. All Joshua had to do was remove the towel he tied around his hips, though he folded it up next to Marisa's bikini so he could use it later. After that they both sat down on the edge of the bed close to each other, with Joshua wrapping his arm around Marisa's shoulder.
"So, what do you want to learn about this time?" Joshua asked, letting Marisa take the lead since she was the one who wanted to learn and experience new things.
"Last time you said there were multiple ways to have sex without the risk of the woman getting pregnant." Marisa answered, getting straight to the point. "I want to learn about those."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good place to continue." Joshua pondered. "Okay, so we kind of already did the first way, which is mutual masturbation."
"Masturbation?" Marisa wondered.
"How to put this..." Joshua thought as he tapped his finger to his chin. "Since our first lesson together, has their been a time where you've been aroused but you couldn't find someone else to be with?"
"Yes." Marisa confirmed. "I wanted to come for more lessons a few days ago, but you were out on a mission. So I tried doing what you did to me with your fingers but with my own. It was satisfactory, but not as good as when you did it."
"There you go, that's masturbation. Basically having sex with yourself when you have an urge but no one to share it with." Joshua explained. "In turn, mutual masturbation is when you and your partner try to pleasure yourselves in similar ways. To be honest, it's technically part of foreplay, but if you do it for long enough or do it hard enough, you can get some pretty decent orgasms out of it if absolutely no forms of penetration are on the table."
"So I taught myself something without realizing it." Marisa noted with slight amusement. "Interesting. Well, since you already showed me about fingering I want to try it out on your dick. Is that okay?"
"That's quite alright with me." Joshua replied as he spread his legs a bit so Marisa could have a bit more room to work with. He was already a bit hard from seeing her naked, but he still had a long way to go.
"It's so soft and floppy, kind of like a sponge." Marisa commented as she started playing with Joshua's dick in her hands. "It's a little odd how it can get so hard so quickly."
"The human body is a wonder sometimes." Joshua said, knowing that Marisa wasn't making fun of his dick and was just commenting her observations as always. "And everyone is different, some guys dicks are thinner and longer, while some are shorter and thicker. Some are naturally big and don't grow that much, and some start out a bit small but grow more than expected."
"That makes sense." Marisa noted as she continued to work on his shaft that was slowly but surely getting harder and more erect. "Just like some woman have bigger chests or smaller butts. Say Joshua, where do you think your dick falls on the spectrum?"
"Well, I haven't had the pleasure to measure up one on one with any other men, but most women tell me it's more on the longer but thinner side, with around average base and growth size." Joshua replied.
"Hmm, noted." Marisa hummed as she held Joshua's now erect dick in her hand. "That seemed easy enough. I assume I would just start rubbing it harder and faster and eventually you'd have your orgasm?"
"Pretty much." Joshua confirmed.
"Simple enough, though I don't find it very exciting like this." Marisa commented.
"Well yeah, we're supposed to be doing it at the same time, and while we're kissing and making out as well." Joshua noted. "Do you want to try that out?"
"That seems a bit more interesting, so yes." Marisa replied. "But tell me when you're about to cum so I can stop so we can move on to the next part."
"Sure thing." Joshua assured her. So he got a bit closer and slid his hand down Marisa's body as they started to make out. Marisa started jerking him off some more and did her best on focusing on that, kissing Joshua back, and handling the pleasure of feeling him finger her once again. She was quite used to the feeling now so she was doing pretty well, able to dance with Joshua's tongue and keep a steady pace with her hand movements as that warm feeling in her core started to build up and warm up her entire body. Joshua was really impressed with Marisa's quick learning. This was technically only her second time having sex and she was already this confident with herself. Not that it should have surprised him, Marisa had always been a quick learner, but this was something else.
"Don't hold back Joshua, I can handle a bit more." Marisa told him confidently after a bit, remembering that last time he used three fingers on her and feeling he was only using two right now.
