A Solid Foundation

by thedarkprep

4 - Appraising the Foundation

Chapter 4

Appraising the Foundation

“Aaaah make it stop.”

From the passenger seat, Trixie groaned loudly, yet not loud enough to drown out the music blaring from the car speakers.

“Now, Trixie,” Caramel chided from the driver seat, “we listened to your eight-minute black metal song without complaining. It’s only fair for you to respect our choices as well.”

“This is not the same and you know it!”

For her part, Maud was enjoying the music—a seventies R&B style song featuring a trio of very talented girls on back-up vocals. Maybe it’s a genre thing?

“You two know what you want your picks to be?” Caramel called to the back of the car.

“Pinkie can have my pick” Maud answered, while Pinkie, who had been looking through her phone suddenly began laughing.

“Oh, I think I know my picks then,” she said. “I’m pretty sure I remember these from Trixie’s collection. And from the 80’s too. Way more recent.”

“Strong female vocalist?” Caramel asked.

“Three of them!”

“Love it,” he smirked.

“I hate you,” Trixie whined. “I hate you both so much.”

Maud tuned them out and stared out the window, focusing on the lights as they passed by.

It would only be a few minutes more before they arrived at the venue where the Washouts and Fallen Hive were performing and, while not her first metal or punk show to be sure, she still felt apprehensive. Limestone and Gilda would be there, after all, and she was no closer to figuring out what she wanted to say to either of them.

And not from a lack of effort either, she grumbled. Maud turned to look at Trixie, her reflection visible off the side view mirror, as she continued to shift in her seat to the amusement of the others.

That girl had certainly given her much to think about, hadn’t she?

Late into the night, after coming back from the mall, Maud had lain awake in her bed, turning Trixie’s words over and over in her mind.

“There’s nothing you could have done.”

She’d certainly brought up some interesting points and there was some arrogance in thinking that she could come in five years later and fix everything on her own. Maud could own up to that.

But… The sight of Pinkie’s smile fading as she re-entered their home—the smile she held while Trixie was around becoming that fragile thing Maud was still unaccustomed to seeing.

She had received another text from Sandstone as well, asking her if she’d made any progress in her soul searching. She had yet to respond to that.

Yes, Trixie had certainly given her a lot to think about. But things seemed as cloudy as they ever had and, with Marble already asleep when she’d arrived, she’d had no one to bounce her thoughts off of. Therefore, Maud was going into the concert today with no plan to speak of.

Well, except for one.

A pothole jarred Maud from her thoughts.

It seemed it was Trixie’s pick again, as a metal song was playing through the car stereo. Pinkie and Trixie were singing along to the vocals as loud as possible while a bemused Caramel did his best to keep his eyes on the road.

Maud focused on Pinkie first, taking in the smile she had on her face, the glow in her eyes, and then looked back up front at the two people who she currently knew had a hand in making those things happen.

As she met Trixie’s eyes through the rearview mirror, a flicker of guilt flashed through Maud at having mistrusted her from the get-go. I will not make that mistake again.

She may not know what to say to Gilda or how to feel about her, but she would give her the benefit of the doubt she had denied Trixie, and listen to what she had to say.

No preconceptions. No baggage.

Let her make her own first impression.

“Heads up everyone, we’re here!”

“Finally!” Trixie cried out, unbuckling her seatbelt.

As they all got out and gathered in front of the car, Trixie quickly made her way next to Pinkie.

“Trixie will be taking that,” she exclaimed, grabbing Pinkie’s right hand. She then waited until Caramel made to grab Pinkie’s other hand, and grabbed it as well. “And that one too. Trixie just realized that she has two hands. You understand, Trixie is sure.”

“Oh certainly!” Caramel exclaimed. “I wouldn’t dream of taking something that is rightfully claimed. Thankfully, this seems like completely unclaimed territory.”

He then proceeded to wrap his arms around Pinkie’s middle, all the while keeping his eyes locked on Trixie with a simple smile on his face.

“Hey! That’s not fair. I was using that!” Trixie yelled.

“No you weren’t.”

“I was gonna.”

“Can’t hear you; Pinkie’s purring.”

And Pinkie did indeed seem like the happiest person in the world right then, content to let the other two continue to perpetually fight over her.

Maud rolled her eyes. “Children, you are not about to try walking like that. Now either share her hands or let go.”

“Aww” all three of them said, and Maud had to fight to maintain her glower. Still, the pair did let go and moved to where it looked like they would have complied with her demands, had the music not began playing.

