Hi, I wanted to write this letter because I want to express my sincere gratitude to you for starting to write on twst (❁´◡`❁)
I am sincerely grateful to you for this, as it has made my workdays much easier to endure. Thank you also for writing wonderful responses to your subscribers' inquiries, which are always interesting to read (even if I don't particularly like the idea)
You may be wondering, "What is the purpose of this message?" I will respond, tomorrow (April 6) as it is my birthday, and I wanted to express my thoughts to you
It may sound silly, but I want you to know
Thank you for your blog, and I hope you will continue to write it (but don't forget to take breaks) (≧∇≦)/
(Yes, it may not be as much as I would like to say, but I decided to write it anyway)
Happy Birthday @melodicofsirens!
~not a request, but a gift~
[hey guys, author here! And hello especially to you @melodicofsirens!!! You've been there for me basically since the beginning of my journey as an author, so please consider this a thank you gift :D and here's hoping you have a wonderful birthday! I'll admit this story was a rather quick one, but hopefully you can still enjoy it haha. And in any case- remember to drink some water and get some rest, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!]
Things have been very disorienting this past month. You never thought getting isekai'd would be so impossible to adjust to. There's been so many new things to learn even with your previous knowledge of twisted wonderland as a game, that you've barely had time to think about your upcoming birthday.
Well that is, until the day finally arrives, and you realize that you haven't told a soul that your birthday's today. And despite all the chaos recently, you still wish someone would wish you a happy birthday. Even just in passing. And to be fair, it shouldn't be impossible, after all it was clear they knew a lot of things from how much they saw of you through the screen as 'the player' or simply 'L'.
Yet as the day drags on, without even a single mention of it being your birthday, you realize they must not know. ...it's a bit disappointing, but it'd be unfair to blame them, especially since you haven't mentioned anything about it being your birthday. ...still, maybe you should head back to the dorm earlier today. It's not like there's any reason to hang around campus.
And by 'the dorm' you don't mean Ramshackle. While the headmage offered to host you there much like he did with Yuu, you instead took up Ortho's offer to stay in Ignihyde. Mainly because you didn't want to end up Crowley's unpaid helper, but also because it was the dorm you had always felt a kinship with back in your world. The introverted nature of it all being a bit too relatable.
So you head back to Ignihyde, still feeling a little upset over how your day went, before the security system starts ringing. ...that's very weird, because Idia set you as a student in the database ever since you arrived in this world. Why's it flagging you now? Did something happen? Maybe the system got reset...?
Well you're not left wondering for long as Idia rushes over to you in a couple minutes, out of breath and looking a little panicked. He tries to regain his composure quickly, but it seems to fail once he looks you in the eyes. Instead just grabbing his tablet to talk for him.
Idia('s tablet): "hey L, why in the world are you back so soon???"
"Huh? Oh. There's nothing to do today, so I just decided to come straight back."
Idia: "whyyyyyyyyy!??? I mean- you usually take at least another ten minutes!"
"You know my schedule?"
Idia: "besides the point!"
"Well uh... Sorry for coming back early? Wait, does this have something to do with the security system flagging me as an intruder?"
Idia: "it's not that, it's just- okay okay okay, y'know what, this is fine! And y'know what, in fact, uh, yes it does...? Yes! Why don't you... Help me fix it? Yeah, let's just take a detour away from the lounge and go directly to the quest marker for this repair."
Idia is acting so suspicious and nervous, it doesn't take a genius to figure out he's covering for something. ...and that something is probably in the lounge. Maybe it's not a good idea to pry, but you're very curious now what's in the lounge. So before you walk off with him, you decide to ask about it just a little. Just to gauge his reaction.
"So, Idia. Why shouldn't we take the way through the lounge?"
Idia: "h-huh? Oh... Y'know... Reasons."
"Like?"
Idia: "oh c'mon, there's nothing in the lounge, so there's no reason to go there! Plain and simple, right?"
Thankfully Ortho comes to save Idia from this half-baked excuse, flying over to you both with a big grin on his face. And laughing a little at Idia's plight.