"Just working my way up, it's like a dance." Joshua replied smoothly. "But if my partner wants a bit more, I'm always happy to give it to her." So he slipped a third finger in before they started kissing some more and Marisa's moan against his lips told Joshua everything he needed to know about how she was feeling. They continued on like that for a few more minutes until Joshua could feel he would go off soon if they went on any longer like this. So he pulled back and put his hand on Marisa's to tell her to stop.
"I could feel it throbbing a bit faster, so I figured you were close." Marisa commented as they looked at each other and caught their breaths. "That was a bit more exciting than I thought at first, I'd be okay with doing it as foreplay every now and then."
"Glad you enjoyed yourself." Joshua breathed with a content smile on his face. "So, the next way you can have sex without the risk of getting pregnant is oral sex. That's when you use your mouth to pleasure your partner instead of your hands."
"So you would put your head between my legs and use your tongue like your dick?" Marisa wondered.
"Yeah, and you'd use your tongue and mouth on my dick kind of like it's one of those frozen treats they sell on the beach." Joshua explained.
"Okay, that sounds easy enough." Marisa noted before pondering for a bit. "I have a issue though. I feel like it might be unfair for the person giving the sex since they don't get much pleasure out of it and then their partner wouldn't have as much energy to pleasure them back since they just orgasmed. Is there a way for a couple to do oral sex at the same time?"
"Very observant as usual." Joshua commented with an impressed tone. "Yes, that does seem to be the issue with oral sex sometimes, but there is a way for both people to get it at the same time. It's a bit of an advanced technique, but if you're willing to try it with me I'm up for it." Marisa pondered the notion of an 'advanced technique' for a moment but she figured practice made perfect.
"Let's do it then." Marisa confirmed with a nod. "What do I need to do?"
"Well first, I'm going to lay on my back like this." Joshua said as he did so. "And then you'll get on top of me like you're going to sit on my face." So Marisa moved over so Joshua's head was between her legs and her butt and thighs were hovering over his face. "Oh yeah, loving this view." Joshua commented. "You have such a nice body Marisa."
"Thank you Joshua, yours looks nice as well." Marisa replied with a bit of a fluttering heart. Most times when guys complimented her looks she ignored it, but coming from Joshua it was a bit different, it meant more to her since they were such close friends and partners. She pondered slightly if this is what being romantic partners felt like, but she quickly refocused on the situation at hand. "So then I just bend down so my mouth is closer to your dick?"
"Exactly." Joshua noted. So Marisa slowly lowered her body onto his and they readjusted a bit. Joshua put his hands on Marisa's hips to get a good grip and keep her steady, and Marisa pretty much instinctively wrapped her arms around Joshua's legs to keep steady as well. "Does this position work for you Marisa?"
"Yes, I think it's pretty self explanatory at this point." Marisa noted.
"Just be careful with how fast you go." Joshua warned. "I know you like to go fast, but if you try to put too much in your mouth at once you'll gag and possibly start throwing up, so take it slowly to start. I'll wait to start eating you out until you feel comfortable, alright?"
"Alright, thank you for the advice." Marisa replied, genuinely thankful. Taking the advice she did start out slow, sticking out her tongue and starting to lick Joshua's staff, working it back up to the erect state that had been lost during the transition of their positions. "Is it supposed to taste so salty?"
"It's because of the sweat coming off of it." Joshua noted. "Is it too much for you?"
"No, just an observation." Marisa commented. "Makes me want to put some whipped cream from the mess hall on it though."
"That's pretty kinky of you Marisa." Joshua teased her gently.
"It is?" Marisa wondered a bit confused.
"A little." Joshua confirmed. "Not many people have the thought to bring food into sex."
"Would you be willing to try it with me someday?" Marisa questioned.
"Yeah, I'll try anything once." Joshua confirmed with a smirk.
"Good to know." Marisa noted as she started placing some kisses on the tip of Joshua's dick. "You can start doing your stuff too now by the way, I think I'm ready for it."