Pinkie and Trixie’s heads turned towards the venue.

“They’re starting! They’re starting!” Pinkie yelled.

“And the bag check line is so long!” Trixie groaned. “Caramel, I know you don’t actually care about Fallen Hive… Do you think you could…”

Caramel chuckled. “Hand over the purses.”

“Thank you!” Pinkie and Trixie wasted no time in giving him their bags, Trixie giving him a quick hug and Pinkie giving him a kiss, before the two rushed off to the much shorter entry for guests without bags.

When the dust cleared, it revealed a boy holding two purses and wearing the most satisfied of grins.

“You know, I could hold those and you could go in after them,” Maud offered.

“No. No. It’s fine.”

“Even though Pinkie left you behind to run off with some woman?”

“It’s just Trixie,” Caramel said as they lined up.

Maud grabbed Trixie’s purse; attached to which was a teacup and saucer in a leather holster. “Are you sure you’re allowed to say ‘it’s just Trixie.’ You know, legally?”

“Fair,” Caramel chuckled, taking the purse back. “She’s pretty harmless, though. Even when she tries not to be.”

“When she tries not to be? Do you mind if I ask, or?”

“I mean the stuff she pulls to ‘make me jealous’ and stuff,” Caramel shook his head. “Like the stuff by the van. She’ll play around a lot and make comments. She’ll push the line and insinuate things, call herself my rival.”

“But you know she doesn’t mean it?” Maud asked. “Or it doesn’t bother you if she does?”

“A little of both?” Caramel shrugged. “She tries so hard to not be ‘in the way,’ you know? Like when Pinkie and I have a date night, she practically drops off the radar so Pinkie won’t be distracted. It’s a bit much, but she’s always a bit much. It’s part of her charm.”

Maud nodded, “so you know she doesn’t mean it.”

“So I know she doesn’t mean it,” he repeated. “And if she and Pinkie wanted to actually start dating I…well, I can’t say it wouldn’t be a bit of an adjustment, but I wouldn’t rule it out. She makes Pinkie happy. How could I be against that?”

“So no secret resentments?”

“No secret resentments. But, if you’re after secrets then, how about this one?” Caramel said, leaning closer. “When Pinkie and Trixie first started…getting involved, Trixie cornered me after work one day and asked if I knew, which I did. Pinkie and I had talked about her feelings beforehand.”

“Good to know my sister wasn’t cheating on you.”

“I thought so too. So then, Trixie made a vow that if I ever felt uncomfortable with anything, everything would stop right then and there. No questions asked.”

“Oh wow,” Maud gasped. “What did you say?”

“That I could not accept such a binding vow without a lawyer present?”

Maud snorted in laughter. “You didn’t.”

“I did. Literally. ‘I need my lawyer for this,’ and just kept walking to my car.”

“That’s really clever.”

“You’d think so, huh?” Caramel shrugged, readjusting the purses as one of them nearly fell off. “Really, I just panicked. I don’t want that kind of decision being up to me. Having power over Pinkie’s relationships makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to feel controlling and I don’t want her forcing that on me. Also, if they ever cross a line, I’d like for them to be able to work it out and learn from it. For it to be a conversation, not an ultimatum.”

“That’s a good way to look at it.”

“Thanks. Took me a while to figure out why that made me uncomfortable though. It wasn’t as simple as it probably should be.”

“Things with Pinkie rarely are.”

“Yeah, but I love her.”

“I know,” Maud said. “I can tell. So why are you waiting in line with me, instead of just giving me the purses and heading inside?”

“And deny myself the pleasure of your company?” Caramel gawked, as if offended. “The nerve!”

“You’re right. Don’t know what I was thinking.”

---

As soon as they got inside, they managed to spot Pinkie by the front row, with the way she was cheering into the mosh pit next to her giving hints as to Trixie’s location. Caramel wasted no time in cutting a path towards them but Maud chose to hang back and scout the area. After all, she wasn’t here for the bands, really. She had other people to meet.

Maud found an elevated area in the middle of the venue, and stood next to a ledge, leaning over the railing. From this vantage point she could watch people come and go from the pit area and, looking around, had a pretty good view of the surrounding tables as well. She still had no visual on her sister and, after a while, she briefly considered checking out the actual bar area. Before she could, however, a familiar figure caught her attention, making her way up the ramp towards her on her left side.

And while Maud could have met her halfway, she decided to wait at her perch instead until Gilda stepped up next to her, dressed in unripped black jeans and a leather jacket that was far too nice for the type of venue and show they were currently attending.