Ortho: "hey brother, hey L!"
Idia: "oh-my-gosh-Ortho-you're-a-lifesaver..."
He speaks very quickly, before heaving a sigh of relief. You can visibly see the worry leave him as he takes a deep breath. You feel slightly bad for teasing him like that, but you're still Very curious what they were doing. ...And thankfully you won't be in the dark about it much longer!
Ortho: "hehe, c'mon L! All the preparations are complete!"
"Preparations? For what?"
Ortho: "you'll see! Thanks for stalling them brother!"
Idia: "yeah, it was NP. ...but uh, next time I'll finish the preparations, and YOU stall them."
Ortho: "fineee, now come on L, I bet you'll be amazed!"
"Alright alright, I'm coming!"
Despite the day starting out a little rough, you can't help but feel excited as you follow Ortho through the hallways of Ignihyde all the way to the lounge. Idia is following behind you, but a little slower because he was already tired out from rushing to you earlier.
Once you get to the entrance of the lounge, you freeze. Long enough for Idia to catch up. Meanwhile you try to take in everything. Banners and holograms and streamers and decorations, most of which saying a big and unmissable "HAPPY BIRTHDAY L" on them. ...they remembered. Turning to face them, the surprise and joy evident on your face, them both smile back.
"Is this...?"
Ortho: "Happy birthday L!!"
Idia: "...yeah, happy birthday... Whehehe, did you think we forgot?"
"What? Uh... Okay, maybe a little bit, but seriously, thank you guys!"
Ortho: "I've always wanted to throw a surprise party! Here c'mon, wanna look at the gifts we got you?"
Idia: "ah wait, Ortho shouldn't we save those for last?"
Ortho: "aww, but I really wanna see her open mine now... I worked really hard on it!"
Idia: "I mean, same. But like- save the best for last? First I wanted to show her the game I coded for her!"
Ortho: "hey, that's no fair! You just wanna give her your gift first!"
Idia: "tbf, that isn't my actual gift to them. It's just like, a side project that I managed to finish in time, and decided 'why not' y'know?"
Ortho: "hmph. Fine, but only if we get to open presents right afterwards, and I get to give her mine first!"
Idia: "deal! Now c'mon L, I've got it all set up on this monitor over here..."
You barely hold back a laugh at the brothers antics, before walking over with Idia to a monitor set up on a table, probably specifically for this moment. And loaded on it is... TWISTED WONDERLAND??? Looking over to Idia for answers, he looks proud as he sits down next to you to help explain.
Idia: "so uh, figured that if you liked this world so much as a visual novel, it'd only really be fair to let you keep playing, right? ...It's only a copy! Especially since your 'game' doesn't even open anymore now that you're actually in it. But like- you mentioned wanting to see some things again that you missed after joining this world quite a ways into this 'story' so uh... This is that!"
"So this will be exactly like twisted wonderland was back home?"
Idia: "yeah- or, well there's one teensy tiny little difference, but you'll probably not even notice. It's still in beta mode anyways..."
"Hm?"
Idia: "w-well uh, remember how you would've liked twst to be an otome sometimes...? I-I uh... Gah I can't do this!"
He grabs his tablet, quickly typing the words that he's a little too embarrassed to say out loud.
Idia('s tablet): "basically I added an otome route to the game. Technically optional, but you'll miss out on some stuff if you skip it. And I only have one character ready so far- me. It's just that I know the most about me, so it's easiest to make realistic!"
(He's never going to make any other routes, at most he'll add new happy endings to his route. ...and he was sort of lying about the optional part. Because you'll lock yourself out of the best ending for the game if you don't. And hey, he made it super easy for you! In fact, there no bad endings at all! ((Except for that one that happens when you don't chose his route, but that doesn't count in his mind)) He's even rigged the gacha for you, and you're sure to get cards earlier than usual. ...as long as they're Ignihyde cards of course~)
Idia, finally able to put the tablet down again: "...what do you think?"