"Sounds good to me." Joshua replied before moving his head in a little closer and sticking his tongue out to start licking Marisa's clit. Marisa responded with a pleasured shiver flowing through her body and a cute moan slipping out of her mouth. Joshua took that as a good sign and started eating her out like he would with any other woman he would be with. He went slow at first, trying to find where her sensitive spots were, but once he did he focused on them heavily, moving from spot to spot once he felt a spots effectiveness was wearing off.
"You're making me feel so good Joshua! Keep going like that, please!" Marisa moaned after she had a few small orgasms from Joshua's work on her. For her part she had been able to get about halfway down on his dick before she had to stop, but she figured it was good practice for another time. Joshua did say this was an advanced technique. Joshua was enjoying giving Marisa such pleasure and he was getting close to his orgasm again, so he pulled back to let her know.
"There is one more way to have sex without risk, so if you want to try that you might want to stop before I orgasm." He noted. Marisa heard him and she did want to try it so she rolled off of him and they both sat up on the bed together again.
"That was much more exciting than the masturbation, I could see doing that until you orgasm." Marisa commented. "I wonder what your seed tastes like."
"It depends on what I've eaten recently." Joshua explained. "If you tell me when I can eat some things to make it taste better than usual."
"Another thing to add to the list then." Marisa noted. "Well, what is this last way to have sex safely?"
"This last one is probably going to sound weird at first, but I promise it's something couples do." Joshua commented. "The last way is anal sex. That's when instead of sticking his dick in a woman's vagina a guy puts it in her butt instead."
"That does sound a little weird, who came up with an idea like that?" Marisa asked curiously.
"I honestly couldn't tell you." Joshua admitted. "It could have been someone trying to find the answer to safe sex like you, or it could have been something two guys came up with and it spread over to doing it with women as well. But if it sounds too out of place for you, we don't have to do it. Many women aren't a big fan of it and any good partner of yours should respect it if you don't find it exciting either."
"Hmmm." Marisa pondered, thinking it over a bit. Like she said, it did sound weird, but she was still curious about it. Then she remembered something Joshua said earlier and made up her mind. "Well, I think I should at least try it out once to see if I like it or not."
"You sure about that?" Joshua asked her.
"Yes. It's kind of like you said earlier when you said you'd try anything once." Marisa confirmed. "I like that thought so why not?"
"Alright then, just give me a few moments to get something out of my bathroom." Joshua replied as he got out of the bed. "It'll probably be for the best if you're on your hands and knees when I get back."
"Okay." Marisa noted. So Joshua went into his bathroom to get some lubricant and when he returned Marisa was in the position he suggested. "What's that?" She asked seeing the bottle he was carrying.
"This is some lubricating oil." Joshua explained. "Just like normal sex, anal sex goes much smoother when things are all wet and slippery. But since your butt doesn't naturally get wet when you get aroused, people use this to make it smoother. It's also got a nice smell to it so it heightens the mood a bit."
"I might have said this before, but having sex is way more complicated than I thought it would be." Marisa commented. "All these items and special measures to make sure things run smoothly, it's a wonder anyone remembers all of them."
"Well, that's sort of the thing Marisa." Joshua noted. "A lot of people don't remember them, and that leads to bad experiences. That's why I've made sure to do so, I don't want to leave any woman, friend or otherwise, with a bad feeling after being intimate with me, that's just the kind of person I am."
"So remembering all this is a way to show you care about your partner?" Marisa questioned.
"Yes, very much so." Joshua confirmed. "Some women may think I'm too cautious, but I'd rather that than hurting them in some way."
"Well I think you're a very caring and understanding partner Joshua, and I really like that about you." Marisa told him, another fluttering in her chest occurring. "And I love that you're very patient with me as well. Once I get the hang of all this, I'll be sure to show you what I can really do."