She's taller than I remember.

“Good afternoon–um, evening, Dr. Pie,” Gilda said, extending her hand.

Maud raised an eyebrow and in a teasing tone replied, “Evening, Ms. Gilda. Nice to see you again.”

The tone was obviously missed, as Gilda showed a flash of excitement, akin to someone scoring a point in a game, before continuing. “Um. Same. You can just call me Gilda, though, that’s fine.”

“And you can just call me Maud.”

“Just Maud? Ok. I can do that,” she replied, taking a deep breath. “So, Limestone said that Pinkie said that you wanted to talk to me, which I get. Like, if my sister ran away to live with some rando after fighting with my parents I certainly would have some questions.”

“You have siblings then?”

“No‒No I don’t, but I wasn’t lying just now!” Gilda all but shrieked, “I was trying to empathize, yeah. Like I can imagine what it would be like. Because like, the girls in the band are like my family, so they’re like my sisters. So I, sort of, get it. And even if I didn’t have them, you always, sort of, imagine what-ifs and how’d you react, right?”

“...Right,” Maud replied, eyeing the girl, who was obviously very tense. I mean, I was nervous for this meeting too, but this is a bit much.

“Tell me about my sister, please. How is she living nowadays? What does she do? Is she being taken care of? Is she able to take care of herself?”

“...Okay, but don’t be mad.”

“Not a great start.”

“No, it’s just–It’s not going to sound great. I know that, but like… You haven’t been to the house, so you don’t know,” Gilda pushed her hair back in frustration. “Okay, so we’re living in the basement—”

“She’s living in the basement?”

“I said, hold on! Okay?” she exclaimed. “Look, the house is like. Really big. And I planned it out. My parents have the top floor, the ground floor is a shared space, and the garden and stuff. And the basement is ours. And like! It’s a huge basement. It has a bedroom, a bathroom, an office, its own kitchen? A small one, sure, but it’s got its own kitchen down there!”

Maud watched as Gilda leaned over the railing.

“She works odd jobs to help pay for the mortgage payments, and she does rock carving on the side, statues and stuff, as a hobby. And look, eventually we’ll have our own place. And I really want her to not have to pay any bills and just focus on her rock carving.”

“Masonry.”

“Right, Masonry,” Gilda nodded. “But the music thing is a slow build, so this is the best that I can do right now. Like, one house at a time and all that, right? But I’m working really hard. And I swear I make her happy. And I know what your parents think about me but I promise that I don’t do drugs or smoke, and I would never cheat on Limestone. She’d kick my ass. I mean, my butt. Not that that’s the only reason. I just… just…”

Gilda seemed to be gathering her thoughts. And in that moment of silence, Maud gathered her thoughts as well.

This is the rockstar? This dork is the dangerous rockstar that my parents are so afraid of? She mused. She’s harmless. If anything, I’m worried about her with Limestone around.

Limestone.

She was about to ask Gilda where Limestone was, when the girl suddenly reached out and grabbed Maud by the arm.

“Um…” Maud began, before staring into Gilda’s fear-stricken eyes.

“Just…I know it’s a lot to ask, but please don’t make her break up with me?”

“What?”

“She told me that I needed to get your approval or she’d break up with me, but… I know I’m not good with words and I know that rockstars get a bad rep, and Flutters and the girls agreed to come with me to back me up but I wasn’t going to have them drive five hours just for this, so I said ‘no, I have to do this on my own,’ like a moron, and—”

“Gilda! Gilda,” Maud interjected, holding unto the arm that was grasping unto hers to get the girl’s attention. “Listen to me. Okay? Limestone has never listened to a single word I’ve said on anything. Ever. Okay?”

“What?”

“If I told her to break up with you, she would marry you on the spot, just to spite me. So I’m not going to do that. I wasn’t going to anyway, but especially because of that. Okay?”

“Right. Okay,” Gilda said, taking a deep breath. “So… she was messing with me?”

“Don’t take it personally. She probably thought it was funny.”

“I’m going to kill her.”

“Please do.”

---

Once the topic at hand was dealt with, Maud had expected Gilda to make herself scarce, but she’d actually hung around for the rest of the set. She even stayed during the band change, sharing stories both about her band experience and the apparently hiding family member.

In fact, it wasn’t until the Washouts finally started their set that Gilda finally excused herself to go support them from the front row.

Maud thought back over the conversation and found Gilda quite pleasant to talk to once she wasn’t nervous. She was strong willed, opinionated, and with more to say than the vocabulary to say it, but also unwilling to let that stop her.