"It's... Well it seems really interesting! I'll have to try it out later! Y'know, try and get every ending? But for now, let's go and enjoy the rest of the party! I can tell you both put a lot of work into it!"
Idia: "a-ah yeah, we did... Of course, we didn't want you coming in early and ruining the surprise, so I set up the security system to flag you and send a alarm. ...uh, sorry about that btw."
"? No, it's fine! I appreciate all the work you both put in to make this so wonderful!"
Idia: "ahhh, you're too sparkly- Ortho help me out here, or I'm gonna fade away in the light-!"
Ortho: "stop being so dramatic brother, obviously she would like it! We spent hours on it all!"
"It really shows, everything looks amazing..."
Ortho: "hehe, thanks! In any case, now that you're done showing her the game, I get to give her my gift! Over here L!"
As you walk over, you see a pretty big pile of gifts. You're unsure if they're all from Ortho and Idia, but it's far more than you ever expected to get. Ortho grabs a big box from the pile, wrapped with such lazer precision that it feels rude to tear it and ruin it. ...but it IS a gift after all, it's made to be torn open. So you don't leave Ortho waiting for too long before you open the gift up quickly.
Inside of the box is two robots, one the shape of a cat, and the other the shape of a dog. And they both whir to life and jump out of the box once you open it. Behaving playfully as they act like their animal counterparts. And frankly, they're absolutely adorable! Ortho must've spent quite a bit of time designing them.
Ortho: "hehe, I didn't know whether you liked dogs or cats more, so I just made both! Do you like them?"
"Yes?! Goodness, these guys are precious!"
Ortho's "yay, I'm glad you like them! It took awhile to figure out the right coding so they would behave like actual animals, but I eventually managed it! And their bodies are made using the same mechanisms mine is, so they should last for a long time!"
"Woah, you put in a lot of work for these little guys, thanks so much Ortho! Aw..."
Ortho: "well, even if they're made to last, they'll need proper upkeep, right? So you'll have to hang around with us as long as they're here, so I can take care of them. Right...?"
"Haha, I guess so. Not like I was planning to leave anyways. I mean, Ignihyde seriously suits me, y'know?"
Ortho: "well that's good! I wanna be friends with you forever :D"
You smile at that, before turning back to the robot animals and patting their heads. ...you'll need to give them names soon, you wonder what you should call them...?
Idia's standing off to the side, holding a small gift box but seemingly not wanting to interrupt the happy moment you're having with Ortho. ...Ortho picks up on this too, so he quickly gets the robot animals to the side, shooing you towards Idia.
Ortho: "I'll take care of them for now, I think brother wants to give you his gift now!"
"Seems that way, doesn't it? Haha, well then, thanks again Ortho, later!"
You wave goodbye to Ortho before walking over to Idia, who looks a little shy now that you're close to him. Just holding out his gift to you, his words mumbly, but you manage to make them out.
Idia: "here you go, it's not much, I would've given you more but like... This was the only gift I could think of that wouldn't be super cringe..."
"Hm? Oh, well now I'm really curious what it is! But, you don't have to worry about something 'being cringe', I'd be happy no matter what it is, especially if it's you giving it!"
Idia: "gahh... You're like one of those shoujo protags, absolutely effortless-!"
You smile at that, before going to open up the gift he got you. Inside of the box is what appears to be a very high quality phone, though it does appear to have some modifications already.
Idia: "uh, I added some upgrades, y'know just some basic stuff. Increasing the processing power, better storage, (access to camera and mic), custom icons in a few different styles, a headphone jack because for some stupid reason the original model just didn't have one, and... I have some accessories that you could use as well, if you want... Um, sorry for rambling..."
"Wow, that all sounds so cool! And definitely useful! Geez this'll be a big help. My old phone doesn't pick up Wi-Fi in this world, so I've been needing something that'll work haha. Thanks so much Idia!"
Idia: "a-ah it's- it's nothing... R-really..."
"It's no nothing! This'll be really helpful! Seriously, I appreciate this so much!"