"I'm sure you will, and I'll be waiting for that day." Joshua replied, noting that Marisa used the word 'love' to describe something, which was rare. "And I'm sure that it will be coming sooner than you think. Now, do you think you're ready to try this?"
"Yes." Marisa nodded with a bit of excitement. So Joshua got into the bed behind her and on his knees and popped open the bottle of lube, spreading some on his hands to cover them.
"Alright Marisa, I'm going to start touching around your butt now, tell me if you start to feel uncomfortable." Joshua noted.
"I'm ready." Marisa told him. So Joshua took two of his fingers and started making slow and deliberate circles around her butthole, making sure every spot around it was getting covered by the lube, then he slowly fitted his finger inside to lube that up as well. Marisa let out a gasp at that and Joshua stopped for a moment.
"You alright?" He asked with concern.
"I'm alright, just a bit of a surprising feeling." Marisa explained. "Kind of like when I scratch down there when it itches. But it's not a bad feeling so far, you can continue."
"Okay, I will then." Joshua replied before going back to it. He poured some more lube on his hands and made everything as slick and slippery as he could. Then he poured some on his dick and lubed it up as well to be safe. Once he was done with that he took a hold of Marisa's hips with his hands and placed the tip of his dick on her butthole. "I'm going to push in nice and slow like I did last time. There isn't anything to break in there, but if it hurts or feels bad let me know and I'll pull it out."
"Alright, I'm ready." Marisa confirmed. So Joshua grasped her hips a bit more firmly and slowly pushed his tip into her butt. Marisa gasped again but looked back to Joshua to tell him to keep going. He nodded and slowly continued to push in until he couldn't go any further. And he stopped their just like last time.
"How's it feel?" He asked Marisa.
"It's different than last time." Marisa noted. "I still feel full like last time, but in a different place this time. I can still kind of feel that warm feeling in my core, but not as much. But it's not hurting or anything, just a bit tighter than last time."
"Yeah, I feel similarly about the tightness." Joshua noted. "Am I good to continue?"
"Please, keep going, I want to see where this goes." Marisa told him. So Joshua started thrusting back and forth, slowly of course, and Marisa did start to feel something inside her body. There seemed to be a spot slightly deeper than Joshua was reaching that was itching to be hit, and she was going to let him know about it. "Joshua, can you go any farther than that? There is this one spot you're just about to hit and I think that will do the trick."
"I can try." Joshua noted. So he used his hands on her hips to start pulling her back onto his dick as he thrust into her and with every pull back he was getting ever closer to the spot Marisa could feel inside her body. With every thrust the expectations rose and Marisa's thoughts racing, giving her that warm feeling in her core and all over her body. A few more moments later and Joshua was hitting right on the spot and Marisa started moaning out loudly in pleasure as she was finally feeling what she was waiting for.
"Right there Joshua! Right there!" She moaned out and Joshua continued doing his best to keep at that spot and pace, but with everything that they had been doing already and the tightness of her butt he was getting close to blowing his load finally. But he gritted his teeth and continued to plow into her so she could get off as well. "More! More!" She moaned, wanting a bit more.
"How about this then?" Joshua breathed as he took one of his hands off her hip and started fingering her as he pounded her butt. He was deep and fast enough now to hit that spot without holding her hips so he figured he could use his hand in a better way like this.
"Yes! Yes! I love it!" Marisa moaned out. But all this overstimulation was taking it's toll on the sexual newbie, so after just a few moments of that she had a big orgasm, bigger than all the other ones she had this day, and when she did so her body clamped down on Joshua's dick and he didn't have the time to pull out this time. His seed quickly spurt out of his dick and into her butt, making it a bit more wet and easy in there, but that didn't really matter any more since they were finishing up. Joshua gave a few more weak thrusts to make sure Marisa was done before he fell back onto the bed and slipped out of her butt with a small 'pop' feeling. Marisa was breathing heavily after all of that, but she managed to crawl around and start cuddling with Joshua shortly after.