Definitely reminds me of someone else I know.

The smell of alcohol hit her slightly before the voice did, Limestone whispering in her ear, taking advantage of her momentary distraction, “Maudie, glad you could make it.”

“Eww!” Maud exclaimed, backing away. “Five years and this is how you greet me? Whispering like a creep and blowing your alcohol breath in my face?”

“I’ve only had the one drink,” Limestone argued. “Besides, how about you? Five years and this is how you react to seeing me? Backing away from me in disgust? How about a hug for your favorite sister?”

“You’re right,” Maud replied, “Let me go find Pinkie real quick.”

“Marble’s gonna be devastated.”

…

The two girls began laughing at the same time, with Maud stepping forward to give Limestone a hug. “I’m so glad to see you, Lime.”

“Same here, Maudie,” Limestone said, returning the hug. “And I see you even met my girlfriend. What do you think?”

“She’s too good for you.”

“I know! Right? I keep expecting her to figure it out but every morning I wake up and, somehow, I’m still in her bed.”

“Yes. Yes,” Maud indulged her. “We’re all very impressed. Just remember that getting with a girl doesn’t make you special. At this rate, I’m just hoping I can act shocked when, I mean if Marble comes out.”

“Well, you know, you were just so inspiring, Maud. Pinkie and I had to be just like you.”

“Is that it? I still think we’re all just rebelling against Mother and Father and how they raised us,” Maud said, “This is definitely just a phase.”

“Oh jeez, mom and dad didn’t use that line on you, did they?”

“No,” Maud lied. “But while on the subject of Mom and Dad. I heard things got pretty heated when you left. Wanna talk about it?”

Limestone, for the first time since her appearance, stopped smiling, a groan crossing her lips as she placed her cup on a nearby table.

“Not really?” she admitted. “There’s not much to say is there? They disapproved of Gilda. I didn’t budge. Pretty simple math from where I’m standing.”

“I guess it is,” Maud said carefully. “Do you want to talk about you moving out instead or—”

“I don’t know, Maud! But I think you want to talk about it, so let’s talk.”

“I don’t wanna fight, Lime, but I want to understand,” Maud replied, lifting her wrists up in surrender. “When I left it was a very hard decision for me. I almost didn’t do it but, when I did, I left knowing you would be here to keep things together. You were supposed to be the one to look after them when I couldn’t, so where were you?”

Limestone took a sip from her drink before replying, “...and you’re sure you don’t want to fight?”

“I don’t. But I need to know. Where were you with everything that’s been going on with Pinkie?”

Limestone gave a solemn nod, smacked her lips, and pointed to the pit area of the show. Maud traced her finger and saw that a circle pit had formed in the middle of the pit area, in the middle of which, Pinkie and Trixie seemed to be ballroom dancing as the other concert goers ran around them. A rather flustered Caramel could be seen looking on from the edge of the crowd and the band’s singer seemed to be filming this event with her cellphone.

Yeah, that tracks.

Limestone seemed to read her mind. “Looks like she’s doing fine to me.”

“Ok, but what about Marble? She’s always needed looking after. With Pinkie in her ups and downs and you out of the picture, who is going to look out for her? Mom and Dad?”

Maud wasn’t sure what response she expected from her sister, but it certainly was not laughter.

“Maud, you need to relax,” she said, in between giggles, her hand reaching out to grab Maud’s shoulder. “Honestly, I think you could use a drink.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Maud replied, even as she allowed herself to be guided by Limestone towards the back of the venue. “Besides, you know I don’t drink.”

“Trust me on this.” Limestone said, gesturing towards the bar.

“Is that…”

“It is.”

Though the two still kept their distance from it, they had gotten close enough to where the sounds of the bar could be parsed out over the music and vocals, a small concerto of laughter, of clinking glass against wood, and of screeching chairs.

About seven or so patrons were crowding around the lone bartender, a young woman dressed in black with very heavy eyeliner and mascara to match, who effortlessly passed out drinks, took down orders, rebuffed advances, and, by all appearances, seemed to be having the time of her life.

“Come on, Marble, just one date!” some patron yelled over the sound of a guitar solo. “You and me. After work. I won’t stop asking until you say yes!”

“Just as long as you remember that I’m charging you an extra dollar per drink every time you ask, Axel!”

The patrons burst out in laughter, Axel included, as Marble poured him his drink, “Well, shoot. Someone’s gotta pay for all that eyeliner and mascara. Might as well be me.”

“At the rate you’re going, you’re going to pay for her college, Axel!”