Idia stares at you with wide eyes, before pulling the strings of his hoodie tight to hide his face from you. But you still can see the soft pink glow now coming from his hair. That expression he had makes you smile, it looked absolutely adorable. Not that you'd actually say that to him, or you doubt he would ever do it again.
Still, both of your gifts are wonderful, and they've truly made your birthday one to remember. You would've probably been content if the day ended there, this celebration being more than you ever could've hoped for. ...but they're not planning to let it end yet. As you sit down, they each take a seat on either side of you.
"Today... Today was wonderful guys. Thanks so much..."
Ortho: "it's not over yet!"
Idia: "yeah, but the next thing will need to wait until it gets dark..."
Ortho: "so why don't we do some other party things first? I wanna try out a few party games! Or maybe you can have the cake we made? Oohhh, or you can open the rest of your gifts!"
"Hm? Oh geez, it's hard to decide. Those all sound like fun!"
Ortho: "right? Sooo, how about we don't choose? Let's try them all!"
He pulls you up out of your seat, Idia following close behind. And you realize today is far from over. As the party stretches on for hours, until late into the evening. ...you don't want today to end...
And it seems it's not quite over yet, as once it's properly dark, they both lead you out to the main campus. To a picnic set up in the sports field. ...it's odd that you needed to wait until it was dark to have a picnic, but maybe Idia didn't want to go out on campus during the day...?
Idia: "Ortho, is everything ready?"
Ortho: "yup! Prepare to be Amazed L!"
"Wait, what are you-!"
As you speak, a light shoots up into the sky, before exploding into a shower of light. ...fireworks!? Soon enough, the sky becomes filled with those colorful explosions, it appears they both set up a whole show for you. Turning to Idia, he just smiles softly at you. ...you look stunning in this light, and he decides something.
As annoying as all those scenes are, when one character confesses to the other during fireworks and the other person doesn't hear. That sounds perfect to him right now. ...maybe eventually he'll be able to say this stuff to you when he doesn't think it'll get drowned out by the fireworks, but for now...
Idia: "...I love you, I love you so much... Thank you for letting me be part of your life, I wish these days would never end... Please, never leave."
...unfortunately for Idia, those scenes only really work in anime. As you hear him clearly, if a little mumbled. ...and as another firework explodes in the sky, you feel your heartbeat quicken, before you decide to respond in the only way you ever could.
"I love you too Idia... And... Maybe these days don't have to end... After all, why would I ever want to leave when I get to be here with you and Ortho?"
Idia's expression turns shocked and flustered as he realizes that you heard him, suddenly seeing that the fireworks don't actually drown out as much sound as he thought they would. His face turning redder than the fireworks in the sky, burying his face in his hands.
Neither of you speak another word, the silence being mainly comfortable if not for the awkwardness from both of you refusing to be the one to say anything else about these feelings you share. ...thankfully for both of you, Ortho is still here, and excited as ever now that you've both finally confessed to each other!
He tackles you both into a hug, absolutely beaming as he does. Before using a party popper over both of you, clearly celebrating this.
Ortho: "yay!! I'm so glad you finally managed to confess to her, brother!! And does this mean I can call you my sister now?"
"A-ah, I... Yeah I guess...? Goodness, this is a lot..."
Idia takes a few shakey breaths in, trying to steady himself as his thoughts are racing. ...he did it, he somehow managed to land himself on your route, and all he had to do now is stay away from any bad ends and he'll win. This- this is impossible. ...but hey, guess lady luck finally had a change of heart!
This is beyond his wildest dreams, and yours. And for the first time since you were isekai'd into this world, you really truly feel like you belong here. And like it's possible to stay here forever without problem. ...and looking at them both, you decide that you're Going to stay. After all, how could anyone leave them behind?
Meanwhile Idia and Ortho and mentally celebrating the success of their plan today, that plan being 'operation: give L the best birthday every so she never wants to go home' ...and they cannot wait to spend tomorrow and the next day and the next with you, for as long as they possibly can!
Happy birthday L, they're so happy you enjoyed today. And they hope they can continue sharing these moments with you, no matter what.