"So, I take it you liked that?" Joshua joked after they both caught their breaths.
"It was good." Marisa confirmed. "Not as good as the normal way, but I can see why it's used as a substitute. I'd be willing to try it again when I'm on my cycle. Speaking of that though, I was hoping to get a feeling of how it felt for someone to orgasm inside me normally. I've been keeping track of my cycle ever since you told me about it and today is a safe day for me. But I guess that will have to wait for another day." Joshua almost wanted to laugh, but he was still too out of breath. How many women out there actually wanted to go out of their way to have a guy cum inside them just to see how it felt? But he was nothing if not helpful and opportunistic, so he had an idea.
"Well, if you don't have anything to do tonight, we could take that bath I was getting ready to take together to wait for my body to recharge." He suggested. "I mean we both need to get cleaned up anyways and we're obviously not uncomfortable seeing each other naked."
"Oh, we could do that, couldn't we?" Marisa commented as if she hadn't thought of it, because she didn't. "I don't have anything to get to tonight and it's been a bit since I've had a good bath as well, so I'm okay with it."
"Great! Well, let's get it started then." Joshua replied as he slowly got out of the bed. So the two of them set up the bath and got to relaxing and cleaning each other off. At one point Joshua was washing Marisa's hair when he thought of something he was wanting to ask about.
"Your hair is so nice Marisa." He commented as he continued to wash it. "I never expected you to put highlights in it though. I think they look great, but I'm wondering where you got the idea since you're usually not the type of woman to come up with the idea herself."
"Well, your questioning of it is exactly what I was trying to get by doing it." Marisa noted before explaining. "So, you know me, I'm not very sociable normally, but I do have a few friends still. I was talking to Princess Tana one day and I off-handedly commented that I liked her hair. One thing led to another and she convinced me that coloring my hair would make me look more personable and that people would ask me about it to start simple conversations. I actually liked the idea of starting with simple conversations about hair, so I allowed her to color my hair like this and I've been doing so ever since."
"Princess Tana is quite the friendly woman, I can see why she took an interest in you." Joshua commented. "And she did a lovely job with your hair, I can't imagine seeing you putting it back to normal, it's that good."
"Thank you Joshua, that makes me feel...good." Marisa replied, now blushing a bit with the fluttering heart feelings. "What is this feeling?" She muttered to herself.
"What was that?" Joshua asked, not quite catching it.
"I was asking myself what this feeling is that I keep getting around you." Marisa said a bit louder. "You keep saying nice things about me and then my chest feels all fluttery and now my face is blushing." Joshua of course knew what these feelings probably were, but he was going to take it slow and try not to overwhelm her.
"Do you not like the feeling?" He asked her.
"No, it feels nice actually." Marisa replied. "It's like the feeling I get when we have sex, but just in my chest. Wait a moment, are you doing something to me to make me feel like that? Can you keep doing it?"
"Slow down Marisa, slow down." Joshua said to calm her a bit. "I think I might be the cause of it, but it's not something I can do on command. It's something in your brain that reacts to the things I tell you, or actually I should say your heart."
"My heart?" Marisa wondered.
"Yeah." Joshua nodded. "You know how you're always telling me that guys flirt with you and you don't pay it any mind and it doesn't make you feel any sort of way because you don't really know them?"
"Yes, I remember telling you that a number of times." Marisa confirmed.
"Well, a feeling like you describe usually happens when someone you actually know and care about says something nice to you." Joshua explained. "It's one of the ways your body can tell your mind that your romantically interested in someone."
"But I don't get it." Marisa admitted. "My mind already tells me that I like being around you because you're a good friend and partner, why does my body have to tell me as well?"
"Well, not everyone is like you Marisa, their minds are as sharp and focused as yours is, they need their bodies to help tell them." Joshua noted. "Also it's a way to show that your body and mind are in agreement with each other."