“Yeah! So stop before she learns there’s other jobs out there where she doesn’t have to deal with you.”

“Does this have to do with those book things I’ve been hearing about?” Marble winked, “Maybe I should get some of those.”

A chorus of boos rang out, followed by more laughter, Marble’s loudest amongst them.

Maud was sure she was hallucinating, she had to be, and was only convinced this scene was real by the smug look on Limestone’s face.

“I can’t believe this.”

“I know.”

“No,” Maud insisted, “I cannot believe this.”

“I know,” Limestone repeated. “You were gone. You didn’t get to see it happening.”

Maud’s mind was racing, trying to put together the sights in front of her with what she knew about her family. The pieces would not fit, however, no matter how hard she tried.

Limestone cleared her throat, and Maud looked up to find she had been led back to the perch where the conversation had begun. She turned to look at Limestone and saw that her sister seemed to understand, or at least sympathize, with her confusion.

“Here’s the thing, Maud,” she began. “Things weren’t going to stay the way you left them. You left. But that doesn’t mean that things are shit now just because they’re not the way they used to be.”

Limestone looked out into the audience, for Pinkie, or Gilda, or maybe just to gather her thoughts. It was hard to tell, but Maud continued to stare at her, unblinking.

“I’ll admit things don’t always look great. Pinkie’s been worrying us a lot, and Marble working at a bar is something we never could have predicted. I don’t like fighting with Mom and Dad either. Not really sure I’d be welcome home even if I did go back, honestly. But… things won’t be like that forever. Right now things are just…”

“Rough? Developing?”

“Rocky.”

They both groaned.

And then, they both smiled.

“Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I’ve been worrying too much,” Maud slouched, the weight of the trip an unkind boulder on her shoulders.

“You always do, and normally it’s a great look for you. It suits you. Makes you look all responsible. But there’s plenty to worry about, you know? Other things. Maybe yourself? We’ve got this.”

“Yeah. I guess you do.”

The two stood in silence for a bit, watching the show while Limestone finished her drink. Once she did, she began to head towards the pit, giving Maud a nod as she left, which she returned. Maud briefly considered joining her but decided to stay where she was and just watch things for a bit longer.

Off to the side she watched as Trixie, Pinkie, and Caramel talked, finally out of the crowd and looking positively exhausted.

They’re probably taking a breather, she guessed, as Trixie and Pinkie laughed in response to something Caramel said. Maud smiled at the scene.

Her eyes then went to the front row where she could see Gilda and Limestone yelling the lyrics right up to the singer's face, louder than the rest. She still didn’t really know Gilda, but Maud knew Limestone. She’s going to be okay.

Finally, Maud closed her eyes, straining to block out the music and focus on the sound of laughter coming from behind her, the image of Marble, decked out in dark clothing and a bright smile, more out of her shell than Maud had ever seen her.

I guess things really are a lot better around here than they appeared.

In some ways, her family was like an old well-built house.

From the outside, it might look battered. It might look broken. It might look weathered and left to the elements. And yet, as long as the foundation was good, rebuilding was always possible.

Taking another look around the venue, Maud decided that the foundation was as solid as ever.

Come to think of it, she thought, with a mischievous smile. I think I’ll go ahead and get that drink after all.

Author's Note:

So thoughts? Personally, I want to see the ballroom dancing in a circle pit thing in real life, but that's just me.

I continue to love my trio of awkward disasters in love, and the Pie family are my favorite little group of siblings to write. I wanted to make sure Maud had a different dynamic with each of them and I feel like Limestone and Maud are closest to me and my actual sibling, so this chapter was fun to write.

Anyway, one more to go. I hope you're as excited as I am.

And, as always, thank you for your time,
-thedarkprep

Comments

[Shigawan]

Aww, finally got to read the end. Man, you sure do seem allergic to just letting people be happy, huh? :P

I kid, of course. If they were happy, then I couldn't read stories about them trying to be happier!

So there was obviously a good bit in the last couple chapters. I did finally get to see a bit of Caramel and the part he plays in Pinkie and Trixie’s relationship. Honestly, he seems like a good guy. It feels like he and I kinda share a similar philosophy on relationships. It feels wrong to stifle the choices that your partner can make. He may be a bit more secure in himself than me, but he's pretty cool.

He and Pinkie have a bit of an understated relationship in the story so far. Which is fair because so far its all been about Trixie and Pinkie figuring their thing out. He seems... Safer. More secure. In himself and in their relationship. Which, by the end of the story, seems to be the problem.

Clearly it feels like Trixie and Pinkie both like and respect him (at a minimum) and he returns that sentiment. However, his perceived security seems to hurt Pinkie (in Secondhand Laughter, since she doesn't feel he NEEDS her) and it hurts Trixie by removing a potential tether to Pinkie. Since Caramel is there, Trixie feels more comfortable with the possibility of "leaving" since Caramel will be there for Pinkie... But she doesn't seem to really understand the impact she had in Pinkie's life. Which is a possibility because Pinkie seems ashamed of admitting that she feels at her best when Trixie is at her worst and needs relies on Pinkie. The whole situation reminds me of the Nightingale Effect, where a caregiver can fall in love with a patient and then lose those feelings after their care is no longer needed. I'm not saying that is the extent of Pinkie's relationship with Trixie but it could be perceived that way. Just one more thing to keep Pinkie up at night, huh?

Sorry, that thought got away from me. In any case, I don't think it is Caramel's fault that his being better adjusted (or at least perceived that way) can be used as a crutch by both Pinkie and Trixie to indulge in their worst impulses, but it is interesting how his existence allows for it.

I thought it was super cute that Trixie made sure that Caramel was aware of what was up with herself and Pinkie... At least until the end when that scene was recontexualized a bit and I realized that Trixie may have been panicking about the possibility of suddenly being RESPONSIBLE someone. She knew Pinkie had her own demons and obviously feels that Caramel can be relied on to take care of Pinkie if and when she "leaves". If she were to break them up, though, then SHE would be responsible for Pinkie and she could lose the security blanket feeling she has that she could "leave" at any time and she wouldn't be ruining anyone else's life on the way out. If that IS the case, then I believe she is lying to herself, but then that isn't surprising considering her situation. I kinda wonder if Caramel might have picked up on any of those darker motivations when Trixie tried to assure him that she would immediately break things off if he wanted her to and that added to the awkwardness of his response. Not that I think he's aware of the particulars of her demons... But he could have sensed something was off.

For the record as well, I also believe that Trixie wants to be a good person and doesn't want to be a cheat either... But I feel like my above reasoning also makes sense as additional motivation.

All this to say, I could probably say more about that relationship but I can only spend so long typing this all out and I had other points I wanted to make!! I just wanted to stress how neat it was that I could see some real interesting dynamics going on. And all of their interactions were cute and funny and sweet. And I want more.

Aw man, I didn't even get to scratch at how Maud and Trixie new thing affects all of this... Oh noooooo...

Anyways, Gilda was a HUGE dork. The scene between her and Maud was equal parts cute and awkward as Gilda introduced herself like she was meeting Limestone's parents. Although I thought it was interesting that Maud seemed to think she was being unfair or jumping the gun in judging Trixie or Gilda before meeting them... But I thought she was pretty open minded (if cautious due to her care for her sister) during the whole story. Sure, she didn't immediately jump to trusting Gilda without knowing her, but she seemed fair and willing to meet and judge for herself. Better than her parents at least!

I liked the lesson of having things change and that being okay. Some things get better and some get worse... But they can't stay the same forever. We sometimes just have to trust. And seeing Marble come out of her shell was cool. I think Pinkie mentioned in... The Opening Act, maybe? That Marble may even be considering moving out on her own soon. Lots of places to explore with these characters!!

Sorry, I couldn't touch on everything I noticed or appreciated. I thought it was a good story, though, and despite my initial hesitation at a new narrating character in Maud, I thought it was a great addition to the continuity and exactly the kind of story I expected and wanted.

Thank you for the work you put into your writing. I hope to see more again someday! Good luck and happy writing!

[thedarkprep]

11276672

Readers like you make writing worth doing. For real.

Thank you so much for taking this journey with me.

I'm glad you picked up on so much! The bit about how Caramel fits in perfectly to allow the other two to indulge in their worst impulses is wonderful analysis and having someone just flat out point out what I intended for them to get from the writing is just...amazing? There was so much intent behind Trixie in this and you just, spelled it out?

I couldn't be more grateful.

I'm also glad you enjoyed Gilda being an awkward dork and Marble moving out is certainly going to come up on the next thing so I'm glad that people, or at least you, remembered that it was foreshadowed. As you said, tons of places to go with this, and Krickis and I have been talking very excitedly about them all ^_^.

As for the lesson, that's one that's very dear to me since it's one I've personally had to learn.

Change isn't good. It isn't bad. Most of the time, it is just change.

So to the next change, shall we?

I look forward to seeing you there.