"I guess that makes sense." Marisa commented before pondering some more. "Can I ask you something Joshua?"
"Sure." Joshua nodded.
"Has your heart ever fluttered because of me?" Marisa asked slightly nervously, not quite knowing if she really wanted the answer.
"All the time, I'm just really good at hiding it." Joshua confirmed. "Every time you call me a good friend or say I'm very considerate of your feelings or thank me for being so patient with you, it makes me feel good inside. It's just like I noted before, I don't tell you because I believe it's up to you to decide when or if you want to pursue a romantic relationship together"
"I see." Marisa noted, going quiet for a bit so she could think things over. After a bit she spoke up again though. "Well Joshua, you've given me a lot of things to think about in my personal time, but as usual you've been a very helpful friend and partner, so I thank you."
"Not a problem Marisa, I'll always be here for you." Joshua told her and her heart fluttered again.
"Are you sure you can't do it on command?" Marisa blushed and Joshua just gave her a playful smile before they finished their bath. When they were done they moved back to the bed and Joshua taught Marisa a number of new sexual positions that she found quite interesting, but their sex was very slightly more romantically charged than it had been before. Joshua liked where things were heading with him and Marisa. It might be slow going, but he could tell Marisa was trying her best to acclimate to her new feelings. Eventually they were getting close to their climaxes again, with Marisa on all fours again but Joshua was leaning back on his knees instead of being straight up, allowing Marisa to go at her own pace.
"I'm ready to cum whenever you want Marisa." Joshua told her and she looked back at him with a nod before speeding up quickly and steadily. She continued at that pace, the feeling of Joshua's dick pressing up against her womb, digging into her insides, and the anticipation of feeling herself being flooded with seed making her orgasm build up quickly. But there was another feeling there, the fluttering heart feeling, and she was amazed that both feelings could mix with one another like this and make everything feel even that much better. She was feeling very happy and fulfilled here with Joshua and she almost didn't want it to end. Almost. She started shaking her hips and when she had her orgasm and clamped down on Joshua she moaned out his name as she felt his seed filling up her body once again. Joshua moaned out loudly as well and the two of them were once again very satisfied with their time together.
"Hmm, Joshua. Do you mind if I sleep here with you tonight?" Marisa asked afterwards as they cuddled together again.
"No, of course I don't." Joshua assured her. "You can stay here any night you want, you know that."
"I know, but I figured I should ask." Marisa yawned.
"Did you enjoy your lessons tonight?" Joshua asked, yawning a bit himself.
"I loved them." Marisa replied, using that word again. "I'm sure soon enough we can do this without you having to explain everything."
"I don't mind it, but that would be nice." Joshua noted.
"Speaking of all this, I did talk to Tethys the other day and she said she would talk to Commander Gerik about setting something up between the three of us." Marisa added.
"Oh? That sounds like fun." Joshua commented.
"The thing is, I think I want to be more prepared for it than this." Marisa noted. "The part with there being another woman there I mean. Do you think there is anyone that might be willing to join us in a lesson or two?"
"Actually I do." Joshua replied. "You know Lyn, the green haired swordswoman from Sacae?"
"Yes, I've sparred with her from time to time." Marisa confirmed.
"Her and her husband are a couple who have casual sex with pretty much anyone, so I'm pretty sure I could ask her, would that be acceptable?" Joshua asked.
"If you could do that I'd really appreciate it." Marisa confirmed.
"Okay, I'll set something up and let you know." Joshua noted.
"Thank you Joshua, I know I keep saying it, but you are a wonderful friend." Marisa said before instinctively kissing him on the cheek.
"It's because I care about you Marisa, I want to see you happy and thriving, here in Askr and back home in Jehanna as well." Joshua replied, kissing her forehead back and fluttering her heart more.
"I'll do my best not to disappoint you Joshua." Marisa blushed.
"You could never do that Marisa, not as long as you try your best as you always do."